Blogs
HOW MUCH IS PEACE OF MIND WORTH?
/0 Comments/in blog/by Phil SharkeyBy Michael Cormier Recently, I had lunch with a friend who works in HR at a small company. Eventually, the topic of conversation got around to hiring practices versus corporate security. Meg (not her real name) gave me an earful. She told me how hard it is to keep up with all the laws regarding […]
TWO-DIMENSIONAL LIES: But He Looked Good on Paper!
/0 Comments/in blog/by Phil SharkeyBy Michael Cormier (posted by Cecilia Buckles, admin) In the world of hiring, appearance is king. Young women and men quickly learn that. They’re advised on how to dress for an interview, what to say, how to sit. Even how to shake hands: too hard is too aggressive; too soft means wimpy; firm and tight […]
PROTECTING YOUR COMPANY IN THE CYBER AGE: What You Can’t See May Be Hurting You
/0 Comments/in blog/by Phil SharkeyWritten by Michael Cormier Like Pandora’s Box, the greatest trouble sometimes leaps out of the smallest places. Take cybercrime, for instance. It seems even the most vital, highly protected information is no longer safe. This has been proven time and again by cyber thieves, who steal thousands of credit card numbers, and even hack into […]
THE MUTUAL FRUSTRATION OF THE HIRING PROCESS: Are HR Departments Going About It All Wrong?
/0 Comments/in blog/by Phil SharkeyBy Michael Cormier It’s a brand new year, and we all know what that means: time for retrospection and promises (to ourselves, anyway) of adjustment. Being in that mind frame, this might be a good time to look at a troubling trend in the world of recruitment and hiring. For lack of a better word, […]
Ban the Box: the Growing Movement to Limit Criminal Background Searches
/0 Comments/in blog/by Phil SharkeyBy Michael Cormier “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics” – Mark Twain A new phrase is sweeping the country in the debate over hiring people with a criminal past: “Ban the box.” Ban the box refers to the question on job applications asking if the candidate has […]
DOES CREDIT WORTHY = EMPLOYMENT WORTHY?
/0 Comments/in blog/by Phil SharkeyBy Michael Cormier, Attorney at Law Would you reject a job candidate who has filed for bankruptcy? Would it color your opinion of that candidate’s reliability? Sense of obligation? Morals? If you answered “Yes”, then I suggest you read on to the end of this article. The list of five people you would have rejected […]
EVERYTHING CAN LOOK GOOD ON PAPER
/0 Comments/in background screening, blog, employer liability/by Phil Sharkey(Which Is Why You Shouldn’t Believe Everything You Read) By Michael Cormier “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising” – Mark Twain When Mr. Twain gave us that bit of wisdom, he could have been talking about the job interview process. More to the point of this article, […]
A Prescription for Alcohol and Drug Testing: Do It … But Do It Right!
/0 Comments/in blog/by Phil SharkeyBy Michael Cormier, Attorney-At-Law What your employees do outside the workplace may seem like none of your business, and in most cases it isn’t. But when a worker’s extracurricular activities affect his or her performance on the job, that’s a whole different ball game. This is especially true of substance abuse: Nothing can harm a […]
Never Say Never:Why You Should Rescreen Employees Periodically
/0 Comments/in blog/by Phil SharkeyBy Michael Cormier Attorney at Law As an employer, you know why potential employees should be screened with a thorough background check before hiring: other than their resume and what they told you during the interview, you really don’t know this person. So, to round out your information, you hire a company to do […]
Blurred Lines: Contract Employee vs. Employee-At-Will
/0 Comments/in blog/by Phil SharkeyHiring employees has never been easy. It’s kind of like that box of chocolates Forrest Gump talked about: you can never be sure what you’re getting. Which is a very good reason for performing background checks on prospective employees before they become part of your company. Now, you may be thinking, “I’ll just hire on […]