Finding Work Using The Social Web

Chris Brogan is offering a free ebook, Using the Social Web to Find Work, which gives some good tips and advice on finding a job in 2009.

Here are the main topics covered:

• Make Your LinkedIn Profile Work for You
• Template for Building a Small Powerful Network
• Social Media for Your Career
• Starting Points for Online Presence
• Threading the Social Needle

Thank you Chris for sharing this timely information.

Network with me on LinkedIn.

Follow me on Twitter.

Photo Credit: martinkreyness

Amazing Christmas Lights

Hope you and your loved ones have a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!

3 Critical Reasons To Screen Health Care Employees

Hospitals and health care facilities are in a uniquely vulnerable position. The problems that are associated with making a bad hiring decision are made worse by the fact that lives are at risk every moment. Not only is a hospital’s staff exposed, but patients can literally be defenseless. It’s important that any health care employee undergoes a criminal background check. Pre-employment screening should be done for doctors, nurses, other care providers, and even a hospital’s maintenance team. Plus, the screening should be ongoing for existing staff.

Today, I’ll explain the 3 most important reasons why hospitals and health care facilities must screen candidates before hiring them.

#1 - Danger To Staff

A hospital’s staff is often busy taking care of patients. Time is limited and it’s seldom spent wondering if a co-worker can be trusted or is going to cause physical harm. If an employee is hired with a violent criminal past, the staff is extremely vulnerable. Instruments can be used violently and medications can be used to poison others.

These things have happened in the past. They’ll happen again in the future. Health care employers must minimize the risk by performing comprehensive background checks on all applicants.

#2 - Danger To Patients

A prospective employee who has been convicted of a violent or drug-related crime is particularly unsuitable for a job that places him in close proximity to patients. Their immediate access to those who are helpless exposes both the patients and the hospital to enormous risk. Hospitals and other health care providers must screen both prospective hires and existing employees to manage this risk.

#3 - Potential Lawsuits

A negligent hiring lawsuit can be expensive. If a patient or staff member suffers physically as a result of insufficient pre-employment screening, they can sue the hospital for negligent hiring. It’s not uncommon for the courts to award compensation in the millions of dollars to victims of workplace violence.

Background Checks To Minimize Hiring Risk

Every business should screen applicants and conduct background checks. Health care employers, in particular, must be diligent with the screening process in order to protect their staff and patients from harm. By searching for past criminal records, verifying past employment and licenses, and clarifying any gaps in work history, they can avoid making a disastrous hiring decision. The alternative is exposing the staff, patients, and the hospital to a hiring catastrophe.

Photo Credit: José Goulão

Why You Need To Screen Your Vendors

A lot of businesses rely on vendors to supply labor, parts, or services on an ongoing basis. But, depending upon third parties can be risky, even if necessary. If, for some reason, one of your main vendors goes out of business or conducts business in an unprofessional manner, it can expose your own company to unnecessary risk. That’s why it is imperative that you thoroughly screen each of your vendors and perform background checks on them. Today, I’ll highlight the problems that can occur if you don’t.

Vendor Screening Ensures Consistency

When your company hires vendors to supply parts or labor, you have an expectation that they will deliver consistently. If they fail, it can place your company in an awkward position. After all, any interruption in your daily operations can have a severe impact on your business. Your customers may lose faith in your ability to deliver.

By doing background checks on your vendors, you can determine how dependable they’ll be. Have they employed people who have a criminal record? Do your vendors have employees with a substance abuse problem? Have other companies filed complaints or lawsuits against your vendors? If so, why? Are any of your vendors on the brink of insolvency?

Any of these issues can have devastating results for your company. For example, a vendor who supplies important materials to your business, and files for bankruptcy, can bring your operations to a grinding halt. Or, a vendor to whom you’ve subcontracted for labor may place ex-convicts on site and expose your business to liability.

Background Checks On Vendors

Your company needs to screen vendors and conduct background checks to ensure that they are reliable, consistent, and won’t expose your company to costly lawsuits. This due diligence should include criminal checks, credit checks, a review of DMV records (if you’re hiring drivers), and verification of licenses, permits, and certifications. It is the only way to avoid hiring a vendor who may potentially lead your company toward disaster.

Establish vendor screening protocols as soon as possible. If you don’t have the hiring staff available to conduct extensive background checks on your vendors, consider partnering with an experienced screening service.

Related Posts:

• Does Your Company Do Employment Background Checks On Outside Vendors?

• Background Checks For Temporary Employees

• 4 Tips on How to Avoid Negligent Hiring Lawsuits

Photo Credit: ralphbijker

How Not To Get Fired

Chris Russell’s Secrets of the Job Hunt offers some helpful tips in his post 3 Ways NOT To Get Fired.

Other posts from Secrets of the Job Hunt:

• What To Do When “Plan A” Falls Apart

• 3 Ways To Keep The Job You Have

• Quick Tip - Use Vetting Techniques Like Obama

Photo Credit: eye of einstein

The Reality of Reference Checking

In Guy Kawasaki’s latest and greatest book, “Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition” he talks about the reality of hiring and firing.

He says “Hiring and firing are black arts for most people.  Few people are trained for hiring –instead we are led to depend on our gut.  Few people are trained for firing –instead we are led to believe that companies never make hiring mistakes and always develop their employees properly, so you’ll never have to fire anyone.  The realty is that hiring and firing are difficult processes, and this section will make you better at both.”

In the chapter on “The Art of Recruiting” he gives a good tip on reference checking.

• It goes something like this…most of us rely only on the references provided by the applicant.  We like the person and our intuition tells us they are the one.  So we only check the references provided by the applicant because “we don’t want to hear that we like a bozo.”  What we should be doing is checking independent references–at least one person they worked for and one person who worked for them.  Guy recommends using LinkedIn to find these independent references.

Great tip!  There’s something in this book for everyone.

From “Why Smart Companies Do Dumb Things” to “How to Prevent a Bozo Explosion.”

Photo Credit: Mavis

Best Employee Screening Posts For November 2008

Here’s my list of best employee screening posts for November 2008:

Diploma Mills - The New Resume Lie?

Has Your Joe The Plumber Been Checked Out?

Resume Fraud May Increase As The Economy Worsens

Is Background Screening Worth It?

4 Ways That Employee Screening Boosts Employers’ ROI

4 Common Lies Told By Job Candidates

If you missed last month’s best employee screening posts, you can find them here - Best Employee Screening Articles For October 2008.

Photo Credit: Evgeni Dinev