We want to wish all Mind Your Business, Inc. customers, friends, blog readers and supporters a happy and healthy holiday season!
We truly appreciate all of your support, and look forward to to the developments, progression and successes that 2013 will bring.
We recently attended the 89th annual Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner, where we received the Customer Service Award from First Citizens Bank. It is an absolute honor to receive this accolade, and thanks must go to the whole Mind Your Business team for their hard work and dedication to making us such a successful customer-focused business.
The MYB team at the awards ceremony.
The awards dinner, held at Kenmure Country Club, celebrated the success of local outstanding businesses and recognized individuals for their service to the community as examples of Chamber members at their best, said Bob Williford, president of the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce.
Other Chamber award winners included David Jordan, Chamber Ambassador of the Year; Bill McKibbin, Duke Energy Citizenship Award; Executive director of the Henderson County Education Foundation Don Jones, Chamber’s Education Champion Award; Molly Parkhill, president of Blue Ridge Community College, was named Industrialist of the Year; and Jim and Margaret Miller named Camp Industry Leaders of the Year.
We had a fantastic time and were proud to be awarded with such an accolade, and among such a great group of businessmen and women! A great start to 2012 – and we hope it continues in the same way.
As we close in on 2012, there is a lot to look forward to. However, first, let’s take a look back at 2011 – both for MYB and for the employment screening industry as a whole. Here are a couple of highlights, couple of low points and our how that has affected the employment screening world.
One of the highlights for Mind Your Business was Founder and CEO Karen Caruso being selected as the 2011 North Carolina Small Business Person of the Year by the US Small Business Association.
It was a true honor which really showed just how hard working, passionate and dedicated Karen is in her work. The desire to help people was what founded MYB and is the reason we continue to exist. For Karen, while “fiscal gains are inevitable for a successful company, they are certainly not a pre-requisite for us”.
The congratulatory letter stated “Your hard work, innovative ideas, and dedication to your community have helped you succeed. The SBA is pleased to recognize your achievements and your role in driving our nation’s economic growth”.
Another step forward for MYB was our successful move into social media. Social channels such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – as well as this blog – allow us to extend our reach, and our values, further afield.
One of the disappointments of 2011, however, has been how the economy has continued to struggle. Figures of authority have failed to agree on how to move the country forward and out of this stagnant economy – the effects of which are devastating. In the United States, the unemployment rate currently sits at 9.1%, with 14 million Americans out of work. It is expected to take five more years for the global market to return to it’s pre-recession levels.
What is a difficult situation for many actually puts businesses at an advantage. Part of making more astute hiring decisions often results in more stringent employment checks. More thorough background checks allows a business to ensure they hire the ideal applicant who ticks all the boxes. This leads to better protection of each business from hiring risks, and a more stable future.
Drug testing for those on welfare has been another aspect of 2011 well worth highlighting. With multiple states introducing legislation on this, the jury is still out as to whether it is actually saving taxpayers money. However, we predict that more states will continue to enforce such laws, as citizens like to see a hard line taken on how their tax dollars are spent.
Overall, 2011 has had it’s ups and downs – as is the case of every year. Nonetheless, at MYB we like to focus on the positive – of which there has been plenty.
We are very excited with the position we are in moving into 2012, and look forward to working with current, and new, customers as the new year rolls in.
Wishing you all the best, and a prosperous 2012!
As another year comes to an end, it’s time again for reflection. 2011 was the first full year of the Mind Your Business blog, so what better way to look back at the last twelve months than to pick out our top 12 blog posts?
So with a post for each month, here are our top posts of 2011:
January: One of our earliest posts in 2011 discussed how several states were considering introducing drug tests for those on welfare. What a massive topic of debate this has turned out to be over the last year:
http://www.mybinc.com/blog/drug-testing-a-possibility-for-welfare-recipients/
February: This month saw our five-post explanation of NAPBS, and the relationship we have with them:
http://www.mybinc.com/blog/napbs-myb-part-1-what-is-napbs/
March: Founder and CEO of Mind Your Business Karen Caruso was selected as 2011 North Carolina Small Business Person of the Year. A fantastic source of pride and achievement for both Karen and MYB:
April: An explanation of why, and how, employers will check references as part of the pre-employment screening process:
http://www.mybinc.com/blog/why-do-employers-check-references/
May: Have you ever considered as to why drug testing is so important in the workplace? Find out in a excellent post we published back in May:
http://www.mybinc.com/blog/drug-testing-workplace/
June: Taking a look at why background checks are performed, and what it is that employers are really looking for:
http://www.mybinc.com/blog/background-checks-why-employers-want-to-know/
July: When you hear “background checks”, what type of check comes to mind? There are many different types of background check, and July saw a great post explaining all about them:
http://www.mybinc.com/blog/types-of-background-checks/
August: We discussed what it is that makes a women-owned small business extraordinary:
http://www.mybinc.com/blog/woman-owned-small-business/
September: Mind Your Business entered into the world of social media, and created a Facebook fan page. Three months on, and we can also be found on Twitter and LinkedIn:
http://www.mybinc.com/blog/mind-your-business-on-facebook/
October: Karen Caruso had the honor to meet Barack Obama in October, as the President started a bus tour promoting his jobs bill with a visit to Asheville:
http://www.mybinc.com/blog/karen-caruso-meets-president/
November: We delved into the history books for this one, coming up with a blog post on the history of drug testing and how it has progressed over the last few generations:
http://www.mybinc.com/blog/the-history-of-drug-testing/
December: As we headed towards Christmas, we published a post with some great advice on how to protect yourself and your business over the holiday period:
http://www.mybinc.com/blog/ten-tips-holidays/
* * * * *
This is our top list, but what about you? Which was your favorite blog post over the past 12 months?
Mind Your Business would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Seasons Greetings and a prosperous New Year!
2011 has been a fantastic year, and we are looking forward to the challenges and successes that 2012 will bring.
At Mind Your Business, Inc. we pride ourselves on our customer service, which is why we are always delighted to hear positive reviews from those who know us. We recently received a review on Merchant Circle that we wanted to share with you, as it encapsulates the work ethic we strive to live by:
“I, Kimberly, wife to Joe owner of ArchAngel (Appliance Repair), met the owner of Mind Your Business Wayyyyy back when she was just beginning her business. I was a cashier at a local grocers and going to police training at the same time. We had a great conversation and I could see how driven, knowledgeable, and savvy she was. Since then her company has grown by leaps and bounds. If you contact a company in our area and ask who to use they automatically mention Mind Your Business. Why? Because of the savvy ownership. There is something in good ownership. Actually, everything is in the ownershp and the people they choose to assist in their business. Mind Your Business has their t’s crossed and i’s dotted. We are impressed and believe in them. Look no further and let them do the looking for you. Blessings, kimberly webber young”
Merchant Circle is a site whereby we cannot pick and choose who writes our reviews, which might be an issue for businesses who focus on themselves rather than customers. But we have nothing to hide, and are confident that any customer testimonial will be positive. Feel free to check out the rest of our Merchant Circle reviews here.
MYB has had a fantastic year, with founder and CEO Karen Caruso being awarded North Carolina Business Person of the Year 2011 being a highlight. While it is always fantastic to get such awards, it is the reputation we have among our customers that really means the most to us. So a review such as the one above really does bring a smile to the MYB team and justify the hard work we put in every day.
As all entrepreneurs know, it’s no easy task running a successful business. With so much to think about and so many things to keep an eye on, one of the aspects of running a business people forget is how to protect it.
Protect it from what? Primarily, unnecessary risks from poor hiring decisions. Making a bad hire can cause a multitude of problems, from bringing down the morale of the company and losing productivity, to criminal acts in your workplace and abuse.
So we’ve come up with five simple steps that we believe you can take during the hiring process, which will allow you to focus on creating and maintaining business success, without having to worry about what might be going on behind the scenes.
1. Run background checks
A key part of ensuring your hires are the type of people you want as a part of your business, it’s important to run a background check. There are many different types of background check, so be sure you are picking the most relevant ones to your business. A background check on an applicant may pick up on some negative information about them, which could certainly save you from problems in the long term.
2. Check references
In this economy, many people are unemployed and desperate for work. One of the principle ways that applicants “spruce up” their resume is to provide false references. Make sure that their references are verifiable, and the people they list are trustworthy.
3. Perform a drug test
According to statistics from recent studies on drug abuse by American workers, workplace drug and alcohol use costs U.S. businesses an estimated $100 billion each year. The cost of drugs in the workplace is severe, so to avoid potential damage it is always a good idea to drug test applicants. By doing this, you are ensuring that any new hires will be reliable and productive workers.
4. Categorize levels of security
It may sound very government-esque, but by choosing and allocating levels of security for staff, you are protecting yourself from potential risk. For example, certain client information should only be available to certain employees. As will be the case with confidential financial information. As you bring in a new hire, think to yourself – what should (and shouldn’t) this individual have access to?
5. Be consistent
Performing all the above as a one-off is a good start, but how do you protect yourself on a continued basis? By being consistent and running the above checks regularly. Just because someone doesn’t have a criminal record when they start working at your business, that doesn’t mean they never will. The same goes for drug testing and levels of security.
Sounds like hard work, right? Well, let’s be honest – it’s not easy. Protecting your business is not something that should be taken lightly, and the measures you need to take in order stay safe emphasize that. However, it can be made a whole lot easier if you hire a pre-employment screening service.
A pre-employment screening service will be able to take much of the above responsibilities away from you. Not only that, but by hiring a professional service, you can ensure that the checks you are running are effective, reliable and accurate.
For more information on how Mind Your Business, Inc. can help you protect your business, or if you have questions on any of the points made above, get in touch with us today. We’ll be happy to help!
Mind Your Business, Inc. CEO Karen Caruso had the honor to meet Barack Obama on Monday, as the President started his two-day bus tour promoting his jobs bill with a visit to Asheville.
As North Carolina Small Business Person of the Year, Karen was invited as a VIP to sit on stage during Obama’s speech, and was honored to be able to have a brief chat with the President before he departed towards the next stop of his tour, Wilkes County.
MYB Founder Karen Caruso on stage waiting to meet President Obama
Speaking to more than 2,000 people at Asheville Regional Airport, the president vowed to take his jobs fight back to Congress, breaking a $447 billion plan that failed in the Senate into smaller, easier-to-digest pieces.
Obama said the Republican counterproposal to his jobs bill consists of gutting regulations, letting Wall Street “do whatever it wants,” drilling for more oil and repealing health care reform.
Creating jobs is “less about satisfying some wing of the party and more on common-sense ideas we can take to put people to work” and lift people into the middle class, he said. “If they [the Republicans] are serious about creating jobs, I’m ready to go.”
As a small business in North Carolina, and a company that relies on the productivity and continued success of other businesses, this jobs bill holds particular significance for this pre-employment screening service.
It was a fantastic honor for both Karen and Mind Your Business to be invited to such an event, and yet another accolade for the company in what has been a fantastic year.
Check out the front page of the Asheville Citizen-Times for Tuesday October 18th 2011. See our CEO Karen Caruso & Director of Drug Screening Pete Latrella circled on stage!
First Advantage Corporation this month announced the release of its most recent Global Screening Benchmark Report.
“With the latest economic trends pointing to a slow-down in global hiring and recent U.S. legislation limiting certain types of employment screening tools, employers of all sizes are challenged with staying in compliance with ever-changing regulations, while also getting the most qualified applicants in the door,” said Andy Macdonald, President & Chief Executive Officer of First Advantage. ”To successfully navigate such a dynamic environment, employers are actively seeking the best practices for hiring and screening that will help them ensure they are making the best decisions for keeping their workforces engaged, productive and safe.”
The report provides employers with an overview of the employment screening results for Q1-Q2 2010 and Q1-Q2 2011 for many of the world’s leading employers and provides them a unique tool for evaluating their employment screening programs.
Here are some key statistics from the report that we think are important to share:
What does this tell us?
These stats tell us that employment screening is definitely on the rise, with the down economy playing an important factor in this. Furthermore, applicants providing false information is also on the rise. An important reason to consider employment screening if it is not something you currently practice.
Finally, the report tells us that drug and alcohol tests are contributing to an overall improvement in workplace drug and alcohol abuse. With numbers up in tests being performed, and positive results on the decrease, we see a clear correlation between the two.
For more information on how you can protect your company with employment screening, contact Mind Your Business, Inc.
A copy of the report can be found at www.fadv.com/Resource-Center/Benchmark-Reports/Global-Screening-Trends-Report-Q1-Q2-2010-/-Q1-Q2-2011/.
Facebook has quite rapidly become an internet giant, particularly in the last few years. In fact, from the moment of this blog post being written, there are currently 155,746,780 Facebook users in the United States (data compiled by Social Bakers).
Across the world, this number increases to almost 800 million active Facebook users. As I said – internet giant.
As a small businesses-to-business in a niche industry, at Mind Your Business we understand the difficulties we could face once entering the world of Facebook – which is why we didn’t rush into creating a business page. We wanted to take the time to dive in when we have the knowledge, resources and ability to optimize our Facebook presence and making it a successful marketing channel for us.
That time has come – Mind Your Business, Inc. is now on Facebook!
No doubt that you are most likely on Facebook too, so check us out! Why should you ‘Like’ us?
- Breaking news
- Expert advice and employment screening tips
- Legislation updates
- To get to know the people behind the MYB brand
- To keep your business safe
So become a fan today! Join in the conversation and be a part of the Mind Your Business, Inc. Facebook community.
Find us here – http://www.facebook.com/mindyourbusinessglobal
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