According to a survey published on the Staffing Industry Analysts website, employers will be hiring more contingent or temporary employees.  The report notes that the estimate is a 26% increase in contingent workers over last year.   Not bad, although contingent workers tend to get paid less than staff employees.   Also, seldom are contingent workers entitled to the same benefits as staff workers.   So essentially, it’s a new way in a down economy to cut labor costs, especially for seasonal work or the kind of job that doesn’t require ongoing presence.

Most of the temporary hires will come through the restaurant, hospitality, or retail sectors.  That should be of no surprise to anyone.

For those employers hiring contingent or temporary workers, you may want to conduct background checks.   The basic employment screening package for temporary hires usually consists of the Social Security Trace, the Nationwide Criminal Database Search, and possibly the predominant county where the applicant is residing.  If the applicant is driving, then Motor Vehicle Driving Records (MVRS) may be  in order.

The survey was culled from 236 contingent buyers and form 187 of the larger companies that collectively hire more than a million employees.

Here is a new public relations release that addresses the increased need for international background checks.  this is especially the case with education verificaitons and employment verification, as more than a few of your employment candidates maybe be telling tall tales about their education and work experience.   In fact, they could be lying through their teeth.

Anyway, find below and excerpt from the relase.   Here is the link for the full article].

Corra Group has expanded its corporate research services to address the increased need for financial vetting on the part of American businesses. The background checking services offers a full range of various business research reports that will assist businesses in producing goods and services for both the domestic and international markets. The background checks range from corporate credit reports, to civil and criminal background checks on corporate principles and the entities themselves.

I know Chatham, New Jersey, but then I don’t know Chatham, N.J.  My cousin lives there and as such I am familiar with the demographic–affluent, educated, the kind of place where vandalism can garner major attention.  In fact, sometimes I joke with my cousin, sardonically referring to the excitement there.

And then a custodian  is suspected of murdering the church minister, and everything is different.  At the time of the murder, the suspect was dodging a 1988 case in Pennsylvania where he assaulted a seventeen-year-old girl.   Apparently that wasn’t enough, as the custodian allegedly stabbed the church minister to death.

The article on NJ.Com reported the custodian who worked at St. Patrick’s elementary school as well as the church, was the only employee or volunteer at St. Patrick who hadn’t met the requirements for background checks set by the Diocese of Paterson for those who have contact with children.    Apparently, he avoided the background check requirement for quite some time.   This would not be the first time a convicted felon was able to put off the background check and keep working.  Sadly, their past criminal records are usually discovered after they commit a crime.

In this case, the custodian is reported to have confessed to the murder.  Morris County Assistant Prosecutor John McNamara Jr. is seeking to prove that the custodian  stabbed  the minister because the priest was preparing to fire him after learning of his criminal background.   The custodian claims he  stabbed the church minister during an argument after the priest threatened to fire him for ending a four-year sexual affair.  The county DA is buying it and considers the custodian’s account to be self serving as it would show motives base don emotion and possible provocation, rather than cold blooded murder.

Had there been the background check, perhaps this tragedy could have possibly been avoided.

Talk about  pre-employment screening and the use of credit reports has stirred up much controversy.  Some states have prohibited employers from running credit reports on prospective employment candidates unless there is a direct relation between the employment position and the reason for the credit report.   If the employment applicant is working in finance, for example, it would be okay to run the credit report.  But if the person was part of the customer service group, probably not.

Some of it is murky.  What about the non-financial employees who have access to proprietary data, client credit cards, company funds?  What about those working in inventory who may skim merchandise for sale out the back door?  All reasonable questions with no real answers. Eric Sandberg, on the Fox Business website writes,  6 Myths ABout Credit Report Checks By Employers.  In her article, Sandberg sets them up and knocks them down.

So before the rhetoric heats up too much about how it’s the employment credit reports that discriminate and keep qualified people form finding work, this is an article worth reading.

Here is the link to 6 Myths About Credit Report Checks By Employers.

There is the belief that the employment credit reports, serving as background checks, discriminate.   They discriminate because those who had a rough time during the economic downturn will find their credit diminished and will therefor find it that much harder to get a job.   There is the belief that since those in ethnic minorities often have worse credit than others, they too will suffer finding work.

The fact is that the myth of the abuse of credit reports for employment screening is just that, a myth.  The fact is that only 13% of all employers pull credit reports on all employment candidates.   There are other myths, about how bad credit is regards, whether is truly hurts your job prospects, and whether it further diminishes your credit.

Erica Sandberg, for the Fox Business News Website, posted a well thought out article entitled,  6 Myths  About Credit Report Checks By Employers.   It is well worth reading.  For those who believe background checks and employment credit reports may be the main reason they are not finding work, they should definitely read the article.  Recruiters and human resources managers should also read it.   Well worth it for the information.

Make no mistake, industrial espionage is on the rise.  That and an increase in employee theft have given more than one executive premature gray hairs.   Large multi-national corporations and smaller business entities are all vulnerable.  All you need is something the other guy wants.   It can be everything from advanced, first in your space technology to intellectual property.  It can be sensitive databases, customer rosters, proprietary data.

Call it a sign of the times or the outgrowth of a bad economy.   According to an article in Financial Times, corporate espionage can cost a company hundred of millions of dollars.  It can cost a business its dominance in the market.    Your staff, your research and development team can work so hard, spending millions and years on breakthrough technology, and all it takes for some thief or team of thieves to ruin your best efforts.  Motorola has been hit with costly corporate espionage and Renault suffered grievously when several employees allegedly pass information about the Renault electric car to different contractors.

The article in Financial Times attests that corporations are taking corporate espionage much more seriously.   As technology is the key to advancing in a competitive economy and gaining market share in global environment, those who develop that technology can fall prey to those who would rather steal that technology than develop their own.  The objective is to gain knowledge of what rivals are developing and, if possible, steal that technology.  In-house staff, of course is always the most vulnerable to bribery in exchange for stealing proprietary data.

In some cases background checks may vet out potential corporate spies and thieves.   There are various tests that can demonstrate an employment applicant who is in poor character.  We have had more than one client wish he had administered more comprehensive background checks, including character assessment checks.    In one case,  especially, key intellectual property was pilfered.

But then there are the variations in how corporate espionage is countenanced from country to country.  In China, for example, where many of the industries are state owned or state sponsored, as the article attests, there is often little penalty for committing industrial espionage against a  foreign corporation and bringing the technological spoils back to the Mainland.   For years it has been Chinese practice to gain the advantage through industrial espionage.   Back when China had scant funding for research and development, industrial spies were rewarded for their efforts.

The Financial Times article discusses “the grains of sand” or the “mosaic” principle developed almost exclusively by the Chinese for their espionage purposes.  Instead of one spy trying to capture the entire technology, China has long sent out multitudes to acquire small bits of the technology.  Each bit is patiently assembled to form the large picture.  Hence, each piece of the puzzle is a tiny grain of sand.  The assembled puzzle is the mosaic.

I am familiar with Chinese Espionage practices and industrial espionage practices in general.   My book, a roman a clef, The Guys Who Spied for China, was published in late 2009, and was a a Quarterfinalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards.   Plug.  Plug.  A roman a clef is a fictional version based on true experiences.

Anyway, as competition increases in the world, industrial espionage will be on the increase.   It will be incumbent for employers and staffing groups to conduct a variety of background checks of their employment screening purposes.  Such background checks may include the proactive assessment tests that can indicate who may be of suspicious or poor character.

Companies who wish to stay competitive must remain sentient and crackdown on those who wish to steal their intellectual property.   Once such security was an elective.  Now it is mandatory.

A recent article in Financial Chronicle reported that the Reserve Bank of India is going to conduct stringent background checks on any banks wanting to do business in that country.   Because of the financial meltdown, the RBI’s new policy will be to determine early if any banks seeking business entry into India pose financial risks.   According to the article, there are banks around the world, the United State, Europe, Japan, and China, especially, who are looking to open branches in India.

The economic meltdown has caused a slow down in the number of banks looking to open shops in India.   Many banks, as we know, got into financial trouble.   These banks cannot apply to expand services into new territories until they repay bailout money to their respective governments.

The Reserve Bank of India is demonstrating a great deal of wisdom in conducting these stringent background checks.   Are you doing the same with your business?   It is no secret that the economic downturn has caused a great many businesses to suffer financially.   Some have even closed down, while others are finding it difficult to pay their debt loads.  More than a few are having a tough time paying their debts.

Before you get involved with a business, as a client or a partner, it pays to conduct due diligence in the form of background checks and corporate research.   There are business credit reports that will demonstrate the general health of a company.   These are tools that can be used for pricing that is cost effective, even nominal.   Considering the losses you may face, the ounce of prevention is far more easy than confronting the pound of cure.

Check them out before you do business.  It’s the smart thing to do.

Two famous men are quoted as having proclaimed, “Neither a Borrower or Lender Be.”    One was the bard, William Shakespeare.  The other was Ben Franklin, one of America’s founding fathers, inventor, publisher, scientist and bon vivant.   So here two respected  men living more than a century and a half and an ocean apart, declared with equal fervor, don’t borrow or lend money, or you will regret it.

Of course in their day,  the world economy was an entirely different phenomenon.   A couple, few centuries conducting background checks and business research had its limitations.   Surely, you could ask around if your borrower or lender was in your proximity, but in the global economy, your lender or borrow may be thousands of miles away.    You need information about them.  You need background checks on the individuals and business credit reports for the corporation.   You need to know who you are dealing with.

Otherwise, heed Shakespeare’s words, or Franklin’s, and pay in cash.  Don’t lend money. Don’t borrow it.  Impractical?  Surely.  Improbable?  Certainly.

But pay heed to such headline grabbing fiasco’s as the two principles who founded Hermosa Beach’s Club Sushi.  right here in South California.  It was a success, or so it appeared.  So much so that other locations were planned.  One in Hollywood and one in San Diego’s Gaslamp District.  But then came trouble.  The restaurant in San Diego never opened.  The one in Hollwyood closed soon after opening.

Now two of the owners are seemingly on the lam.  They are accused of falsifying financial and credit information.    It is alleged they used their partner’s credit information, and when the economy turned they closed down and sold off all the equipment.    They are sought for questioning.    While they are innocent until proven guilty, it is safe to say they have a lot of explaining to do.

A sad story.  True.  but there are many such stories out there, especially in this rotten economy.   The story is a lot sadder, if you were the person or company that lent them money, or gave them the equipment on credit.   You don’t want to be that guy.

So conduct corporate research on anyone you are considering doing a venture with.  If you are borrowing money or lending it, run background checks on the principals of the company as well as business credit reports on the company itself.    The few bucks you spend for the ounce of prevention corporate research can afford you is well worth your peace of mind.  Or you could heed the words of William Shakespeare and Ben Franklin, neither a borrow or lender be.   But that was their world and this is the global economy.   That sage wisdom is not the way you can do business today.  So do the diligence.

Check them out before you do business.

Many great businesses started from modest beginnings.   If America is nothing else, it is the place where someone with an idea and a chocolate chip cookie can grow into a major franchise.   In the case of Tariq Farid, featured in Inc.Com,  he started out only wishing to sell fresh fruit artistically shaped like flower bouquets.    A good idea, a lot of work,  some cost cutting experiments, and  his Edible Arrangements was off to a running start.  By the second year his revenue doubled.

Eight months from the inception of Edible Arrangements, someone approached Tariq around franchising.   According to the article, which I urge everyone to read, Tariq said franchising your business is far different than expanding your own chain.   He attributes part of his success by the way to hiring a creative designer for just the right logo.   Very important.

We are happy for Tariq’s success.   Edible Arrangements is the perfect example as to what can be done with innovation, initiative, and even a modest amount of investment capital.   His story is especially inspiring at a time when the economic downturn has forced many employees to be laid off from their jobs.   Many start thinking about the different ways to make a living, and of course the most desirable is to start their own business.

I would encourage anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit, hidden or otherwise, to have a go at it.   But aside, from innovation, creativity, and all the rest, you have to be careful in today’s economic climate.    While most businesses are eager to partner with  a talented and competently run business, either as a vendor or a client, there are predators out there.  This rough economy brings them out of the woodwork or out from under the rock, wherever they lay in waiting.

Be sure your suppliers can continue to provide you with the necessary goods and services.  Make sure they are on solid ground, financially, and that their reputations are such that you would be at a disadvantage in doing business with them.   As for your prospective clients, if you don’t know them, check them out as well.   Often the good news is that you got a new client.   The bad news is you only got them because they had burned all their bridges and you were their last resort.

There are a variety of corporate background checks that constitute business research.   There are bankruptcies, liens, and judgments records, comprehensive background searches on the key individuals, and business credit reports.    There are corporate records searches you can run, as well as county criminal and county civil searches to check on pending criminal cases or pending lawsuits.   Federal Criminal and Civil Searches are important if you are dealing with a financial entity.

It’s a modest investment to help assure you are protected from the predators and scam artists who lurk among the honest business people.  So be bold, be creative, and be bold.   But look around for the minefields that can damage even the best of efforts, and the nasty little creatures who are determined to thrust sticks into your bicycle spokes just when you hit top speed.   Check them out before you do business.

The economic downturn has instituted changes in the trucking and transportation industry.   Where once upon a time the trucking industry could rely on the insurance companies to run its Motor Vehicle Driving Records (MVR) this is no longer the case.   Insurance companies, presumably in an effort to cut expenses have been delegating that responsibility to the trucking companies themselves.

It is essential that trucking and transport companies and for that matter any company that has commercial drivers to comply with Department of Transportation (DOT) compliance standards.   This means a periodic review of all drivers and the background checks that reflect a valid drivers license, good health–The DOT Physical Exam–and the necessary DOT drug testing.    The DOT Physical Exam is only good for two years and then the driver must be reexamined.

It is growing increasingly necessary for trucking and transportation companies to find a background screening company that can conduct the DOT Compliance review for each and every driver, regardless of their geographic location.    By not doing so, a trucking company risks not being in compliance with the DOT.   There is the risk that the drivers may be in poor health, having substance abuse issues, or, often enough, their driving license has been suspended or revoked for serious infractions.

Check them out before you hire.