Think an "Exxon Valdez" Can't Happen to Your Company? Think Again.....

Substance abuse in the workplace - including alcohol and illicit drug use - costs the U.S. economy well more than $200 billion a year in lost productivity. You don't have to be part of this statistic.

The U.S. Small Business Administration reports that alcoholism accounts for 500 million lost workdays a year and substance abuse results in a 300% increase in medical costs and benefits. Other facts associated with substance abuse are just as staggering. Don't wait around for it to happen to you. Take Action Now!

Research shows that substance abusers are:

• 5 times more likely to file a workers' compensation claim
• 2.5 times more likely to have lengthy absences from work
• 3 times more likely to be late for work
• Likely to use 2.5 times more medical benefits
• One-third less productive

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration

Wish you could find a company to manage everything for you? And I do mean everything.....see list below.

• Program and policy consultation
• Complete program management
• Urine, hair and saliva laboratory testing-based programs
• Urine and saliva instant testing products
• Management and maintenance of Acxiom collection site network
• On-site specimen collection services for both instant and laboratory-based testing
• Collection kit and chain of custody forms ordering
• Multi-laboratory selection optimization (if appropriate) for convenience and pricing
• Medical review services
• Results and management reports
• Legal consulting through a staff attorney specializing in substance abuse issues
• On-line supervisor and employee substance abuse training
• Expert litigation testimony

Want more information?

Contact: 1-800-853-3228 ext 57405. Be sure to say The Tamster sent you!

Getting (and Keeping) Great Employees

How Can I Get and Keep Great Employees? 8 Sure Fire Tips:

1) Make every hire a good one. Formal background checks should be standard practice. Due diligence is important for your company's legal protection and for its competitive edge. Comprehensive background checks help ensure a safe work environment and a productive workplace - both of which are attractive to employees.

2) Grow your own employees through internship programs with local (or not-so-local) universities.

3) Train, and retrain, to retain. The top two reasons employees leave jobs are to earn more money and to gain additional opportunities. By offering cross-training and job rotation, employees can learn new skills that both increase job satisfaction and make them more valuable to the company.

4) Perk up! Pierre Vedel, senior vice president and chief information officer of ELM Resources, told The Wall Street Journal, "It's not to the point of giving out cars again, but it's really competitive." Before incentives reach that point again, figure out what perks are important to your employees - from health club memberships to free movie passes and offer what you can.

5) Protect your company's intellectual property. Employees are more likely to stay when they have signed formal noncompete and nondisclosure agreements.

6) To keep them, keep them comfortable. Make sure working conditions are as comfortable and convenient as possible. Can you offer onsite child care? Allow radios at work? Maybe not, but simple creature comforts - like keeping the office air conditioner in good working order - should not be overlooked.

7) Let them go away. Encourage employees to consider training seminars in other cities (especially if you have an office there) or even in other countries. If the stint is particularly attractive or long-term, you may want to ask the employee to sign an agreement to stay on for a certain time after his or her return, or to reimburse the company for his or her travel expense if he or she should leave before an agreed-upon amount of time.

8) Have fun! Employees benefit from attending company-sponsored social gatherings, sports outings and other after-work entertainment options. Even better, those who participate tend to develop more productive relationships with co-workers and are less likely to entertain a headhunter's call.

Practice doesn't guarantee an increase in your hiring "batting average", but by adapting the best practices in recruiting, selection and retention, you'll be able to identify the candidates who can form a winning team.

To Your Success,
The Tamster

ID thief uses job applications found in dumpster

I just have to re-post this article. For full details, please go to DocuCrunch.com.

A criminal was recently arrested after stealing the identities of nearly 100 victims. Where’d she get the information she needed?

A stack of job applications left in a dumpster by an employer.

Ashley Johnson opened several credit cards and racked up more than $60,000 of debt in other people’s names. Police say she found a collection of rejected employment applications in the dumpster behind a Millington, TN, restaurant. The forms contained valuable info, such as names, addresses and SSNs. Her spending spree lasted five months before she was caught by police.

The story provides a reminder for businesses to destroy all documents containing anyone’s personal info.

Also as individuals, please make sure you are protected from Identity Theft. Don't Wait For It To Happen To You. There are many good products out there. My recommendation and personal choice is Kroll's Identity Theft Protection offered through PrePaid Legal. Learn more at www.prepaidlegal.com/IDT/tamcor.

Do You Know Who Is Working For You?

Do you? Are you sure? How long have your employees been with you? Sure, they passed their background check, THREE or FIVE or TEN years ago but what have they been up to since their hire date?

So What Is the Answer?

Recurring Employee Sweeps - Rescreening has become a widely accepted practice throughout the world and many corporations now require periodic or incident-based screening, which dramatically reduces liability.

Sound expensive?
Ask your legal department THE COST of negative publicity to your corporation if "an incident" occurs with one of your employees, especially if another employee or employees are physically injured or corporatate data is stolen that impacts your employees.

Want to save money? At a minimum, do a national database check annually. Some companies reduce their liability by implementing policies allowing for thoughtful, incident-based rescreening, including when employees are transferred or promoted.

You decide what is best for your company, but please TAKE ACTION. Don't wait for something to happen.

Fast Background Checks........Nothing Is What It Seems.

Real Time vs. Database Searches - Faster is not necessarily better, especially in this economy where employers have seen an increase in lying on resumes. Nothing is quite what it seems. Not only with your applicants' resumes: also with background screening products.

Screening suppliers may have similar sounding products but this does not mean you are getting a comparable product. The only way to know EXACTLY what you are getting is to request a detailed description from your supplier.

When dealing with database checks be sure to ask for a detailed list of all sources that make up the database and how often these sources feed information into the database. HR professionals need to understand where the "holes" are and what their company's exposure is if they are choosing to run database checks.

TIP: Many databases do not include social security numbers and information is matched to name only. Be sure to ask your supplier how they are validating that the record truly belongs to your applicant, especially if the applicant had a common name.