Workforce Magazine’s
The Hot List - 2008 Employment-Related Screening Providers
In November 2008 Workforce magazine
published it’s annual ‘The Hot List’ - 2008
Employment-Related Screening Providers. The actual list is published
in alphabetical order, however, I have listed the top ten providers
based on the number of employment-related screenings performed
in the last 12 months. Note that 9 of the 10 are our clients.
1.
HireRight/USIS
|
6.
Axciom |
| 2. Lexis-Nexis |
7. Employment
Background Investigations (EBI) |
| 3. EmployeescreeningIQ |
8. Sterling
infosystems |
| 4. First
Advantage |
9. Intellicorp
Records |
| 5. ADP |
10. Accurate
Background |
To read the
full article and get the other details on ‘The Hot List’
go to http://www.workforce.com/section/06/feature/25/97/72/index.html
Family
Watchdog LLC To Incorporate The National Sex Offender Registry
Into The Visual Analytics And ˜Real- Time' Data Center
Visual
Analytics Inc. (VAI) and Family Watchdog LLC are pleased to announce
their newly formed partnership as of January 1, 2009. Under the
partnership agreement, Family Watchdog LLC, an expert in the field
of sex offender information, will make their National Sex Offender
Registry data available through the VAI Data Clarity technologies.
This information is updated daily and will provide a real-time
integration for agencies already using VAI's DIG and VisuaLinks
software products. This high-value source of information will
enable law enforcement officers to quickly identify sex offenders
in the context of their Federated Search and Analysis by automatically
comparing the Sex Offender Registry alongside of their existing
local and information sharing sources.
For
more information please visit www.familywatchdog.us
and www.visualanalytics.com.
Gone
Are The Days Of Reviewing A Resume And Examining Public Records
To Conduct Due Diligence
Today,
a witness, juror, expert, or potential business partner is more
likely to have a social networking site than a criminal conviction.
Many painstaking attorneys would be sure to check for court records,
but they might miss out on the additional benefits of this new
information arena. Social networking activity can be quite revealing
— a kind of informal resume and kitchen table chat, not
tailored to a specific event or situation, and very likely full
of unguarded admissions. Here's the scoop on the kinds of information
to be gleaned from social networking sites. In general, people
participate in interactive websites with their friends, co-workers,
school and professional colleagues, as well as internet-only acquaintances.
The self-generated content, along with comments from other participants,
provide insight into a person's values, activities, biases, and
self-image. Most people mention past education and employers,
as well as other people in their network, interest organizations
and leisure activities. A breezy reflection on a summer vacation
spot may point to a place to search for state and county court
records.
To Read
The Full Article Go To:
http://www.lawtechnews.com/r5/showkiosk.asp?listing_id=2807636
Some
Cities Look Other Way In Hiring Of Former Inmates
Hoping
to prevent convicts from being shut out of the work force, some
major U.S. cities are eliminating questions from their job applications
that ask whether prospective employees have ever been convicted
of a crime. Most of the cities still conduct background checks
after making conditional job offers, but proponents say the new
approach will help more convicts find work and reduce the likelihood
they will commit new crimes.
For
More Information Go To:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/nation/ story/4A924C13A19682778625753600108A5E?OpenDocument
California:
Class Action Based on Convictions Inquiry Dismissed
Plaintiffs
representing a putative class of 135,000 job applicants could
not recover $26 million in damages for an allegedly “illegal”
question on the employer’s employment application, which
sought information about prior criminal convictions, a California
Court of Appeal has ruled (Starbucks Corp. v. Superior Court,
No. G039700 (Dec. 10, 2008)). The plaintiffs objected to the inquiry
because it appeared to seek information about marijuana-related
convictions that were more than two years old; such inquiries
are unlawful under the California Labor Code. The court held that
the plaintiffs were not part of the group intended to be covered
by the law and, thus, could not recover damages. The court ordered
the trial court to enter summary judgment in favor of the employer.
To
Read the full article and see professional pointers go to: http://www.shrm.org/law/states/CMS_027495.asp#P-8_0
Massachusetts
Extends Effective Date for Compliance with Data Security Regulations
According
to the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR),
the effective date for compliance with Massachusetts’ data
privacy and security regulations has been extended generally to
May 1, 2009. Under the extension, businesses will have until January
1, 2010, to obtain certification from vendors concerning their
compliance with the regulations and to encrypt portable devices
other than laptops. Even with the extended deadlines, the regulations
create a number of new requirements for businesses that will take
time to implement, such as the risk assessment, policy preparation
and training requirements.
For More
Information Go To: http://www.jacksonlewis.com/legalupdates/article.cfm?aid=1566
New
Hire Attacks Employee: Was The Company Liable For Negligent Hiring?
It’s
one of HR’s worst nightmares: An employee’s injured
after an attack by a co-worker. If it turns out the attacker had
a history of violent behavior, can the company be sued for hiring
him? That question was asked in one recent court case. Here’s
what happened: An employee was sexually assaulted by her newly
hired co-worker. The attacker had no criminal record, but during
the investigation, it turned out that he’d been fired from
his last job after groping a female employee. The victim sued
for “negligent hiring,” claiming the company should
have known his history and never offered him a job. On the other
hand, the company argued it had thoroughly investigated his background
and found nothing that would indicate he shouldn’t have
been hired. Background checks were clean.
To
See Who won the case Go To: http://www.hrlegalnews.com/new-hire-attacks-employee-was-it-hrs-fault/
Softech
Offers MVRs In All 50 States And The Canadian Provinces
Robert
Collier said “success is the sum of small efforts, repeated
day in and day out.” In that spirit, Softech International
continually strives to improve their services and provide quality
assistance to their clientele. They now offer their clients access
to all 50 states as well as to some Canadian Provinces, and are
currently working to secure access to international MVRs to facilitate
the MVR ordering experience.
Softech
International definitely makes things happen! They are moving
mountains and their customers and partners are reaping the benefits
of their victories, while their competitors are wondering how
this small business is able to give large industries a run for
their money.
To Find
Out More About Softech International – Your Preferred MVR
Provider Go To: www.softechinternational.com
or contact Reid Rodroguez at 1.888.318.7979 or info@softechinternational.com
Accu-Screen
CEO Discusses Resume Lying on Fox 13 News Tampa Bay
Platinum
Member Accu-Screen Founder and CEO Kevin Connell appeared on the
10 p.m. edition of the Fox 13 News in a segment focusing on resume
lying among job-seekers. Following its broadcast the segment will
be available for archived viewing on the Fox 13 website.
For
More Information Go To: www.accuscreen.com
or contact Kevin Connell at Kevinconnell@accuscreen.com
or 800/689-2228.
‘Congratulations
Platinum Member’
Applicant Insight Business
Team of the Year Finalist
Applicant Insight (Ai), a leading
provider of background screening and drug testing, is a finalist
for Business Team of the Year awarded by the Tampa Bay Business
Journal. This award is bestowed upon companies whose employees'
collective efforts make a unique difference in their workplaces
and communities. Thanks to a fantastic team, Ai made the cut.
To
Read the full announcement please go to: http://www.applicantinsight.com/news.htm#releases
| Welcome
to the Legal Challenge Question! |
Sponsored By:
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We are grateful
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| DATA
PROTECTION AND FRAUD |
Liars
Index® Has its Ups and Downs in 2008
The Liars
Index®, which reflects a percentage of executives misstating
their academic credentials on their resumes, slipped back to 11.43%
in the last half of 2008. Over the last three years the trend
of volatility in the Index continued, as the rate declined 4.48
points from the first half of the year, bringing the running two-year
average down to 13.21%. Over the years since its inception in
1995 the Liars Index® has reached as high as 23.30% (in 2000),
with a low of 6.06% in 2003, so employers can assume that, on
average, one in seven resumes will fudge their education claims.
Jude Werra, President of the Brookfield, WI executive search and
selection firm, Jude M. Werra & Associates, said, “Verification
of education claims is an uncomplicated, but often overlooked,
wise first step in considering candidates’ representations.”
Liars Index®/Add
One
To Read The
Full Article on the latest Liars’ Index go to: www.workplaceviolence.com/LiarsIndex/Liars_Pressrelease_2009_01.pdf
Companies
Warned To Safeguard Competitive And Sensitive Data From Disgruntled
Employees Being Laid Off
Fifty eight
percent of office workers faced with being laid off or given the
sack admit they will take valuable data with them, if they could
get away with it! The majority are downloading sensitive company
secrets right now under their bosses nose in anticipation that
they could lose their job. That’s the findings of a survey
by IT security experts Cyber-Ark from research they carried out
into “The recession and its effects on work ethics”
amongst 226 office workers on New York’s busy Wall Street.
57% of workers admit to already downloading competitive corporate
data. Top of the list of desirable information that is currently
being extracted from employers is the customer and contact databases,
with plans and proposals, product information, and access / password
codes all proving popular choices. Memory sticks are the smallest,
easiest, cheapest and least traceable method of downloading huge
amounts of data, which is why this is often considered the “weapon
of choice.” Adam Bosnian, VP of Products, Strategy and Sales
of Cyber-Ark says, “The damage that insiders can do should
not be underestimated. It can take just a few minutes for an entire
database that has taken years to build to be copied to a CD or
USB stick. With a faltering economy resulting in increased jobs
cuts, deferred promotions and additional stress, companies need
to be especially vigilant about protecting their most sensitive
data against nervous or disgruntled employees. 62% of USA workers
admitted that it was easy to sneak company information out of
the office.
To view the
full report “The global recession and its effect on work
ethics” visit Cyber-Ark’s website at: http://www.cyber-ark.com/constants/white-papers.asp?dload=Ethics-Survey-Results.pdf
Data
Breaches Up Almost 50 Percent, Affecting Records of 35.7 Million
People
According to The Identity
Theft Resource Center’s 2008 breach report data breaches
increased dramatically in 2008. Data breaches reached 656 reported
breaches at the end of 2008, reflecting an increase of 47% over
last year’s total of 446. Nearly 37 percent of the breaches
occurred at businesses, while schools accounted for roughly 20
percent of the reported incidents. The center also found that
the percentage of breaches attributed to data theft from current
and former employees more than doubled from 7 percent in 2007
to nearly 16 percent in 2008. The largest single cause of data
breaches came from human error, the center found. Lost or stolen
laptops and other removable electronic devices, along with the
accidental exposure of consumer data -- such as the inadvertent
posting of personal data online -- were named as the cause for
more than 35 percent of reported incidents. Computer hacking and
software that steals data were blamed for nearly 14 percent of
breaches. "This [increase in the number of breaches] may
be reflective of the economy, or the fact that there are more
organized crime rings going after company information using insiders,"
said Linda Foley, the center's co-founder. "
To Read The
Full Report Go To: http://www.idtheftcenter.org/artman2/publish/lib_survey/ITRC_2008_Breach_List.shtml
Stealing
From The Boss; Embezzlement Hardest On Small Companies; Breach
Of Trust
When she was hired
last June as an office manager at Sherwood Inspection in South
Windsor, Candace Brainard was facing charges of embezzling $40,000
from a previous employer in Rocky Hill. David Sherwood learned
of those earlier charges only this month, three weeks after police
arrested Brainard and accused her of looting $12,000 from Sherwood
over the six months she worked there. Brainard, 43, of Hebron,
now has felony larceny and forgery cases pending in Superior Court
in New Britain and Manchester. "I had no idea. I wish I had,"
Sherwood said Friday. "Our losses are probably more than
$12,000 because we've been uncovering more stuff. We're missing
a $3,000 piece of equipment, which she said she sent out for testing.
This is really hard on us." The allegations provide a classic
example of employee theft, a widespread, often devastating crime
that sapped nearly $1 trillion from the nation's businesses in
2008, about 7 percent of all business revenue, according to a
report from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. As the
economy worsens and more people face deepening debt, it seems
logical to fear that embezzlement might tempt more workers.
http://business.verizon.net/Resources/BusinessTipsAndInfo/default.aspx?id=12764914
Revolutionary
Sourcing Products Partnership Drastically Shifting the Recruiting
Landscape
While this
announcement does not directly impact background screening firm
it alerts us to an emerging new technology which already is addressing
one aspect of pre-screening and could spread to include background
screening. It may be something worth keepong an eye on.
TalentDrive,
the creator of the innovative SaaS recruitment technology, TalentFilterSM,
announced a partnership with InterActive ApplicantTM (www.interactiveapplicant.com),
an automated multimedia candidate screening system. This strategic
partnership offers clients a revolutionary sourcing product pairing
that is game changing for the recruitment industry. TalentDrive
and InterActive ApplicantTM offer tools for the two main issues
facing recruiters today: sourcing and pre-screening. To learn
more about this partnership, click
here to watch a video.
To learn more,
visit our website at www.talentdrive.com
or contact Darryn at darryn@interactiveapplicant.com
or 403.450.7870
Random
Drug, Alcohol Testing Of Teachers Debated
Graham County,
N.C., which has fewer than 1,200 students, is one of a small group
of school districts in the nation attempting to establish random
drug tests of teachers and other employees. The district would
be among the "very, very few" to randomly test teachers,
American Civil Liberties Union staff attorney Adam Wolf says.
In North Carolina, a lawsuit by the state teachers' association
prevented a 2007 start for random drug testing in Graham County
schools. Reports of drug use have spurred testing efforts. "Like
many other folks, we have had a number of our employees either
on or off the job found with drugs or been accused of having drugs,"
said Jim Withrow, Kanawha County Schools' general counsel.
For More Information
Go To: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-01-18-randomteachertests_N.htm
| BOOK
REVIEW: SECURITY MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE |
Background Screening and Investigations: Managing Hiring Risk from
the HR and Security Perspectives
 |
By
Barry Nixon, SPHR, and Kim Kerr, CPP; Reviewed by Peter
Psarouthakis
Managing
risk in the hiring process can be a challenging task for
an organization’s human resources (HR) and security
departments. Having the right resources and experience to
properly conduct a background screening or an investigation
is vital. Fortunately, there is a growing amount of valuable
material available. Background Screening and Investigations
is one of them. Authors Barry Nixon and Kim Kerr lay a good
foundation by explaining the risks posed by not having an
appropriate screening process. Next, they address how legal
issues can affect background screening and an organization
as a whole. The authors then issues can affect background
|
|
screening
and an organization as a whole. The authors then explain
how security and HR must collaborate in this important process.
The chapter titled “Background Checking Policy”
is one of the book’s many highlights. Nixon and Kerr
explain the importance of having a policy in place and the
laws governing background screening. The usefulness of this
chapter cannot be overstated. The reader could easily use
the authors’ detailed arguments in making the case
to management that a policy is needed. Later, the chapter
provides detailed examples of hiring policies, focusing
on specific issues the documents must address. Other chapters
in this book are just as detailed and informative. Those
who conduct background screening or investigations know
the importance of keeping current on the ever-changing environment
of background screening. Background Screening and Investigations
is an important resource that anyone involved in hiring
or the background screening business should keep close at
hand.
http://www.securitymanagement.com/article/background-screening-and-investigations-managing-hiring-risk-hr-and-security-perspectives-00
|
One
Site! Many Suppliers! |
Looking for the Top Suppliers in the Industry? Need to find a
new Supplier?
Visit
PreemploymentDirectory.com’s VENDOR SHOWCASE
which features suppliers to the Background Screening Industry
(go to www.PreemploymentDirectory.com,
click on ‘Click Here’ and then scroll down to Vendor
Showcase for Background Screening Industry Suppliers)
STOP
STRUGGLING WITH WRITING AND PUBLISHING YOUR NEWSLETTER: |
We can help
you have a high quality e-newsletter to help nurture your relationship
with your clients and attract new clients. Our customized newsletter
service will take over your newsletter task or create a new one
for you. We can manage the creation of your newsletter for you.
We are constantly
researching information to use for The Background Buzz and
you can put our research to use for you. Using the information
rich content from The Background Buzz (minus the ads
and competitors information) we will create a custom newsletter
for you.
Use your staff’s
time to do more valuable work and save all the hassle of researching
or writing articles, formatting and managing all the other ezine
tasks with our customized ezine process.
Contact Barry
Nixon at 949-770-5264 or at wbnixon@aol.com
for more information.
Global
Employment Survey Finds Confidence 'Faltering But Not Evaporating’
A new
survey of hiring and firing trends covering businesses in 107
countries around the world has found a definite slowdown in job
prospects for professionals and managers, but also that 43% of
the organisations questioned still intended to recruit at this
level in the first quarter of 2009. The quarterly 'Global Snapshot'
from the international recruitment firm, Antal, asked over 2700
major companies in 23 key markets such as western and eastern
Europe, Africa, India and China and in 84 other countries around
the world whether they were currently hiring at professional and
managerial level. It then asked whether they planned to do so
in the coming quarter and whether they were currently letting
staff go or were planning to do so in the next three months.
To Read
the Full Article Go To: http://www.onrec.com/newsstories/23501.asp
$160,000
Fine For Not Checking References
A company
has won more than $160,000 compensation from a recruitment firm
that recommended a manager who was a former bankrupt and fraud.
The firm failed to conduct adequate background checks on the sales
manager, who subsequently defrauded the company of $120,000. Sydney
water treatment equipment supplier Wedeco hired Driver Recruitment,
trading as Authorised Solutions, to find sales manager for Southeast
Asia, reports
The Australian. According to a NSW Court of Appeal judgment,
the successful candidate, Stephen Riddell, worked for Wedeco for
18 months before it was discovered that his qualifications were
false. Wedeco found Riddell was an undischarged bankrupt and that
"in his business activities he had engaged in fraudulent
practices.''
To
Read The Full Article Go To:http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,24800997-5012426,00.html
Canadian
Immigration Developments in 2008
There
have been significant Canadian developments relating to both the
temporary foreign worker program and to the permanent resident
program. On the permanent resident front, new programs and policies
are aimed at providing government with more control over the occupational
skill set of those who apply for permanent resident status, while
making it easier for most foreign workers already in Canada to
obtain permanent resident status.
For
More Information Go To: http://www.gowlings.com/resources/enewsletters/ImmigrationUpdate/htmfiles/
specialBulletin_20090107.en.html
Staff
Verification Norms To Be Tightened
Bangalore
- Shaken by the magnitude of the terror that struck the two hotels
in Mumbai, companies across industries would step up employee
verification procedures, especially for contract employees and
those employed in ‘sensitive positions’ such as security
staff, hospitality and airlines frontline staff and telecom employees.
Mr Rajesh A R, Vice-President of staffing solutions company TeamLease
Services says that for ‘sensitive positions,’ there
is likely to be additional verifications like checking permanent
addresses, apart from routine education and previous employment
checking. “Before the Mumbai incident, companies did not
feel the need to spend the money on additional checks such as
these, especially for employees whose salaries were about Rs 4,000-Rs
5,000/ month.” Companies will therefore prefer to employ
people who come with third party verification. “Candidates
who have got themselves verified would stand a better chance of
being employed,” he feels. Very soon, he believes, this
would also become mandatory for temp (contract) employees in the
hospitality, airline, BFSI, retail and telecom sectors.
For More Information
Go To: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/12/08/stories/2008120851340200.htm
INTERNATIONAL
RESOURCE CENTER |
The
International
Resource Center is a valuable resourceresource for anyone
looking for information on international background verifications,
vetting or verifications.
New
Posting
The Act on the Protection of Personal
Information and its Enforcement Status in Japan
January 23, 2007
Cabinet Office, Japan
Outline of Act, History of enforcement,
Scheme of the System, Duties of Entities,
Handling of Complaints, Exercise of Authority
http://www5.cao.go.jp/seikatsu/kojin/forei
gn/outline070123.pdf
|
|
Data Protection - Framework Code Of Practice For Sharing Personal
Information
The Information Commissioner’s first statutory duty is to
promote the following of good practice in the handling of personal
information. ‘Good practice’ means practice that appears
to the Commissioner to be desirable, having regard to the interests
of individuals and the organisations that process personal information
about them. Good practice includes, but is not limited to, compliance
with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998. The Commissioner
has produced this framework code to help organisations to adopt
good practice when sharing information about people. The framework
code is intended to be of use to all organisations involved in
information sharing. Using the framework code will help organisations
to ensure that they address all the main data protection compliance
issues that are likely to arise when personal information is being
shared.
http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/ico
_information_sharing_framework_draft_1008.pdf
International
Training Resources:
World
Federation for Personnel Management, Events, http://www.wfpma.com/dates.html
To
view the International Section go to http://www.preemploymentdirectory.com/
look in the middle of the page for the gray bar like the one below.
Verifile
Acquires Tigerbrook Employment Screening Division
Verifile,
Europe’s leading background screening company today announced
its acquisition of Tigerbrook’s employment screening division.
Verifile’s acquisition comes on top of rapid organic growth
through 2008. Through the economic gloom Verifile has continued
to be a success story. Tigerbrook’s employment screening
division currently serves over 50 blue-chip companies, including
many household names. Tigerbrook sold the division in order to
focus on other service offerings. Verifile took over the provision
of the employment screening service to Tigerbrook’s former
clients from 1st November 2008.
To Read The
Full Article Go To: http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008/11/26/48497/verifile-acquires-tigerbrook-employment-screening-division.html
FSA Signals
Tougher Vetting Requirements for Approved Persons Warns Pre-Employment
Screening Company Powerchex
London, United Kingdom
- The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published a consultation
paper (CP) that clarifies the FSA’s expectations of those
within firms that perform a ‘significant influence’
functions. In a move reminiscent of the Sarbanes Oxley legislation
in the US, the FSA vows to pursue cases against individuals who
breach the FSA’s Principles and the Code of Practice for
Approved Persons. “The FSA has made a strategic decision
to investigate more individuals” says Alexandra Kelly, MD
of City pre-employment screening company Powerchex, “they
(the FSA) believe that this increased scrutiny will discourage
questionable individuals from applying for significant management
roles within the industry.” “This represents a significant
change for financial firms. By introducing fines the FSA is sending
a clear sign to companies that they should focus on undertaking
proper due diligence.” claims Kelly. “As a further
safeguard, firms should keep proper documentation of their vetting
process in case they need to justify their decision on a particular
applicant. They also need to be aware that this new process will
introduce delays to the deployment of senior managers and plan
accordingly.” The other significant amendment proposes to
extend the rule obliging firms to provide references for applicants
of the CF30 (customer function) to all controlled functions if
requested to do so.
For More Information
Go To: www.powerchex.co.uk
Understand
Recruitment Cycles to Give Your Firm an Edge
When
it comes to hiring timing isn't everything, but it's certainly
something. Tuning into industries' and employers' annual recruitment
cycles just might give you an edge in the marketplace. This is
how professional recruiters with their fingers on the pulse of
seasonal variations in hiring maximize their results. It is likely
that background screening follows the same pattern given its connection
to the hiring process.
To
Learn About a Quarter-By-Quarter Summary Of How These Hiring Dynamics
Play Out Go To:
http://career-advice.monster.com/job-search/Getting-Started/Job-Search-Recruitment-Cycles/article.aspx?WT.mc_n=CRMUS000096
7
Signs A Pre-Employment Test May Be Illegal
The Americans
with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from giving applicants
medical tests before a job is offered — and that might include
examinations used to learn about candidates’ personality
traits. The key is distinguishing between personality tests and
medical examinations that can be used to diagnose psychological
disorders.
Read
The Full Article To Learn How Can Companies Tell The Difference
And How The EEOC Determines Whether Tests May Be Illegal Go To:
http://www.hrlegalnews.com/7-signs-a-pre-employment-test-may-be-illegal/
 |
We
invite you to pull up a chair, take a break and join us
in the Background Bistro to sip a latte and chat with this
weeks guest – Ken Will, CEO, AdMed Consulting Inc..
Ken has a distinctive background as a former elected county
Sheriff and is a former Assistant Attorney General for the
State of North Dakota. He later merged his business with
a good friend and took it public. He has been doing mergers
and acquisitions since 1996.
AdMed Consulting Inc. assists companies with mergers and
acquisitions. In addition, they help business owners prepare
their companies to be sold or to purchase other companies.
|
|
Living in North Dakota provides an ideal atmosphere for
Ken’s passion, which is being an outdoorsman. Hunting
and fishing are his sports of choice and is how he spends
the majority of his time when he takes a break from working.
"North Dakota is pretty much a mecca for hunting and
fishing, which works out really well for me. I generally
fish Walleye and fresh water Salmon. When it comes to hunting,
I have shot a 6x6 Royal Elk, along with bear, turkey and
several other types of fowl. My wife prefers not to have
too many dead creatures around the house, (as he states
with a laugh) so I am limited to two mounts for now."
North
Dakota does not have a professional sports team, so watching
and fallowing pro teams is not a big part of Ken’s
life. However, high school football is, "I really prefer
to watch live sports rather than watch them on television,
especially high school football." There is one exception
to the professional aspect - Brett Favre, Ken has actually
met the future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback and has enjoyed
following his stellar career.
Ken
is not all outdoors and sports. For additional relaxation,
he and his wife occasionally take in a play in New York
City. "Recently we went to Cabo San Lucas, she prefers
sun and fun and I prefer the mountains," says Ken.
Ken
certainly keeps busy these days with all the complexities
of the business world. One of the main focus area for his
company is to help ease the process of buying and selling.
Making the process more efficient for his clients is what
allows him to retain a consistent clientele. Ken said, "The
reason you hire a consultant in the first place is because
buying and/or selling a company is a very intense process.
I help my clients avoid the "tire kickers" and
qualify potential clients before they even meet my clients."
The feedback that Ken gets from companies that utilize his
services is very positive. All feel that he is the commensurate
professional and many of them often use his services again.
"There are a number of businesses that I have assisted
in the merger and acquisition process and the biggest accolade
one can receive is to have that business use you again."
To help
spread the word and market his firm, Ken relies on good
old-fashioned networking, stating "I have been in this
business since1982, so I have a long list of contacts. Many
of these people in my contact list are business owners themselves,
so much of my marketing is done through person to person
contact. On top of that, I do use some traditional forms
of advertising as well."
Ken
considers his negotiating skills to be his strongest asset.
"Most of my deals require a good amount of negotiating,
particularly because the sales cycle is so lengthy. Before
the economic slowdown, it generally took 9-12 months to
sell a company, acquisitions are a bit shorter though,"
says Ken.
Unlike
many CEOs Ken does not have any immediate plans to expand
or implement new services into his firm. "I am very
happy with where I am right now and exactly where I need
to be. I wear all of the hats, President, secretary, accountant,
etc."
As we
closed the interview Ken commented on the future –
he feels very optimistic about the future of AdMed Consulting
considering the landscape of business today and added that,
"If a company survives past the three-year mark, generally
they need an influx of capital or an investor to create
an infrastructure to survive or they will have to merge"
and that is exactly where Ken Will fits into the picture.”
For
more information on AdMed Consulting visit their website
at www.admedconsulting.com
or contact Ken at 701- 258-7127 or kenwill@btinet.net.
|
Building
Market Share In Troubled Times
By Gary Kuty
Positioning
your company for future growth is essential in today’s highly
competitive business climate, especially in the background screening
industry, which has never enjoyed more aggressive growth than
the past several years. Factor in a current struggling economy,
an upcoming change in the political climate and the country’s
uncertain economic growth, and you have a volatile cocktail that
does not bode well for corporate growth in the near future. Now
is the time for a background screening company to pay careful
attention to developing a marketing strategy that sets it apart
from the competition. Merely maintaining a sales department alone
will not automatically increase your business. A great sales team
is but one component of what should be your overall marketing
strategy. How well your company is identified in the marketplace
is in direct correlation to your marketing and sales efforts.
Are you the “best kept secret in town?” If you are
not advertising, marketing or dedicating staff to sales, I suspect
you are. With the increased competition, especially from national
and regional background screening companies, it will be an uphill
battle to increase sales by doing the same old things you used
to do to build the business.
To
Read The Full Article To Learn More About Branding, Sales, Marketing
And Hiring Considerations For Sales Staff Go To: http://www.kutyassociates.com/newsevents/article_bldgmarketshare.html
All
Hail, Content!
by Jay Eidelman
There’s an old
maxim in the publishing industry: “Content is King.”
In an Internet age, however, this notion is no longer restricted
to print publishers. Even information giants, from Google to Amazon,
recognize the value for bringing in content to enlighten users,
engage customers, and attract business. Once upon a time, for
most businesses, it was enough to be an online box store, little
more than a catalog and a brochure gone digital. But those days
are behind us. There are good reasons now to treat content as
king in every industry, reasons that have a lot to do with how
modern marketing works. In today’s environment, businesses
struggle once again to grab the attention of current and new customers.
Instead of spending oodles of cash on print advertising—no
doubt contributing to the decline of newspapers—they hunt
for search engine optimization (SEO) specialists. In a world where
showing up among the first 5 to 10 hits on Google may determine
whether your balance sheet runs black or bleeds red, is it any
surprise some firms are willing to pay top dollar for SEO services?
To Read The
Full Article Go To: http://projectpublish.blogspot.com/2009/01/all-hail-content.html.
Contact Jay Eidelman, a marketing consultant and president of
New Prospect Consulting for more information. He can be reached
at jeidelman@newprospectconsulting.com
or 954-323-8770
FACTOID
– Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data workplace
homicides rose by 13% in 2007 to 610 after hitting a low of 540
the year before.
Workplace
Violence Tops 2009 Concerns Of Security Professional
As we turn the calendar
to a new year, we here at Security Director News embarked on our
annual survey to determine what risks our readers are most concerned
about in 2009. While acts of terrorism dominated headlines in
2008, only 24 percent said they were primarily concerned about
terrorism. Instead, 49 percent reported that workplace violence
topped their security concerns and 27 percent were primarily concerned
about intellectual property theft.
Projected economic
conditions for 2009 are contributing largely to heightened security
concerns within the United States, specifically concerns about
workplace violence, said John Dowd, senior account manager for
Kratos Defense and Security Solutions. “With the domestic
issues we have in this country, both economically and financially,
concerns about workplace violence far outweighs and is more prevalent
than threats of terrorism,” he said. “If companies
aren’t taking security seriously, they’re in for a
rude awakening when they see a spike in workplace violence”
in the next 12 to 18 months, Dowd predicted.
To Read The
Article Go To: http://www.securitydirectornews.com/article/sd200901v3ivxk/Workplace%20vi
olence%20tops%202009%20concerns
|
ADVERTISERS IN THIS EDITION |
|
UPCOMING CONFERENCES & EVENTS |
2009
Events (Click
Here to View full list of 2009 Events) – Updated Monthly
SHRM
State Conferences, visit http://www.shrm.org/conferences/state/CMS_004287.asp
Drug
and Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA), 2008 Training
Course Schedule, visit http://datia.org/
World
Federation for Personnel Management, Events, http://www.wfpma.com/dates.html
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