Thu, January 31st, 2008 - 4:38 pm - By Gordon Basichis
Umpires questioning tactics in MLB background checks
Baseball umpires are angry about background checks being conducted by Major League Baseball that the umpires say in some cases are questionable and inappropriate.
UMPS’ NEIGHBORS QUIZZED: Topic considered inappropriate
Three umpires have reported instances in which they say their neighbors have been asked by investigators about any knowledge of drug use, spousal abuse and membership in the Ku Klux Klan, according to Lamell McMorris, spokesman for the World Umpires Association, the umpires’ union.
“They have asked a series of very questionable, strange and poorly executed questions,” McMorris said. “Some of them are downright horrible and have created an environment in which neighbors are led to think (the umpires’) employers suspect them of spousal abuse, drug use and hate crimes. That’s unfortunate.”
MLB umpires Greg Gibson and Sam Holbrook, who reside in Kentucky, and Ron Kulpa, a Missouri resident, told McMorris of the interviews.
For the entire article go to usatoday.com
Just when you think Major League Baseball can’t have another controversial issue, here is one over umpires and background checks. Not only are the umps forced to endure epithets and the occasional raspberry, but now the men in blue are feeling the intrusion of too many employment screening questions about their behavior and associations.
Corra can see both sides of the issue. At least Corra can see it to some extent. On one hand Baseball can’t afford another scandal, so it is good to know if the men in blue are doing drugs or showing their naked parts on MySpace or one of the Social Networks. Now there’s a though. Ummh.
But on the other hand, with MLB being the most multi-ethnic sports organization in the world, Corra would say it is unlikely any umpire would be secretly wearing the linens of the Ku Klux Klan. The thing is, once you put the idea into a neighbor’s head, chances are they will wonder if it is true or not. If it weren’t suspicious, the less discerning neighbor might think, then why would they be asking?
Well there are background checks, and then there are background checks. We will leave it to MLB and the Umpire’s Union what is appropriate for background research and what is not. Meanwhile, through somewhat jaundiced eyes, Corra will continue to see the darker humorous aspects to the story. Although, it’s hard to envision the umpires of our National Pastime crack smoking, spouse beating, card carrying bigots. But then, I guess…you never know.
Check them out before you hire.
Wed, January 30th, 2008 - 4:59 pm - By Gordon Basichis
Own Your Title
Regardless of your role in the organization, motivation comes from within yourself.
Pretend the company that employs you is yours. If you owned the company, how would this affect your decision making? The goal of the “ownership mentality” is to make decisions as if you were the owner or president of the firm.
If you owned the company, would you be more conservative or more aggressive in your approach to your daily work flow? Would you make different choices? Would you feel more successful?
When you pretend you own the company, you become more invested in your work. Common complaints seem less important.
For the entire article go to techexecpartners.com
Corra likes employees who believe they are part of the company. Then, if you are fortunate enough to recruit such employees, it pays to reward their dedication by offering them either equity or something that shows your appreciate their interest.
Let’s face it, employees who take pride in the place they work, who exhibit some form of ownership are not the easiest to come by. The ones who sit on the computer, shopping, dating or scanning the social networks are much more common.
Nevertheless, finding the right employees starts with in depth interviews and conducting a pre-employment screening program on your employment candidates. A thorough background check won’t tell you everything, but it will go a long way in avoiding mis-hires that can in turn lead to embarrassing circumstances, corporate theft, extra expense and possible litigation. Aside from the criminal check, an education verification is wise, since when candidates lie them seem to lie mostly on criminal pasts and education.
Check them out before you hire.
Tue, January 29th, 2008 - 4:17 pm - By Gordon Basichis
Breakfast Seminars 2008 Labor & Employment Legal Update As the law continues to change year after year, so must the workplace. Many of these changes are often complicated and confusing. To help employers keep up with all the legal changes, Silver & Freedman’s annual program will summarize new Federal and State employment laws and regulations, recommending strategies for enacting change while preserving efficiency, culture and profit. Discussions will include: • New leave policy for spouses of military personnel • Changes to policies regarding employee status, sexual harassment, non-fraternization and security, based on new case law • Changes to the arbitration policy in light of new case law • Enhancements to policies regarding company access to computers, BlackBerries and other PDAs • Changes to policies regarding employee blogs and personal websites that impact the workplace • New policy regarding the use of employee’s likeness in company promotional materials • New policy regarding employee contact with the media • New option regarding consumption of alcohol at company and business events Date: February 15, 2008 Location: Four Seasons Hotel Grand Ballroom 300 S. Doheny Drive, Los Angeles Register for this seminar Unable to attend this seminar? Attend our LIVE “2008 Labor & Employment Legal Update” online webinar on Wednesday, February 20 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am Pacific Time. The cost per connection is $250. To register or for more information, contact our Client Services Department at 310.282.9417. Register for this webinar
Corra is acquainted with some of the attorneys at this prestigious Los Angeles Law Firm. They specialize in employment law and if you are in the area, the seminar may well be worth attending.
Corra believes the more informed you know about employment law, the better the chances of heading off any litigious circumstances that may arise from employees in your work place.
Having a preemployment screening program in place will also go a long way into saving money on rehires and helping to avoid litigious situations in the work place. Let’s face it, the more understanding you have, the more information you have, the better off you are. Background checks provide you with important information about your employment candidates.
Check them out before you hire.
Mon, January 28th, 2008 - 4:00 pm - By Gordon Basichis
Corra is now providing Motor Vehicle Driving Reports, DMV’s or MVR’s to any of its clients. The clients are required to fill out a form, have it notarized and then send it back to Corra so it can be sent to PennDot, the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicles agency. The process may take a few weeks to set up, but once the account is established, the client may order Driving Reports from Pennsylvania.
Consent forms are required from all employment candidates. the reports are issued strictly on a business to business basis, and the service is not available to private or individual customers.
Since PennDot has its own unique compliance standards, Pennsylvania DMV Driving Reports are not as easy to come by. Corra is among the established services able to supply them in additional to our usual background checks and business research.
Check them out before you hire.
Fri, January 25th, 2008 - 5:31 pm - By Gordon Basichis
It has recently come to Corra’s attention that a rather substantial company is intending to hire a key executive in its financial department. They will probably be paying their candidate close to $500 thousand dollar, between salary and bonus, etc. And yet, they are hesitating to run a background check on this person.
In this day and age you have to be crazy not to run a background check. And if your candidate is going to be a major player and is in your financial area, then it’s almost mandatory to run the federal criminal and federal civil searches to check him out for white collar crimes.
If you are paying someone half a million bucks, then spend a couple of hundred to make sure you are not inviting serious embarrassment or litigious and legal issues to your company. For the lesser positions, you can spend less, much less, and get some piece of mind about your job candidates. You will find it most cost effective in avoiding the kind of occurrences that lead to serious legal fees and a variety of losses.
This is not the age to step over a dollar to pick up a dime, as they used to say on the street. Or be penny wise and dollar foolish.
When you have a prospective employee handling your money and having access to your databases, run the credit check as well as all the other searches. Don’t balk about the pre-employment screening program.
Check them out before you hire.
Thu, January 24th, 2008 - 4:21 pm - By Gordon Basichis
Clean Tech Firms Attracting Investors
From: Inc.com
Third-quarter venture-capital investments in alternative energy, conservation, and recycling firms hit a record-high $844 million over 62 deals, a dollar-value increase of 80 percent over the previous quarter, PricewaterhouseCoopers reported Monday.For the entire article go to Inc.com
There is green in going green. That is, there is money in projecting your company as being environmentally efficient. As more companies realize that there really are alternatives to being wasteful and disrupting the environment, they will find themselves more attractive to commercial clients and the general public as well.
Corra is behind the movement toward a more environmentally efficient office. We try to stay up on the latest efforts and how we can participate in making our business greener. If this is of interest to your and your company, then you should consider hiring candidates who are environmentally aware. Some such employees will be more respectful of the resources at hand, while others will lead your business in a new direction.
As noted, that new direction will prove attractive to prospective clients and consumers alike. Green is favorable. Green begets green.
So when you are recruiting candidates, run the education verification and possibly the credit report and MVR driving records. These searches will help assess behavior patterns that can determine if your candidate has his life in order. Though it is a generality, those with orderly financial and driving records tend to be more environmentally minded.
In any event, someone who knows the scoop on leading your company toward a progressive and green environment is someone worth having. They can save you money, and they can make you money.
Check them out before you hire.
Wed, January 23rd, 2008 - 3:04 pm - By Gordon Basichis
Growing Sales Through Leadership
Instill a natural passion in your sales team to see your profits rise.
From: Inc.com
Can better leadership contribute as much to the bottom line as good sales training? One of the biggest challenges of teaching leadership is how to directly and immediately increase sales and profits. I’m often told, “These leadership ideas sound great in a perfect world, but changing culture seems like a long, tough process. What can I do right now to improve my business?” Since increasing sales is the first and most obvious thing that most business owners look at when they want to grow the bottom line, I looked into what sales trainers were doing and found a gaping hole in conventional teachings. A hole that a good leader can immediately fill that will grow a company’s sales and build infinitely more trust with customers.In my work with companies and individuals, the one consistent trait in top- performing salespeople is a strong belief in the product or service that they are selling.For the entire article go to INc.com
Good sales people are an incredible asset. They can make all the difference between success and failure when developing a start up business or expanding a current business. Good sales people cultivate relationships.
Most sales persons exhibit good or at least acceptable behavior patterns. Corra has seen more than a few with questionable behavior habits. Perhaps it comes with the territory, no pun intended, the loneliness of the road, the business drinking meetings, whatever, but it’s fair to say a few sales people can have some difficulties with substance abuse and financial management.
Corra wouldn’t ever want to pick on sale people. As we said, they can prove a tremendous asset. Corra does suggest that when hiring sales people that you run their credit history, their MVR Driving Records in addition to their criminal history and other searches. It is cost effective. And it is, after all, the sensible thing to do.
Check them out before you hire.
Tue, January 22nd, 2008 - 4:34 pm - By Gordon Basichis
For the uninitiated, there is a lot of financial shenanigans going on out there. Corra has seen an increase in fraudulent financial practices and fraud. Larger rings and individuals are conning people out of their money, or skipping on paying the bill.
Perhaps this a sign of the times. The credit crunch is upon us and the bear market it starting to growl. And some out of desperation or what they believe is opportunity want to swindle the rest of us.
Corra has seen financial statements and legal documents that look perfectly legitimate until you look further. We have done business research on shady characters who are operating on Social Security Numbers that belong to a dead person. They have used it so long it actually looks like it belongs to them. It doesn’t.
So you know sooner got into the habit of pre-employment background checks and now you have to run corporate research and business credit reports. Corra can help you examine your new business associates by providing comprehensive background checks and a series of other research reports that will tell you if they are on the up-and-up or are one of the shadier players on the dark end of the boulevard.
So call Corra and see what you can do to help prevent your getting fleeced in these increasingly difficult and dangerous times. Check them out before they hurt you.