Month: July 2010

Corra Group will be closed Monday July, 5th for the Fourth of July Holiday.  We will return Tuesday, July 6th at our regular business hours.  Please contact us then for your background checking services.

Happy Independence Day to Everyone!

Tennessee Governor, Phil Bredsen, is requesting that after two failed Presidencies, the University of Tennessee take extra measures in conducting background checks on its new Presidential candidates.  According to an article on Nashville Public Radio, Bredsen wisely cautioned against using search firms for recruiting candidates as they may have other agendas other than the best interest of the University.

In his effort to see the University of Tennessee become a top tier research University, the governor wants the school’s future presidents to come under greater scrutiny.  A college president is responsible for administrative duties but also for fund raising.  You can’t raise funds if you have a tainted president of a major institution of learning.    The governor spoke about the difficulty in obtaining decent reference checks on candidates.  He noted that in this day and age no one would reveal any negative qualities about an applicant.

The University of Tennessee is a fine school and deserves a president that can serve as an inspiring leader, one who can raise funding in help the University achieve its goals as it moves toward the middle of the twenty first century.

In general, after the Amy Bishop debacle, I can only stress that schools should issue a more comprehensive choice of background checks as part of their preemployment screening programs.  Thankfully, not every administrator will make the headlines of an Amy Bishop, but changing times demand greater scrutiny.

With respect to background checks, the governor has a point.  However, if the reference questions are phrased properly and the reference researcher is good at what he or she does, then it is possible to obtain a reference verification that will assist in ascertaining qualities and required skill sets.  As a background check, the professional reference verifiction check while lmited, largely due to the fact it is your candidate providing the reference names,  can still offer valuable insight into the character and capabilities of your job candidate.

I would suggest that the University also conduct both federal criminal searches as well as federal civil records searches and county civil court records searches, as these will address any issues of lawsuits or questionable behavior on  he part of the candidate that does not meet the threshold of criminal malfeasance.

UT has been had three presidents in the last ten years. The last two were confronted with ethical questions regarding their finances,.    The third quit in 2001 amid allegations of a relationship with a female administrator. Where have we seen this before?

Motor Vehicle Driving Records or MVRs are mandatory background checks for trucking and transportation concerns who wish to remain compliant with the Department of Transportation.  The DOT mandates that MVRs be conducted on commercial drivers at least once every twelve months.

Other employers conduct MVR’s on their sales people in addition to criminal records and other background checks.  So there is a great need for Motor Vehicle Driving Records.

That being said, States are in need of money.  States are broke.  The Department of Motor Vehicles in a good many states, in the past year or so, have raised the prices for driving records.   While these background checks can be costly in some states, let’s face it, you need them and the states know this.

Be aware that the Oklahoma DMV is raising it’s rates considerably.  The Hawaii DMV is also proving to be no slouch when it comes to price increases for MVRs.     So be aware, and put some pennies aside–