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Companies are not all created equal, and for that matter, neither is customer service.
However, when it comes to the customers themselves, most will agree on one thing: customer service is the top reason that they continue doing business with any company after the initial sale.
On a level playing field, customers return to businesses that make them feel valued.
In most cases, that begins with the very first phone call.
Think about it.
The last time you called a business concerning a purchase that you made or were considering, how did that call go? Did a computerized answering system make you feel as though finding answers to your questions was not going to be easy? Were you transferred, put on hold, asked to call back, or given bad information?
Did you verbally sigh at any point during the conversation, or call attempt?
Sales and customer service calls should always be answered by a person. At worst, an automated phone system should provide the caller with the most direct route for reaching someone who can assist in addressing the customer’s needs.
At SELECTiON.COM® we make each call a priority. We recognize how important it is to listen carefully, to not only more fully understand the needs of our clients, but to demonstrate for our customers our overwhelming desire to help.
Our customer service team consistently averages 94% or better in client satisfaction ratings.
Our team of highly qualified and knowledgeable associates is available from 8am to 8pm, Monday through Friday, via phone or online chat. Trained to listen carefully, our staff makes each call or chat a priority.
“I highly recommend SELECTiON.COM®! As a small recruiting company, I want to ensure I thoroughly understand what a background check can and cannot do. I have asked multiple questions over the years to ensure a complete understanding. The folks have gone out of their way to answer questions. In the rare instance they didn’t know the answer, they conferenced in their in-house attorney. Now that is excellent customer service! I use SELECTiON.COM® because of their great service.”
– Renee Fulton, President, Talis Group Inc.
Our approach to handling inbound calls is designed to provide service that exceeds our customer’s expectations. That’s a big part of the reason why we have many customers who have been with SELECTiON.COM® since day one, going on nearly 27 years.
How can we help you to become a raving fan?
Blog
by Wayne J. Jung
Wasp Barcode Technologies recently released their annual State of Small Business Report and not surprisingly more than half of the 1,100 small businesses surveyed indicated that hiring new employees was the top challenge facing them in 2017.
Less than a third of those same respondents also listed hiring new employees as a strategy for growing revenue during the same period.
The high cost of sourcing and acquiring new employees certainly plays a role, as does training, motivation and retention. Just like an employee tends to avoid certain tasks that they don’t enjoy, so too do many employers.
Just like in sports, it’s never a good idea for a business to avoid upgrading the lineup with talented professionals, and that’s especially true in a competitive marketplace.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, September’s 4.2% unemployment rate represented the lowest number on record in more than ten years. And while that is good news for jobseekers, it’s bad news for employers.
A low unemployment rate means that while there is more competition for good jobs, companies are fighting against others for top-tier professionals.
It is especially tough for small businesses who cannot afford to outsource their recruitment efforts, because the time and expense to attract the right people can be prohibitive.
And we haven’t even begun to talk about the costs associated with hiring the wrong person for the job!
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the cost of a bad hire can be as high as 30% of the employee’s first-year income. That can be a substantial hit for any company, made even more impactful when the same mistakes are repeated over and over.
If recruiting, interviewing, training and retaining that new employee is stressful, we can only imagine how hard it is to justify time and expense in the applicant vetting process.
That’s why at SELECTiON.COM® we go to great lengths to not only uncomplicate, but to provide a cost-effective solution to your hiring methodology.
With systems that greatly reduce time, eliminate manual paper filing, improve efficiency and are easy to use, SELECTiON.COM® offers customers of all sizes and in all industries a solution to their applicant vetting process.
Best of all, our solutions are priced to fit any budget and can be customized to your specific needs.
It really is as simple as you select the candidate and we’ll verify their background. That’s why we like to say, “Your SELECTiON®, Verified!”
At SELECTiON.COM® our proprietary Search America™ report is the largest National Criminal Database in the United States, with One Billion records from over 1,500 sources. It’s a multi-jurisdictional search of criminal record databases and Government Watch lists that includes correction records and Sex Offender registries from all 50 states. With this compiled database, we can help to keep your costs low and your coverage level high while providing a quality report.
Contact us today to see how SELECTiON.COM® can take your employment background check process to the next level.
NOTE: The contents of this article are not legal advice for your particular situation. You should neither act nor rely upon anything stated in this article without first consulting your own legal counsel.
Blog, Resources
Knowing the background of your applicant can be your greatest indicator of their ability to do their job. Unfortunately, criminals aren’t going to just give you their records or tell you where they committed their crimes. In fact, there are a few tricks that criminals employ to actively HIDE that information from you.
SOME OF THE TRICKS:
- Commit crimes after passing the background check.
- Give a False Name
- Move Around From State To State.
If you’re a client of SELECTiON.COM®, you’re in good hands. We’ve been in the background screening industry for over 25 years and offer all of the necessary tools to deal with the many different ways criminals try to hide records.
SELECTiON.COM® SOLUTIONS
Quarterly Watch®
SELECTiON.COM® owns the nation’s largest criminal database (Search America® Report) searching over 1 BILLION records. Once your applicant’s information is entered into our system, we will run our Quarterly Watch® product which includes Sex Offender Registry, Government Watch lists and Correction Records throughout the U.S. This way, you will be alerted as soon as possible with any additional records.
SSN Trace and Validation
First the SSN is ran through the SSA and then the SSN is traced which gives residence and identity history associated with the given SSN. If the name given by the applicant does not match the SSN Report, this can be a red flag to the client.
Criminal County Research
Fingerprinting and State Reports might be missing other criminal records. Depending on the offense, not all county records are reported to the state level. Furthermore, some records, such as public intoxication, disorderly conduct and misdemeanor drug offenses could be missed because the crime is a ticket offense that doesn’t require fingerprinting.
County research is the most accurate and up-to-date source of criminal history. Crimes are tried on a county level. SELECTiON.COM® researches the counties based of the SSN Trace Report, not where the applicant has told you they live.
Contact SELECTiON.COM® today to see how we can keep your workplace safe.
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Take our quick quiz to test your background check industry knowledge.
Blog, Resources
We all live and work in a fast-paced world. As time passes, the expectations to accomplish more and more in the same amount of time grows.
Time-management only goes so far, and when you’re in a position that is under a lot of scrutiny you often look externally for assistance.
So, what does that mean for HR professionals?
Well, the first step is usually to outsource any tasks that take you away from the core duties of your position and one of the first tasks to go is employment verifications. These get outsourced to companies that house your employment data and charge a fee for other companies to access it.
But, that’s just one small part of the massive job that is HR. If you’re still conducting background checks in-house, then the next step is to hire a background check company (like SELECTiON.COM®) to do that for you.
Background check companies have the resources to complete a thorough background check more efficiently and effectively, since they have their own researchers and verification specialists to gather the information you need. But, again, that’s only a small part.
What’s the next step if you still find yourself buried in work?
Applicant tracking is the answer.
It provides a significant time-saving difference to the on-boarding process, and it’s liberating! Applicant tracking systems typically allow you to manage applicants from the time they apply, through the interviews, through the background checks, and on in as a hired employee.
If you haven’t tried applicant tracking, why not?
You may think Applicant Tracking isn’t worth the amount of time it will save and in some cases, it may not be. In fact, it probably isn’t for everyone, especially if you’re a small business on a slower growth curve.
However, if you’re a client of SELECTiON.COM®, we can easily add an applicant tracking solution to your hiring process, which we conveniently call Applicant Entry. What’s the catch, you ask?
There’s none. In fact, there is NO COST to this service! We understand the pressures you’re under and through Applicant Entry it is our goal to make your job easier AND less costly.
What does Applicant Entry do for you?
Easy Entry– You no longer have to enter a person’s personal information into the system. The only required fields are name and email address, and you just choose the report package you’d like to run.
Applicant Responsibility– It’s then up to the applicant to fill out their Social Security Number, Date of Birth, and any past employment or education information, depending on which reports you’ve chosen to run. They’ll receive a secure one-time-use link in an email for them to enter the information into our system.
Control– Since such a large part of today’s search mechanism is based upon full name as entered, the applicant cannot modify the spelling from the version that you entered.
Compliance– Applicant Entry provides electronic FCRA compliance with Disclosure and Consent forms part of the process, taking the manual form out of the application process and given you a record of consent that will reside permanently within the candidate’s electronic file.
Additional Option– At this point you can also choose to have the background check start as soon as the applicant enters their info OR have it placed on hold. This is particularly useful if you’re dealing with a large applicant pool and only want to run checks on the final candidates.
Additional Payment Module– You can also choose to have your applicant pay for their background check upfront. This is popular among clients that hire contractors or use volunteers.
Notifications– You’ll be notified once the background check is complete so you can make that final hiring decision.
If you’re a current client and haven’t tried Applicant Entry, call, email or reach out via our LIVE Chat platform today to have it added. You won’t regret it.
In addition to our in-house Applicant Entry piece, SELECTiON.COM® is integrated with some of the top Applicant Tracking systems in the market. And, with our in-house IT staff, we are well equipped to integrate with whatever Applicant Tracking system you’d like to use.
If you’re not a client, why not call today and see how SELECTiON.COM® can make a difference in your on-boarding process? Contact us today on our web form or our toll free number, 1-800-325-3609.
Blog
With fall here and winter just around the corner, business often slows down this time of year. With it, hiring typically slows down as well. But what a lot of companies fail to realize, is that this is the perfect time to start looking for your holiday hires.
Stay ahead of the curve and take the time now to have your ideal employees fully background checked, hired, trained and ready to go as business ramps around the holiday season. Waiting until the last minute can lead to filling positions with less than stellar employees and can lead to lost customers and employee theft, in worst case scenarios.
Running a quality background check should always be a part of the hiring process, but it’s more important during the holiday season.
According to the Jack L. Hayes International 29th Annual Retail Theft Survey, more than 438,032 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2016 by 23 major retailers.
Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and with it, Black Friday. With those kind of statistics, in order to maximize your holiday profits, you need to make sure your employees are both honest and can handle the influx of customers with a smile.
This all starts with performing your own due diligence. The more you know, the more you can minimize those surprise nightmare employees.
The background check should begin with county criminal history reports, as they contain the most up-to-date and accurate information.
I know, I know. You are running a national criminal database so your applicants are run through every single county and source in the United States, right? Wrong. This is one of the most common misconceptions when running a background check.
A national criminal database search doesn’t really contain all counties in the United States and should be used as a supplemental tool after county criminal history has been searched.
Combine the county criminal search with a social security trace report to identify areas where your applicant has lived, and you have a great start to getting the full picture of your applicant’s history.
How else can you avoid the horrible holiday hires?
Use reports that tell you more personal things about the applicant. Character references or employment verifications are a great addition. You can personalize these questions to get answers you would like in the hiring process.
Use questions like: Was he on time? How would you describe her work habits? Is he eligible for rehire?
A well-made resume and good interview can often make one overlook the in-depth details that are so crucial to double check when trying to find a hire that will be a great seasonal or long term employee. These details can make the difference between an outstanding employee and a nightmare.
Contact us today to find out how SELECTiON.COM® can help.
