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Five Defining Characteristics of Great CEOs

by: Jan B. King

1. Personal insight - Great CEOs are great leaders. They know themselves andwhat they stand for. They have been called on all their lives as problem solvers

because others know them to be fair and impartial. People respect their opinions andlook to them for guidance. Great CEOs are mature as people. They can suffer

disappointment more gracefully than others and give others credit for theirachievements.

They don’t come in the office door yelling for something they need. They aren’t asconcerned about titles or power structures as they are about the welfare of those

who work at the company. They are trustworthy because they’ve always been honestwith people and have earned that trust.

They care about families, and they know that people are more important than dollarsand express it in their actions every day. Finally, great CEOs seek out feedback. They

want to know how others see them so that they can understand themselves betterand continue to grow as people.

They also want feedback about the company from an employee perspective, andthey use surveys as a starting point for creating a dialogue to make things better.

2. Resourcefulness - Great CEOs seem to have boundless energy. They come towork with the greatest enthusiasm. Even when they don’t feel like it, they find ways

to reenergize themselves and come in ready to go.

They take good care of themselves physically and emotionally so that they can be

there for the employees and the needs of the company. They give much more than

they take every day. They don’t give up. If the wall is too high, they back down andfind another way around. They don’t blame, but they do look for solutions to

problems so that those problems are less likely to happen again.

3. Courage - The CEO has one of the world’s toughest jobs. No matter how tough itwas to start the company, it’s even harder to keep it going and growing. A CEO must

decide what he or she stands for and do what is right, all the time.

It takes courage to fire the salesperson responsible for the company’s biggest, most

lucrative account when that same salesperson drives a company car drunk andcauses an accident.

There will be many times when CEOs will want to smooth over something thatrequires decisive action because of the potential consequences or because they just

can’t take on one more challenge at the moment. However, CEOs who exercise poor

moral judgment will lose their personal integrity with all of their employees watching.

4. Willingness to look at risk - A great CEO isn’t afraid to look at the downsideand answer the hard questions he or she hopes will never become a reality. The CEO

needs a backup plan—one that is designed by looking at the company’s worst-casescenarios.



This plan addresses questions such as: What if your industry experiences a slump?What if new governmental regulations affect your business? What if you lose the

client that accounts for 50 percent of your sales? Preparing yourself and yourcompany for these eventualities may be the difference between a tough year or two

and bankruptcy.

If you are in business for 20 years, some of your worst-case scenarios will probablyhappen. The key is to be ready and able to take immediate action to reduce the loss.

5. Foresight - It seems some CEOs have an uncanny ability to predict the future.They may have unusual insights into their particular markets, and luck may play a

part as well. In addition, they are prepared to create their own luck by cultivating an

ability to see opportunities for their company and to make the deals that convertthose opportunities into realities.

Some things that may seem like amazing foresight are actually the result of the hardwork and discipline it takes to constantly look forward to build a successful company.

Great CEOs must also constantly develop new products to build and retain a

customer base.

Foresight is also the ability to hire and retain the right people, looking ahead towardthe growth of the company. Finally, over time, each company must develop a steady

source of business during both good economic times and bad, because there are sureto be bad economic times during the life of a business.

Is being an entrepreneur for you? As an entrepreneur , there is no way to eliminate all the risks associated with startinga small business. However, you can improve your chances of success with good

planning and preparation. A good starting place is to evaluate your strengths and

weaknesses as the owner and manager of a small business. Consider each of thefollowing thoughts:

Are you a self-starter?

It will be up to you, not someone else telling you, to develop projects, organize yourtime and follow through on details.

How well do you get along with different personalities?

Business owners need to develop working relationships with a variety of people

including customers, vendors, staff, bankers and professionals such as lawyers,

accountants or consultants. Can you deal with a demanding client, an unreliablevendor or cranky staff person in the best interest of your business?

How good are you at making decisions?

Small business owners are required to make decisions constantly, often quickly,under pressure, and independently.

Do you have the physical and emotional stamina to run a business?



Business ownership can be challenging, fun and exciting. But it's also a lot of work.Can you face 12hour work days six or seven days a week?

How well do you plan and organize?

Research indicates that many business failures could have been avoided through

better planning. Good organization of financials, inventory, schedules, productioncan help avoid many pitfalls.

Is your drive strong enough to maintain your motivation?

Running a business can wear you down. Some business owners feel burned out by

having to carry all the responsibility on their shoulders. Strong motivation can makethe business succeed and will help you survive slowdowns as well as periods of

burnout.

How will the business affect your family?

The first few years of business startup can be hard on family life. The strain of anunsupportive spouse may be hard to balance against the demands of starting a

business. There also may be financial difficulties until the business becomes

profitable, which could take months or years. You may have to adjust to a lowerstandard of living or put family assets at risk.

Marketing >> Business Basics >> Entrepreneur

Editors Note: Business ethics takes on an entirely new meaning with the major corporate scandals of the pastfew years. Business ethics are closely examined by the media. But more importantly, business ethics are now amajor focus of consumers that you do business with.

Small businesses are not immune from business ethics scrutiny. Establishing a formal ethics program is not only

good for public perception, it helps to lay the groundwork for the kind of company you want and what is expectedfrom your employees.

How to Build a Business Ethics Program

by: Chris Anderson

Recent corporate financial scandals have highlighted the importance of business

ethics and legal compliance. Yet a recent National Association of Corporate Directors(NACD) survey of 280 corporate CEOs and directors found that "only one of three

directors felt that they were highly effective in ensuring legal compliance".

Building an Ethics and Compliance Program

Most companies realize that they need to develop and implement a business ethics

and compliance program.

An effective business ethics program can:

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• Establish a code of conduct that reduces risk of criminal behavior

• Detect wrongdoing, foster quick investigations, minimize consequences

• Demonstrate company’s ethical/legal philosophy during an investigation

• Reduce fines if company is found guilty of wrongdoing

• Enhance company reputation and stature

Looking at the Options

But how do you build an effective program? Companies find themselves with three

options to build the program:

• Develop in-house from scratch

• Hire an external consultant

• Use a pre-written manual

And most of these companies learn a few lessons - sometimes the hard way.

Making a Strong Decision

Developing a program from scratch can be very time consuming and costly. Also, the

company might not have the knowledge or understanding of the complexity involved.But hiring an external consultant is not always a cost effective option either. So

what’s left?

Developing Your Ethics Program

By using a pre-written template or manual, many companies have found it easier to

develop their business ethics program. And to do this, they look for what a strongprogram needs.

A highly effective tool for creating, organizing and implementing a sound business

ethics and compliance program should provide:

• Sample policies and procedures

• Step-by-step instructions for the development of a program

• A business ethics training program outline with classroom materials and a

detailed session leader’s guide

• Business ethics and compliance officer position description

• Templates for employee involvement

• Sample code of conduct

Implementing Your Ethics Program

If the company board has committed to a strong business ethics and compliance

program, the next step is to put the manual in the hands of corporate executivesresponsible for implementation. Used properly under advice of legal counsel, this

efficient tool will yield a solid program that the board can understand, endorse, andmonitor for effectiveness.



With step-by-step guidelines and accompanying examples of policies, procedures,training program, and employee survey, an effective tool provides an excellent road

map for implementing an ethics and compliance initiative.

Maintaining a Culture of Integrity

Companies should make certain that their ethics compliance manual provides fully

editable MS Word files with sample policies, surveys, forms and training sessionoutlines. Also, businesses should ensure their ethics compliance system manual is

fully endorsed by The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) as a tool tomaintain a culture of integrity.

About The Author

Chris Anderson has over 18 years of sales, marketing and business management experience working withbusiness process design, software and systems engineering. He is also co-author of policies and proceduresmanual products, producing the layout, process design and implementation to increase performance. He is

currently the Managing Director of Bizmanualz, Inc.

Is Your Company Growing Fast Enough for You?

by: Chris Anderson

Are you frustrated by the lack of growth in your firm, or the effort required to

squeeze any up-tick in performance? Are inadequate policies and procedures a rootcause? To find out, take this simple self assessment to see if this may be inhibiting

real growth at your company.

Q. Can you take an extended vacation without the company falling apart?

A. If you answered “no” then you have a job and not a business. A business must

have a system of standard operating procedures to ensure the work gets donecorrectly, even in your absence.

Q. Can your company handle a ramp-up in sales and production?

A. Hidden inefficiencies are often revealed when sales and production increase. If lowturns on accounts receivable and inventory, long sales or production cycles starve

your cash flow, then something is wrong. Your policies and procedures shoulddocument cycle times for your critical operating metrics.

Q. Can you effectively add more people to your organization?

A. Hiring people is simple compared to ensuring they know what to do and have theresources to accomplish their job. Policies and procedures provide the framework for

a management system to oversee new employees and communicate who does what

by when.

Q. Does opening a new branch office, plant or facility create havoc?



A. Expanding your operations to new locations will test the limits of your policies andprocedures. Did you know that franchises are four times more likely to survive than

a start-up primarily because they have a well defined operations manual? Are yourunning your business like franchises run theirs?

Q. Is your family happy with your work life? If your business demands too many

hours, too much stress, and too little quality time with your family and friends, thenyou should do something about it. A well defined system of standard operatingprocedures can allow you take a vacation without worry, increase sales with ease,

add people to fill demand, and open new offices without trouble. Then your familywill be the happiest on the block.

Marketing >> Business Management >> Business Growth

About The Author

Chris Anderson has over 18 years of sales, marketing and business management experience working withbusiness process design, software and systems engineering. He is also co-author of policies and proceduresmanual products, producing the layout, process design and implementation to increase performance. He is

currently the Managing Director of Bizmanualz, Inc.

Visit: http://www.bizmanualz.com/?src=ART37

Do You Make These Ten Management Mistakes?

by: Chris Anderson

As a busy executive, you face some extremely difficult challenges like creating and

dominating new markets or finding and keeping the best people. But then, like many

executives, do you find yourself spending too much time solving everyday problems(that only you can solve, right?), which prevent you from growing your idealbusiness?

Most managers find themselves spending 80% or more of their time “reacting” tobusiness events and very little time in preventing those same events from occurring

again. If this sounds familiar then you may be making some of these managementmistakes:

1. Do you have a compelling vision for your company, that projects a

remarkable future, but few of your employees have heard of it or couldexplain it if asked?

2. Do you have a company mission that addresses your customer needsyet your operations fail to measure your progress towards your mission?

3. Do your objectives focus on increasing revenue and profitability whileyour assets are performing poorly, generating negative cash flows, or

encumbered by debt to create the profit?

4. Do you talk a lot about your employees (positive or negative) withoutnoting what your employee turnover or performance metrics are for your

industry?


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5. Do you spend a lot of time working IN your business on tactics yet failto spend a greater amount of time working ON your business to define

your strategy, performance metrics, and real resource needs?6. Do you have regular interactions with employees yet fail to

communicate the status of objectives, financials, or metrics?7. Do you make money available for training yet fail to measure how that

training helps your company achieve its goals?8. Do you constantly strive to improve your company’s performance yet

fail to compare your performance against external benchmarks forsuccess?

9. Do you believe that your customers, employees, and vendors all loveyour company yet you have no process for measuring their satisfaction on

an on-going basis?10.Do you produce forecasts and budgets yet fail to achieve the agreed

upon goals or learn from the experience to improve in the future.

Daily operational issues eat up much of a manager’s time. Too much for most

managers. But by reversing this trend, you will have the opportunity to correct thosemistakes and build a superior organization that keeps your best people, increases

revenue and increases margins.

Start by examining how to remove yourself from your business. Look at automating

or outsourcing tasks you perform now. Any task that falls within the tacticaloperation of your business should be transferred to another person.

If automating or outsourcing is not an option then move the responsibility down theorganization and train your employees to take over those tasks. Most employees are

quite capable once they have been properly trained and given enough time tobecome proficient.

Continuous improvement beats delayed perfection.

The business is not about the founder, executive or management that has moreexperience, thinks they are the smartest or can do the best job. A business is aboutall of the people. In fact a business is the people.

Management’s job is strategic. Manager’s must focus on the vision, mission andobjectives of the organization. Then deploy the resources to see the work gets done.

Then measure, monitor and communicate the results so that everyone has theinformation they need to improve their performance.

Management job is to do the strategic work and not to do the tactical work or else

who is doing the managers job? The workers cannot.

Marketing >> Business Management >> Management Mistakes

About The Author

Chris Anderson has over 18 years of sales, marketing and business management experience working withbusiness process design, software and systems engineering. He is also co-author of policies and proceduresmanual products, producing the layout, process design and implementation to increase performance. He iscurrently the Managing Director of Bizmanualz, Inc.







Visit: http://www.bizmanualz.com/?src=ART37

How Managers Can Help Retain Their Best Employees

by: Susan Cullen

A major problem for employers today is attracting the best talent, and then retaining

key employees. Research shows that the key ingredient for retention lies within themanager’s ability to understand what employees really want.

The survey results below first came out in 1946 in Foreman Fact, from the LaborRelations Institute of NY and was produced again by Lawrence Lindahl in Personnel

magazine in 1949. This study has since been replicated with similar results by KenKovach (1980); Valerie Wilson, Achievers International (1988); Bob Nelson,

Blanchard Training & Development (1991); and Sheryl & Don Grimme, GHR TrainingSolutions (1997-2001).

Pay particular interest to the top three things managers thought employees wantfrom their jobs, and then look at what employees said they REALLY want:

WHAT MANAGERS THINK EMPLOYEES WANT, starting with the most important:

1. Good wages

2. Job Security

3. Promotion and growth opportunities4. Good working conditions

5. Interesting work

6. Personal loyalty to workers

7. Tactful discipline8. Full appreciation for work done9. Sympathetic understanding of personal problems

10.Feeling “in” on things

WHAT EMPLOYEES SAY THEY WANT, starting with the most important:

1. Full appreciation for work done2. Feeling “in” on things

3. Sympathetic understanding of personal problems4. Job security

5. Good wages6. Interesting work

7. Promotion and growth opportunities8. Personal loyalty to workers

9. Good working conditions

10.Tactful discipline

You can see there is quite a discrepancy. This indicates the value of the “intangiblerewards” of appreciation, involvement and understanding. An important benefit is





that the top 3 things employees want are all influenced by the relationship with theirdirect manager or supervisor.

Show your employees you truly value them, and never underestimate how importantyou are in maintaining a strong workforce and retaining your best talent!

Marketing >> Business Management >> Retaining Your Best Employees

About The Author

How to Fire an Employee

by: Christoph Puetz

One of the most difficult tasks you will face as a business owner will be firing employees. Emploconsistently break the rules, do not perform the functions of their job, or cause difficulties for yo

be a strain on the work environment, your cash flow, and even disrupt your business from thrivperforming as expected. This tutorial will give you steps and hints about firing employees or ass

Document, Document, Document

The first step in preparing when letting go an employee is to make sure you have all the docum

need. When you give verbal warnings, be sure to document them properly. Make a case for this by documenting everything you did before making the decision of releasing the employee. Anyth

that you tried to solve things to the better.

Your business should have a well documented procedure for what it expects from employees an

considered grounds for immediate dismissal. Be sure to use these as guidelines and consult withexperienced in HR questions if necessary.

Witnesses

Have a friend, family member, or business partner be there to assist in any paperwork and any

from the employee. Not only does this representative help with anything you might forget, theywitness if any lawsuit arises. This will be difficult for either one of you but in the end it will be w

effort.

"I've been fired, but why?"

Explain to the employee the performance you have expected, the steps you have taken to help

performance, and that he/she has not met them. Do not say more than you have to, just state being dismissed and fill out any exit paperwork.

If you are upset, cool down before talking to them. If you have to fire somebody over the phoneshe is in a different location advice the employee that you have somebody with you listening to Make it very clear that you are in control and prepared.

Establish Exit Procedures

Make sure you backup any important files before firing the employee and take steps to lock thecomputer system. Change all passwords but make sure the employee does not realize that befo


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moment of truth. It is also recommended that you fire someone on a Monday and not on a Frida

Employees fired on Fridays have the whole weekend to stew, while those fired on Mondays usua

upbeat because they have the week ahead of them. Be sure to explain when the last paycheck ibenefits terminate, and any information regarding extending their health coverage or any other

applies to your situation).

Remember to keep the meeting short and to the point. Explain to the other team members that

individual without going into too many details. They do not need to know all the details but you sure that they understand that this was not a personal dispute between you and the employee f

employees to be honest to when disagreeing on something and not scared to get fired.

When a new potential employer calls you for a reference, remember to just state the title and d

employment. Specify that you are not able to provide any further information. Advice your remathat your business policies specify that all calls for references have to go through HR (you?) or y

Document again how the complete process of firing went, what the employee had to say and wh

Marketing >> Business Management >> How To Fire Employees

About The Author

Christoph Puetz is a successful small business owner (Net Services USA LLC) and international author.

Guides, Tutorials, and Articles for small businesses - http://www.smallbusinessland.com.

Payroll services provide one alternative to one of the biggest headaches for most

small business owners, managing their payroll and the forms and deposits that gowith it. Payroll services monitor employment and payroll laws, often bring in

experts when there are questions about new laws such as the recently passedovertime changes.

Payroll services are just one step short of Human Resource (HR) Management.When you subscribe to a payroll service, you still remain the employer of those that

work for you. It’s just that the payroll services manage the day-to-day operations of paying your employees and keeping you out of trouble with the various tax

departments.

You can often find payroll services for a cost of between $2-10 per employee for

small businesses per transaction. Therefore, if you pay weekly, your grosstransaction costs will cost you twice as much as if you pay every other week. Be

sure to shop around for prices.

Payroll services typically provide the following services:



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• Payroll processing which includes calculations of the paychecks, management

of the data, withdrawal of payroll funds from your account and summaryinformation for you. In many cases, you can view this information online as

well.

• W2 and Form 1099 processing and administration at the end of the year

• Check signing and stuffing, ready for handing out to your employees

• Delivery service to your door

• Direct deposits to your employees bank accounts

• Payroll tax administration

Marketing >> Employment & Employers >> Payroll Services

Are you in AWE of your Employees?

by: Jan B. King

Employers have become so concerned about seeming “unfair” or worse becoming thevictims of lawsuits by unhappy ex-employees that they’ve stopped requiring

minimum standards of employees.

This can only lead to poor individual and eventually poor company performance. Your

best employee performers will resent the fact that you use company money to pay

people who aren’t up to standard and will reduce their own level of performance orleave.

Take back the power in your workplace and set standards of performance. How tofairly assess each of your employees? I use a simple three part measurement tool

with the acronym AWE or Able – Willing – Engaged.

Is the Employee Able?

This is the minimum standard of employment or continued employment. Does theemployee have the basic job skills? Does he or she also have the people skills to be

able to work effectively? Does the employee have family or personal issues that

make it impossible for the employee to work the expected hours?

Does the employee have any emotional or physical health issues that make itimpossible to do the job effectively? Is he or she lacking any problem attitudes, such

as racism or sexism that make them unable to be open to customer or co-workerinteractions.


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If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you should move the employee toanother job where the issues aren’t going to affect their competency or transition

them out of the company.

Is the Employee Willing?

The next level up that is also a make or break issues – is the employee willing to do

the work available? Does the employee seem happy to be at work? Does he or shegenuinely care about the welfare of customers, co-worker, and the company in

general?

Does the employee get to work well-rested and prepared so that he or she is able to

be fully present and concentrate? Does the employee gracefully take on assignedtasks? Does the employee arrive at meetings on time and prepared? Is the employee

open to dialogue and answering questions related to his or her work?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, there may be some resentments

that have built up meaning that the employee can do the job, but isn’t willing to give

100%.

This employee needs to have the opportunity to vent frustrations, get clearinstructions on what is expected, and then have the opportunity to recommit to the

work of the company.

If the employee remains unwilling and hinders the work of others with a poor

attitude, the employee should be transitioned out of the company.

Is the Employee Engaged?

This is the highest level of employee involvement and commitment. These are

employees who are engaged in the work of the company take initiative. They areproblem-solvers and actively work out work problems, including inter-personal

problems. They actively seek feedback about their performance.

These employees are natural leaders and will lead in a project whether or not they

have a management title – other just seem to follow them because of their

willingness to take risks or because of their demonstrated expertise. They also lookoutside the company for sources of good ideas and are always setting goals to take

their own work to the next level.

They like to learn and will look for opportunities to take on new tasks to learn newskills. These employees give 100% because they are motivated to do so internally.

It is only if a company gets in the way of superior performance that these employeeswill stop working at the highest level. If they become frustrated that management

does not support their efforts to raise the performance bar in the company, they willdisengage and eventually leave.

Final Comment



Employees who are not able to do the job shouldn’t be offered continuedemployment. If you can create open communications with employees who seem

unwilling, you can often turn around their performance. Your best point of leverage istaking employees who are willing and helping them become employees who are

engaged.

The best way to do that is to have plenty of engaged employees around. Their workbehavior can be infectious. And get out of the way of the engaged employees. Theywant room to run and will only leave if micromanaged or not allowed room to

experiment with new ideas. Follow these few simple ideas and you will be in AWE of the contributions made by your employees to the prosperity of your business.

Marketing >> Employment & Employers >> Employee Management

About The Author

Jan B. King is the former President & CEO of Merritt Publishing, one of the 50 largest woman-owned and runbusinesses in Los Angeles and the author of Business Plans to Game Plans: A Practical System for TurningStrategies into Action (John Wiley & Sons, 2004). She has helped hundreds of small businesses turn their

business plans into game plans with her book and her ebooks, The Do-It-Yourself Business Plan Workbook, andThe Do-It-Yourself Game Plan Workbook. Visit her site at www.janbking.com for more [email protected]

Performance Reviews That Actually Improve Performance

by: Jan B. King

Employee performance reviews are one of the most dreaded tasks by most

managers. It is hard to win here – you can never say enough good things, and oneword of criticism is generally the only thing they will remember.

Taking the easy way out and just documenting the positive will cause you a lot of

trouble if you ever need to fire the employee.

The only way this ever gets better is with a lot of practice, and a pretty thick skin.

Think about it this way: a bit of feedback that no one else has the guts to give a poorperformer might turn around their whole career. Deliver the negative – you have to

– but make sure the employee knows there are things they can do about it. For moreeffective performance reviews, prepare at the time of hire by giving all employees

copies of the review forms you use in their orientation packet. An employee who

knows how she will be reviewed will direct his behavior accordingly from thebeginning of his employment and will probably do all she can to be sure he has goodreviews.

In fact, an employee should have copies of all survey and review material that he will

encounter over the course of his employment. The perception is what you measure iswhat you care about. Give a description of how often you use each evaluation tool

and how. This is particularly important if your company does 360 degree

performance reviews. The purpose of reviews is not to trap employees, but to give



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them the tools to do their best for the company. Accordingly, your review formsshould be created very carefully and should cover actions specific to his skills and

responsibilities as well as his people skills with peers and subordinates.

I always do reviews in two parts. The first part is for the employee to fill out two

weeks ahead of the actual review meeting. It asks questions like these:

• What could I do to make your work more productive?

• What equipment or training do you need to do your best work that you don't

have?

• What could the company change (or add or delete) that would help you do

your work better?

• What skills and abilities do you have that you think are underutilized?

• Any other comments or opinions you would like to express?

I have always found that getting an employee to express their feelings first, not onlylets them know that you really are interested in their feedback, it also often results

in their letting you know what they think their weaknesses are – meaning you don’t

have to be the first to bring these things up.

Most employees really want to do good work. And if you think an employee isn’t

really there to do good work, you shouldn’t be reviewing them, you should be lettingthem go.

Marketing >> Employment & Employers >> Employee Performance Reviews

About The Author

Jan B. King is the former President & CEO of Merritt Publishing, one of the 50 largest woman-owned and runbusinesses in Los Angeles and the author of Business Plans to Game Plans: A Practical System for Turning

Strategies into Action (John Wiley & Sons, 2004). She has helped hundreds of small businesses turn their

business plans into game plans with her book and her ebooks, The Do-It-Yourself Business Plan Workbook, andThe Do-It-Yourself Game Plan Workbook. Visit her site at www.janbking.com for more [email protected]

Employment Screening Checks

These employment screening checks will vary in their depth and some may overlap.This is merely a list of the kinds of checks you might run:

Social Security Number Trace – Sometimes people will change names and oftendo when they get married. Any trace that is only based on the person’s current

name might not include problems from before the name change.

Criminal record check – Criminal records checks should be run on all names and in

all counties that are turned up in the Social Security Number Trace. Requestinformation available on both felony and misdemeanor convictions.











Driver’s license check – An employer that sends an unlicensed driver out onassignment, may find themselves liable if that employee has an accident. This is

especially true in cases where the employee is transporting a client. Merely lookingat the license to ensure that there are valid dates is not enough. A driver may have

a revoked or suspended license in which cases, they are not legally able to drive.

Employment verification – All employment applications require information relatedto past work history. However, it has been reported that about 40% of all workapplications and resumes contain falsified information. Since you need to be able to

trust your employees, it is recommended that you do comprehensive employmentverification before hiring anyone.

Employment verifications come in all sizes. The basic verifications generally includedates of employment, salary history, job title, and whether the employee would be

available for rehire. More extensive verifications can also include one on oneinterviews with former associates and supervisors.

Drug testing – Keep in mind that drug testing isn’t just about finding out whether

your prospective employee is partaking in recreational illegal drugs. Employees whoare on extensive pain killers or mood-altering medications can become a liability aswell. A full panel drug screen is recommended to make sure that your employee is

not going to fall asleep at the wheel or on the job because of medications that youshould have known about.

Credit history reports – Checking on your employees financial situation may soundlike a violation of their privacy to begin with. Yet this problem is solved if you have

your prospective employees sign a release before you hire them.

For many jobs, there is no reason to go this far. But remember that in the home

care business, you are sending your employees into the homes of your customers,many of whom can be too trusting, easily duped, often forgetful, and sometimes

easily confused. As the business owner, you are in fact standing behind the honestyof your employees.

When a person is faced with severe economic pressure at home, desperation can bethe trigger that causes even a normally honest person to violate a trust. More than

once, a person facing financial ruin has violated that trust in the home of a client,especially when that client is a bit confused. As the owner of the business, you can

certainly choose to fire an employee caught stealing, but the financial liability canstill rest with you because the employee was in the home as your agent.

Civil history reports – Civil actions are those that are brought against an individualfor wrongs that may or may not include criminal action. Because the standard of

proof is not as high in civil court (a preponderance of the evidence) vs. criminal court(beyond a reasonable doubt), some criminal cases may not be strong enough to

survive criminal court, yet are still won in civil court.

Other cases such as slander or libel are not criminal offenses, yet these can be

serious. If your employee slanders the competition, you as the employer can also besued. As important as it is to see if your employee was a defendant in a case, it is

just as important to see what or if they have ever been a plaintiff and what that wasabout.



Note: It is not necessarily a negative if your prospect employee has ever been incourt. It is everyone’s right to go to court when they have been mistreated and

sometimes, there are just some sincere disagreements.

The reason that you want to look at the plaintiff side is that you want to determine

whether there were one or two isolated instances or if suing people is a pattern of

behavior. If you found that they’ve sued their last four employers for the samething, you can pretty much figure what your chances are as the fifth employer.

Medicare/Medicaid fraud report – This report is especially important if yourcompany participates in either of these programs.

Professional license verification – You might be surprised how many people claim

to be licensed that are not or have had license suspensions.

Professional reference report – Perhaps not as important as others, this report

has to do with the way that professionals in the industry regard the applicant.

Sexual Offender’s Registry report – This report is obvious

Worker’s Compensation history report – Does the applicant have a history of

accidents on the job? Has there ever been a case where the applicant was caughtattempting to fake a work-related accident? This one might just be a little bit bigger

than you. Could the worker be gaining employment for the purposes of creating anaccident and then going after your client?

In most cases where you are protected by workman’s compensation insurance, this

wouldn’t be a big problem for your client. But neither would it stop them from filinga lawsuit against them.

Marketing >> Employment & Employers >> Employee Screening - Background Checks

Four Employee Behaviors That Can Kill Your Business

by: Jan B. King

I found it important to clarify for employees what “deal-breaker” behavior was at my

company. These are the things I insisted would not be tolerated and would lead toimmediate or ultimate termination, depending on the nature of the infraction of

these hard and fast rules. Here are the behaviors I would not tolerate:







1. Gossip - Rumors can be incredibly disruptive to a company. A lack of informationcan get rumors started, and frank explanations can usually stop them. However,

some employees thrive on the admiration of others when they seem to be “in theknow.”

Define gossip as clearly as you can and tell employees what you expect them to do

when they hear it. First and foremost, that you don’t repeat it. Along the same linesof gossip, remind employees that all e-mail sent or received on company computersis considered company business and not private correspondence.

2. Violence or threatening or abusive behavior - Termination should be

immediate for any employee who engages in any form of violent or abusive behavior.

Workplace violence includes threatened or actual abuse and can be verbal orphysical. These behaviors only escalate with time and are never excusable.

Any employees involved in workplace violence should leave the workplaceimmediately and be placed on a paid leave of absence for a few days while you

investigate the situation and consult with your attorney.

Don’t assume this couldn’t happen in your company—it’s estimated by the

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that two million Americansare victims of workplace violence annually.

3. Dishonesty and theft - The term theft can include the theft of time, officesupplies, and the use of office equipment for personal projects. Set standards for

what is acceptable use of company assets.

Security experts say as many as 30 percent of workers steal, resulting in an

estimated loss of $50 billion a year from U.S. companies and contributing to as manyas one-third of business bankruptcies.

As for dishonesty, I have a zero-tolerance approach. I dismissed members of myaccounting staff for what may seem to be petty reasons: one for using $5 of petty

cash as personal lunch money, another for telling me he was home sick when he wasout of state on a long weekend vacation.

If key staff members are not honest with you about small things, how can you besure they will tell the truth “when it counts?”

4. Substance abuse - Substance abuse is more rampant than most employers

know. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that from 6%

to 11% of adults are substance abusers.

Substance abuse costs U.S. employers an estimated $100 billion a year. Call your

attorney to make certain you follow the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)requirements. Illegal drugs are expensive and have led financially desperate

employees to commit fraud. They have also been implicated in violent behavior inthe workplace.



Commit to setting standards in your workplace and you will find a calmeratmosphere, less turnover, and more attention to productivity, growth, and

profitability.

Marketing >> Employment & Employers >> Employee Problems

About The Author

Jan B. King is the former President & CEO of Merritt Publishing, one of the 50 largest woman-owned and runbusinesses in Los Angeles and the author of Business Plans to Game Plans: A Practical System for TurningStrategies into Action (John Wiley & Sons, 2004). She has helped hundreds of small businesses turn theirbusiness plans into game plans with her book and her ebooks, The Do-It-Yourself Business Plan Workbook, andThe Do-It-Yourself Game Plan Workbook. Visit her site at www.janbking.com for more [email protected]

Employment Screening Checks

These employment screening checks will vary in their depth and some may overlap.This is merely a list of the kinds of checks you might run:

Social Security Number Trace – Sometimes people will change names and often

do when they get married. Any trace that is only based on the person’s currentname might not include problems from before the name change.

Criminal record check – Criminal records checks should be run on all names and in

all counties that are turned up in the Social Security Number Trace. Requestinformation available on both felony and misdemeanor convictions.

Driver’s license check – An employer that sends an unlicensed driver out on

assignment, may find themselves liable if that employee has an accident. This isespecially true in cases where the employee is transporting a client. Merely looking

at the license to ensure that there are valid dates is not enough. A driver may havea revoked or suspended license in which cases, they are not legally able to drive.

Employment verification – All employment applications require information relatedto past work history. However, it has been reported that about 40% of all work

applications and resumes contain falsified information. Since you need to be able totrust your employees, it is recommended that you do comprehensive employment

verification before hiring anyone.

Employment verifications come in all sizes. The basic verifications generally includedates of employment, salary history, job title, and whether the employee would be

available for rehire. More extensive verifications can also include one on oneinterviews with former associates and supervisors.

Drug testing – Keep in mind that drug testing isn’t just about finding out whether

your prospective employee is partaking in recreational illegal drugs. Employees whoare on extensive pain killers or mood-altering medications can become a liability as

well. A full panel drug screen is recommended to make sure that your employee is











not going to fall asleep at the wheel or on the job because of medications that youshould have known about.

Credit history reports – Checking on your employees financial situation may soundlike a violation of their privacy to begin with. Yet this problem is solved if you have

your prospective employees sign a release before you hire them.

For many jobs, there is no reason to go this far. But remember that in the home

care business, you are sending your employees into the homes of your customers,

many of whom can be too trusting, easily duped, often forgetful, and sometimeseasily confused. As the business owner, you are in fact standing behind the honesty

of your employees.

When a person is faced with severe economic pressure at home, desperation can bethe trigger that causes even a normally honest person to violate a trust. More than

once, a person facing financial ruin has violated that trust in the home of a client,especially when that client is a bit confused. As the owner of the business, you can

certainly choose to fire an employee caught stealing, but the financial liability can

still rest with you because the employee was in the home as your agent.

Civil history reports – Civil actions are those that are brought against an individualfor wrongs that may or may not include criminal action. Because the standard of

proof is not as high in civil court (a preponderance of the evidence) vs. criminal court(beyond a reasonable doubt), some criminal cases may not be strong enough to

survive criminal court, yet are still won in civil court.

Other cases such as slander or libel are not criminal offenses, yet these can beserious. If your employee slanders the competition, you as the employer can also be

sued. As important as it is to see if your employee was a defendant in a case, it is

just as important to see what or if they have ever been a plaintiff and what that wasabout.

Note: It is not necessarily a negative if your prospect employee has ever been incourt. It is everyone’s right to go to court when they have been mistreated and

sometimes, there are just some sincere disagreements.

The reason that you want to look at the plaintiff side is that you want to determine

whether there were one or two isolated instances or if suing people is a pattern of behavior. If you found that they’ve sued their last four employers for the same

thing, you can pretty much figure what your chances are as the fifth employer.

Medicare/Medicaid fraud report – This report is especially important if yourcompany participates in either of these programs.

Professional license verification – You might be surprised how many people claim

to be licensed that are not or have had license suspensions.

Professional reference report – Perhaps not as important as others, this report

has to do with the way that professionals in the industry regard the applicant.

Sexual Offender’s Registry report – This report is obvious



Worker’s Compensation history report – Does the applicant have a history of accidents on the job? Has there ever been a case where the applicant was caught

attempting to fake a work-related accident? This one might just be a little bit biggerthan you. Could the worker be gaining employment for the purposes of creating an

accident and then going after your client?

In most cases where you are protected by workman’s compensation insurance, thiswouldn’t be a big problem for your client. But neither would it stop them from filinga lawsuit against them.