Corra Daily Planet

Are You Comfortable With Sexual Offenders Working in Your Business?

Corra can go for many months without discovering that our clients’ applicants are on the sexual offenders registry. But during the last six weeks or so we have picked up on somewhere between six and twelve candidates who violated criminal codes and human beings to where they are now required to register on their state’s Sexual Offenders Registry.

Is one such offender working for you? And if so, how comfortable are you about employing them. Considering that several offenders Corra discovered during the last period had habitual records of violent behavior, having them in the work place may give you pause. In these cases they committed sexual battery against women, but there is no reason they could not have violated someone of the same sex or, worse, a child.

I should add that most of the sexual offenders we encountered recently were on the registry because they had violated children in ways that Corra needn’t mention here. And where children are concerned or, for that matter, women in the workplace or even women who are dating, there is always a risk. Single moms, especially, have either been victimized themselves or have had their children victimized by that “wonderful” person they had met online.

So whether as a preemployment screening program or as a predating screening program, run the Nationwide Criminal check to not only see if you are hiring a felon but a sexual offender. The sexual offenders registry is included in the Nationwide Criminal Check. And for the companies who have government contracts, for a few bucks more, Corra will attach the OFAC or Global Terror Report to the Nationwide Criminal Search.

So do yourself a favor and check them out before you hire. Check them out before you date them. Check them out.

Look No Further For Tenant Screening Services

We have all seen the movie, Pacific Heights. Granted, that is the extreme, but Pacific Heights was based on real events, and there are more than a few others to match or surpass that particular nightmare.
No landlord wants deadbeat tenants. Deadbeat tenants can result in nonpayment of rent and long and enervating litigation procedures. Tenants who manipulate the tenant laws can remain on the premises for six months or more and not pay you rent.
Corra offers a full complement of tenant screening services. In addition to the criminal background check, Corra offers tenant screening credit reports and eviction notice reports. If you are facing possible litigation with a tenant, we can assist by furnishing civil reports as well.

Check them out before you rent to them.

As some landlords have discovered, it is far more cost effective to run tenant screening checks as a preventative measure than to be entangled in legal battles with deadbeat tenants.

Executive Background Checks Should Be More Detailed

Qwest Chief Executive to Retire

Richard C. Notebaert, who is credited with bringing Qwest Communications back from the brink of bankruptcy and an accounting scandal, surprised investors today by announcing he plans to resign as chief executive and chairman.

Mr. Notebaert, who took the helm of Qwest in 2002 when it faced difficult legal and competitive challenges, said he is leaving in order to spend more time with his family and to focus on other interests. He will stay until a replacement is named, the company said.

The announcement surprised industry analysts who have given Mr. Notebaert credit from steering Qwest, the smallest of the regional telephone companies, back to stability.

Mr. Notebaert’s resignation, however, follows closely the resignations of two other top Qwest executives: Oren G. Shaffer, chief financial officer, who left April 1, and Barry Allen, chief operations officer, who announced his retirement earlier this month.

The departure of the key executives “suggests turmoil is coming,” said Donna Jaegers, an industry analyst with Janco Partners who has a sell rating on the stock. Qwest’s shares closed the day at $9.36, down nearly 8 percent. In the last few years, the shares have risen steadily, from less than $4 three years ago.

Mr. Notebaert and his team deserve credit for cutting the companies costs and bringing it order, Ms. Jaegers said, but the company still faces major strategic challenges. In particular, she said, Denver-based Qwest must find a way to compete more effectively in the long-distance phone and data market outside of its core 14-state market.

for the complete article go to NYTimes.com

Corra conducts its fair share of background checks for upper level executives. These are the people that will be responsible for the health and leadership of your business. Good executives can expand your bottom line. Poor executives can put you out of business. And some executives can make the kind of scandalous headlines you don’t really need.

Unlike the preemployment screenings you would conduct for lower level or mid-management candidates, the key executive searches are a bit more complex. Researching the background of an executive requires the usual searches plus additional considerations.

If your candidate will be handling finances or is part of your accounting team, then it is wise to run both the federal criminal and federal civil background searches. These searches will help detect your candidate’s infractions with concern especially to white collar crimes. Some executives escape the criminal charges, but they are found guilty in civil court, so it really pays to do both searches. Credit checks are very important as well.

As noted, these are the people who will be running your business. Check them out before you hire.

The Person You Just Hired May Be After Your Job

Most Employees Believe They Can Outperform Their Bosses

Two-thirds of executives also say they would like to replace their bosses one day, according to a new survey.

From: Inc.com Tamara Schweitzer

Is life easier in the corner office? Most employees seem to think so.Seventy-three percent of executive-level employees believe they would do a better job than their current boss, according to a new survey.The executive quiz, conducted by Korn/Ferry, a Los Angeles-based talent-management firm, also found that more than two-thirds of respondents would like to one day takeover their bosses’ jobs. Korn/Ferry surveyed 2,996 executives, though not all participants responded to every question.

“We’ve all been there,” said Joe Griesedieck, vice chairman of Korn/Ferry International. “We look at our boss and think we can do that.”

However, Griesedieck said employees should also be careful what they wish for. “We’re in a day where it’s tougher to be the CEO,” he said. “People who aren’t in the pressure cooker always view the job more highly.”

While a majority of executives admitted they would like to be at the top of the ladder, few indicated that they were actually dissatisfied with their boss. In fact, 42 percent of respondents rated their boss’s performance as either “excellent” or “above average,” while an additional 23 percent rated their boss as “average.” Only 11 percent of respondents rated their boss’s performance as “poor.”

Whether or not respondents trusted their boss also did not correlate. The survey found that 66 percent of executives trust their boss, compared to just 34 percent who said they do not.

For the full article go to Inc.com

Corra has often heard managers and executives worry if the person they hired won’t be eating them for lunch somewhere down the line. Let’s face it, you want to hire someone who is qualified, efficient and who has good credentials, but then isn’t that same person a threat to you, as well?

the thing is, if you don’t hire a skilled and qualified person then that candidate’s incompetence can rub off on you and make you look bad. Ah, life and all its dilemmas. What to do?

Well, first off you need to run a background check to see if the candidate is even worth hiring. If you discover that they reported their education verification searches to be inaccurate, that is they said they had a degree when in fact they don’t, then prevailing wisdom says don’t hire them. Candidates who lie here will lie elsewhere. Liars are duplicitous, and people who practice duplicity will probably sneak behind your back and attempt to take your job.

The Motor Vehicle Report can tell you more than how well they drive. It can inform you about certain behavior habits, including substance abuse. The credit report will also help tell you whether they are reliable or not.

Background searches will assist you in determining your candidate’s quality and your own future well being. But nothing but your instincts will predict whether or not they are after your job. Just the same, interview them carefully. And check them out before you hire.

Tech Jobs Require Employees with Updated Skills

Orlando hiring continues in technology and finance

The most recent Robert Half hiring index surveys show hiring will continue in the Orlando area for information technology professionals as well as those in the financial industry during the third quarter of 2007.

The Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report shows that a net 15 percent of chief information officers in the Orlando area expect to hire staff in the information technology field during the third quarter. Seventeen percent will add staff and 2 percent expect to have reductions. The 15 percent is the same as the national average, but is an increase from the Orlando area’s second quarter hiring forecast of 13 percent.

For the entire article go to topix.net.

Corra knows in this ever changing world it isn’t easy keeping current on skills yet. Still, to be competitive a business cannot rely on nostalgia or old ideas, but must constantly update and recruit people who are fluent in the latest methods and technology.

This is but one reason why you should be running background checks on all your job candidates. In addition to the obligatory criminal search, Corra suggests education verification and certification verification where applicable. These screening help avoid unpleasant surprises.

So check them out before your hire.

Overlapping Assignments Can Anger Your Employees

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