Are Online Database Searches Enough?

In today’s employment environment, HR managers are faced with the monumental duty of hiring and maintaining, as well as the ongoing development, of employees. But the single most difficult task lies first in hiring the right people.

Not only are prospective employers faced with the largest available potential workforce since the Second World War, but, as things have become more sophisticated, so have the deception techniques of those who would shaft you and your company. Negligent hiring, sexual harassment, and frivolous employee lawsuits have increased sharply in recent years, as have the incidents of workers’ compensation fraud and employee theft.

What Can You Do?

In the area of hiring the most qualified candidate for the job, there are the reference checks, the employment and education verification and the background check. A good background check should include thorough candidate identification, financial and driving histories and criminal convictions at any and all court levels. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy.

Today, you must conduct as thorough a check on the company doing your screening as you would on screening your candidates. Why? As mentioned, a lot of little companies have sprung up touting the wonders of overnight background checks, some of which could be illegal. A number of these firms, which rely upon database research to compile the background data, without so much as a verification of the information, discovered.

Case in point. A well-known HMO recently settled out of court with a group of families, two of whom suffered the loss of their mothers because a psychopathic orderly took it upon himself to call patients and tell them that they had cancer. Two women committed suicide and fourteen others sought serious psychiatric help to get them through the problems that didn’t really exist.

Yes, the HMO did indeed do a background check – one that was low-cost and was ordered on a computer screen. No record was found, and the candidate was hired. No one took the time to learn that this individual had just been released from prison in Massachusetts one year before for doing the same thing at a Boston-area hospital. In this case, the HMO saved a few dollars on the background, but the result was a $14 million settlement!

When hiring a background check firm, look for stability, longevity, a good track record, and one that isn’t afraid to refer you to any of its clients. Look for professional memberships, and above all, find out how they do their criminal conviction research. If they do it by database or computer, you could be better off if you stay away.

Build Your Online Database

Anyone who depends on building a database with online subscribers knows this is becoming more difficult by the day. Primarily, the competition for the consumer’s attention is fierce. Today’s consumer has become much more demanding and savvy when it comes to buying products online or signing up for “stuff.”

Smart marketers realize the power and profit that comes from a strong alliance through joint venturing. JV’s can be one of the smartest marketing moves any online marketer can make.

Something that has become very popular in recent months is where one person or company sweetens the offer of the product they are selling with lots of bonuses. The bonuses can be their own information products or those of others who understand the benefits of this type of campaign. Of course, there is no charge for the bonus products.

There are two primary ways to participate in a JV of this nature. One is to simply give the PDF file to the person who is selling a product. The seller gives the PDF directly to the buyer. The advantage to this is your bonus product gets seen by others. The disadvantage is you don’t get access to the buyer’s contact information.

The other option is to require anyone who buys a product to go to a link provided by the bonus giver. The link is connected to a page with a form that the consumer fills out. They must leave their name and at a minimum, their email address before they can download the bonus.

When offered the opportunity to partner with other online marketers I usually jump at the chance. However, I the campaign I am most likely to join in on is the one where people sign up to get my bonus. Additionally, I do all I can to make sure the person I partner with is reputable.

Here are the primary benefits to participating in a joint venture.

1. Expanded market reach
2. Gain name recognition within that market
3. Increase credibility through name association
4. Build a database with minimal effort
5. Create incredible value for the consumer

If you are looking for ways to increase your database, reach, credibility and visibility while providing more value to your market, consider joining forces with other progressive thinking entrepreneurs. It could be one of the smartest business moves you make.