EmployeeScreenIQ Blog

We just released a  new white paper which examines the risks of judging job candidates by Facebook: Social networks – what you know can hurt you.

This new article from background screening provider EmployeeScreenIQ uncovers:

• • • • • The dangers of over-reliance on social networking to find candidates
        • Horror stories such as Stacey, the Drunken Pirate
        • Legal and ethical issues and the appearance of discrimination
        • Legally-defensible alternative programs

Sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook offer new ways to find job candidates and build relationships. However, employers who rely too much on social networks face legal and ethical dangers… because in the world of social network recruiting, what you know may actually hurt you.

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A tragic story of workplace violence hits on Friday.  Three faculty members have been killed and three others wounded after a biology professor opened fire inside University of Alabama-Huntsville Friday.  As we entered the weekend more about Amy Bishop’s past began to surface.  From killing her brother with a shotgun twenty years ago to being investigated for a letter bomb at Harvard.

We have written extensively about the lack of proper background checks in schools and universities.  In addition, our soap box has been crushed over the past year from our almost weekly rants on preventing workplace violence.  Our current white paper on workplace violence has become a target for web searchers and has become one of our top searched stories on EmployeeScreen University.

What does this all mean?  Schools, Colleges and Universities really need to step up their screening process.  This is the second major story on workplace violence in the past few months. (Remember the Yale story?)   Would a typical background check have uncovered this tainted past? Its very hard to say because there was no actual conviction.  However, reference checks may have lead them in the right direction!

Ala. prof bemoaned tenure denial, quiet about past

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Amy Bishop kept quiet about a violent episode in her past around colleagues and students at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. But there was one personal issue she didn’t mind loudly complaining about: being denied tenure.

Still, those who knew her said the woman accused of shooting six colleagues had never suggested she might become violent. Everyone from family and friends to her students said the intelligent and at times awkward teacher seemed normal in the hours before police say she opened fire in a faculty meeting Friday afternoon, leaving three dead and three wounded.

Investigators have declined to discuss a motive, but Bishop didn’t hide her displeasure over the fact she’d been denied tenure — a type of job-for-life security afforded to academics.

Bishop was up front about the issue, often bringing it up in meetings where the subject wasn’t appropriate, said William Setzer, chairman of the department of chemistry.

“In committee meetings, she didn’t pretend that it wasn’t happening or anything,” Setzer said. “She was even loud about it: That they denied her tenure and she was appealing it, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.”

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The folks at Talent Management Magazine just published a position paper we wrote on the use of social networking sites to conduct employment background checks, entitled “Life is Not an Open (Face)book“.  I’ve posted an excerpt below.

Social networks and other online media offer a seemingly easy way to weed out poor candidates. But when brand image, legal liability and top talent are at stake, there is no substitute for solid employee screening practices.

It’s a hard reality every hiring manager these days knows well: More people are vying for fewer jobs. Applicants pad their resumes even during economic booms, so the temptation to embellish one’s experience, abilities and credentials — and downplay drug charges or other criminal history — is even greater now.

Background screening has never been more critical, but the methods used are particularly important in this digital age. Some screening methods could expose an organization to legal liability, lost business or brand damage.

Social Media: Screening Friend or Foe?

Back in the day, hiring managers checked applicant references, maybe even took the extra step to verify college degrees, and the rest was up to a background screening partner. But the advent of social media sites has opened the door to a whole new kind of applicant screening.

CareerBuilder publishes an annual study on social network use among recruiters. In 2008, 22 percent of hiring managers were looking on social media sites — including Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs — as part of their research and screening efforts. In 2009, that number jumped to 45 percent. An additional 11 percent intended to start using social media sites for screening.

There are three challenges that arise from this trend.

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Did you know that each year over two million incidents of workplace violence occur in the United States, costing businesses $70 billion annually, yet over 70 percent of U.S. companies have no policy or formal program to address employee violence.?

EmployeeScreenIQ has just released a free white paper, “Violence in the Workplace” that offers a road map to identify the warning signs of a potential threat and to diffuse problems before they escalate.

Despite high-profile shootings such as the Fort Hood massacre and other workplace incidents, most employers fail to address the problem until after an incident has taken place.  Too often, workplace violence is regarded as part of the job and little is done to eliminate it.

The article also includes:

The complimentary copy of “Violence in the Workplace” can be downloaded by visiting http://www.employeescreen.com/workplace_violence.asp.

On January 20, 2010, EmployeeScreenIQ will sponsor an online panel discussion about workplace violence, featuring leading experts in the HR industry. For details on speakers and to pre-register, visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/876116937.

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We just published a magazine compilation of our quarterly background screening newsletter, The Verifier.  This edition features our best background check articles from 2009.  Check out the intro below.  Hyperlinks-a-plenty for your free download (no registration required).

Download Your Copy of The Verifier

A special e-magazine from EmployeeScreenIQ explores the complex world of background screening

Hiring controversies, screening providers, credit reports… the world of employee background screening is complex, important, and always changing. That’s why EmployeeScreenIQ is releasing a special edition of its quarterly e-newsletter The Verifier. The best stories of 2009 are gathered into a complimentary online magazine, with articles presented in a stylish and attractive design.

The Verifier’s story topics include:

• How another company’s downsizing impacts your hiring initiatives.
• Expediting background checks through electronic signatures.
• Credit reports – A window to the soul?
• Employment verifications: Less may no longer be more.
• Hiring modules that sabotage the hiring process.
• Top trends for 2010: Hiring controversies, social networking, falsified resumes, and more.

Download your “Best of 2009″ edition of the Verifier at no charge by clicking here.

To be added to The Verifier’s ongoing distribution list, click here.

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They’re lurking in your mailbox – as many as 17 a day, or 70 a week. They are diploma mills, insidious companies that offer academic degrees and diplomas with little or no academic study and without recognition by legitimate educational bodies.

They feed on job applicants who will do anything to enhance their resume. Cheap, easy, and fast is their mantra, and their popularity is exploding in today’s marketplace. Employers that don’t act quickly face financial loss, litigation, and loss of reputation.

Read EmployeeScreenIQ’s new article, The Growing Threat of Diploma Mills, to learn about:
• The cost of diploma mill fraud
• Where the diploma mills are located
• How to determine a phony diploma
• Stacking the odds in your favor

The Growing Threat of Diploma Mills is required reading for employers who need to know whether a candidate is the answer to their prayers… or a product of smoke and mirrors.

Also, check out the video below which highlights just how easy it was for EmployeeScreenIQ president and COO Jason B. Morris to get a fake degree.

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We just posted a great new research paper on employeescreen University about a disturbing trend we’ve noticed when conducting verification of past employers.  Our Vice President of Quality Service, Kevin Bachman explains how  job applicants and prospective employers are being hurt by organizations who have downsized and cannot or do not respond to verification requests in a timely manner.

See excerpt below:

How Another Company’s Downsizing Negatively Affects Your Hiring Initiatives

by Kevin Bachman

In today’s economic climate, companies that can hire have a distinct advantage. As unemployment soars, talented employees are available simply as a result of corporate downsizing. Individuals that were nowhere to be found at 4% unemployment are abundant at 8%. Trusted with conducting the employment verifications, a screening partner plays a vital role supporting these talent acquisition initiatives. As healthy companies position themselves for an economic upturn, it is necessary to validate whether the qualifications of the star performer who fell in their laps are true.

Here’s where things are beginning to get dicey. With the increase in organizations that are downsizing, we are finding an alarming trend. Often, these organizations are no longer adequately staffed to be able to provide verifications in a timely manner, if at all for former employees. It makes sense this function would be lost on the cutting room floor. It doesn’t add any value to the company and can be a time drain. Employees are encouraged to focus on tasks that help make money or cut costs. And providing dates of employment, job titles or the salary does neither.

So as companies refocus their efforts, employeescreenIQ anticipates a further shift in personnel, human resources, and accounting departments. In honor of the typical experiences of the door to door encyclopedia salesman, here’s how the employment verifier could soon be as rare as a shelf full of Britannica’s.

Download the full white paper

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The new FTC Identity Theft “Red Flags” guidelines take affect on November 1, 2008.  Are you aware of your obligations under these new provisions?  If your organization conducts background checks, these regulations affect you.  All users of consumer reports must implement procedures to deal with any notices of address discrepancies they receive from a nationwide consumer reporting agency (mainly credit bureaus such as Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). These policies and procedures must be designed to help the user confirm that the consumer report and the consumer match.

If you weren’t aware of these guidelines or how to comply, you’ve come to the right place.  We just produced a free webinar with Seyfarth Shaw labor and employment attorney, Pam Devata.

The webinar can be downloaded by clicking here.  Simply fill out the information requested and you’re good to go.

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We’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple of months talking about diploma mills and how job applicants are using fraudulent degrees to gain employment, promotions, incentive pay, etc.  and we thought it made sense to assemble a resource for employers to use when evaluating academic credentials.

Therefore, we have published a White Paper entitled “Known Diploma Mills Resource Guide” which is available to download by clicking here.  We hope that you don’t mind providing some basic information in exchange for this invaluable guide which includes a list of Known Diploma Mills, a list of Unapproved Accrediting Organizations and a guide to identify approved accrediting organizations.  Any organization who verifies their applicants’ educational background can benefit.

Check it out.

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California has always been years ahead of other states when it comes to protecting employee rights.  Some of their mandates are outright scary for employers….but in the end everyone complies.  The concepts are usually very simple, their execution is sometimes rather difficult.  This one is easy; employers must provide a safe working environment for their employees.  Step number one, do a background check.  Not knowing who your employees are is a recipe for disaster.  These workplace mandates are the closest thing to a law requiring background checks and employment screening we have ever seen! (Shameless plug – See our recent white paper on workplace violence)

Violence prevention is the law

California employers are legally required to provide a safe and healthful work environment for their employees.

As part of their efforts to maintain such an environment, employers should establish a workplace violence prevention policy that educates employees on the illegality of acts of violence or threats of violence against employees in the workplace. The policy should also explain what constitutes unacceptable behavior and consequences for such behavior. One of the most important elements in any prevention plan is a zero-tolerance policy for threats, harassment, intimidation, violent acts and weapons possession.

If, in spite of all efforts to provide a safe and healthful workplace, an employee becomes a victim of unlawful violence or credible threats of violence while at work, the employee can request the employer to obtain a temporary restraining order on his or her behalf to protect the employee from the violent person.

The California Code of Civil Procedure offers the following definitions in this situation:

“Unlawful violence” is any assault, battery or stalking, as defined in the California Penal Code.

“Course of conduct” is a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over a period of time, however short, that show consistent purpose, including following or stalking an employee to or from work; entering the workplace; following an employee during hours of employment; making telephone calls to an employee; or sending correspondence to an employee by any means, including, but not limited to, the use of the public or private mails, interoffice mail, fax, or computer e-mail.

In order to obtain a restraining order, the acts or threats of violence must be reasonably likely to be carried out, or have been carried out, in the workplace; however, they need not be committed by a co-worker. Anyone who acts against or threatens an employee in the workplace is in violation of the law and can be subject to a restraining order.

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