The Business of Service

Businesses routinely run employee background checks. The type of background check tools used often depends on the business, but all tools are used for the same function: to determine if employees have any history that might impact their ability to perform job duties.

The best way to avoid negligent hiring lawsuits is to use background check tools. CheckToHire is one of the newest tools out there and offers a flexible pay-as-needed option with no monthly fees.

CheckToHire runs credit checks, criminal history checks, amongst other services. This type of tool may be something business owners might want to keep in their arsenal.

But employers should be cautioned: dig too deeply into a prospective employee’s life and you may face a lawsuit.

This is why getting an applicant’s express consent before a background check is advisable.

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If you’re reading this while at the GetListed Local University workshop, a big welcome to you. In my presentation, I mention a couple dozen web sites, articles, and other links that you may not have had time to jot down while I was speaking. If that’s the case, here are all the references I made in chronological order:

Trust
SEO Success Pyramid

Stats
Nielsen: Social Media Report Q3 2011
comScore/15miles: Local Search Study: 69% of consumers likely to use a small business if it has a social networking presence

Blogs
Jeremiah Owyang: Web Strategy: How To Evolve Your Irrelevant Corporate Website
HubSpot: Active Business Blogs Draw 6.9 Times More Organic Search Traffic Than Non-Bloggers
HubSpot: Study Shows Business Blogging Leads to 55% More Website Visitors
Dr. Cyn

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I follow Ari Herzog and have much respect for what he writes. Nevertheless, a statement he made in his post of today just doesnt sit well with me Why There is No Social Media Scorecard

Here is the statement that set me off: We all — people and organizations — do what we do because of rationales specific to ourselves. This is a very personalized approach to running a business And therein lies the problem.

If businesses and organizations do what they do because of rationales specific to their customers, there would be more success in business. We

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Sports goods are often used as promotional merchandise by many companies. Football products for instance are in a lot of demand because of the undying loyalty customers have for certain clubs and teams. Same is the case with baseball, basketball and cricket. There is a lot of craze for logo imprinted basketballs, soccer balls, cricket bats, tennis rackets, baseball bats and balls, golf clubs and balls, etc. Marketing companies see this as a lucrative opportunity to franchise their company’s brand value.

Marketing promotional sports goods to create an effective goodwill and to give a memorable brand value experience seem to be the main aim of such strategies. They ensure that customers are satisfied and well versed with their company’s value. The Read the whole story…

The $6.3 billion leveraged buyout of Kinetic Concepts Inc. has sparked a lawsuit from a shareholder unhappy the wound-care products maker isn’t being sold for more money.

The lawsuit, filed last week in Bexar County District Court, accuses KCI and its directors of gross mismanagement and breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with the sale of the company to a group led by London-based private-equity firm Apax Partners.

Such civil charges aren’t uncommon when a publicly traded company discloses plans to be sold.

No fewer than 15 law firms issued press releases announcing they were investigating potential claims against KCI following the July 13 announcement of the deal.

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H-E-B plans to open a new grocery store near Helotes next spring to replace a nearby location.

At 182,000 square feet, the new H-E-B Plus store will be one of the company’s largest. The site is just behind the smaller, 59,000-square-foot H-E-B it will replace at Bandera Pointe Shopping Center at Loop 1604 and Bandera Road.

The existing store has about 390 employees who will be transferred to the new location. Company spokeswoman Dya Campos said H-E-B plans to hire additional employees but hasn’t yet determined how many.

Campos couldn’t provide more information about the upcoming store.

“Details for the new store are still under consideration as we go through the planning process,” she wrote in an email.

The Northwest Side is a dynamic area that’s showing signs of expansion, said Phil Telisak, senior vice president at the Weitzman Group, a commercial real estate firm specializing in retail.

“There are already signs taking place that the area is going to experience great growth,” Telisak said. H-E-B i

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