with Auren
Hoffman
month of February,
2001
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Summation Push Auren Hoffman's Summation Push for
February, 2001 This issue: * Killing at Edgewater Technology * Reader Responses * Friends of Auren * Summation Push Pick Links * Hoffman Reading List -------------------------------- Send Summation Push to a
colleague. -------------------------------- KILLING AT EDGEWATER TECHNOLOGY Last month a gunman killed seven employees at Edgewater Technology (Wakefield, MA). Edgewater (NASD: EDGW) was, until very recently, the parent company of Staffmark (a BridgePath client).
The Edgewater shooting will likely increase the use of background checks before hiring. Background checks can be an effective way of spotting a troubled hire before the hire is made. Reviewing financial and criminal history can be helpful in making hiring decisions. But it can also be fraught with legal issues if done incorrectly.
The incident will also likely increase the use of personality tests. These tests, which tend to be very controversial, are used to spot troubled employees early and frequently advertise that they can help bucket employees and suggest steps to dealing with troubled employees. But personality tests are also used to type employees and provide career direction for them. The thought of one test determining an employee's growth path within an organization is a little scary. If staffing firms start using these tests more often, test results could potentially follow an employee throughout their working career.
I have never seen a personality test that was 100% accurate, but that has not deterred people from using them.
Recently there have been many tests which have been used solely as indicators of violent tendencies within. Here are some excerpts from a test that tries to accomplish this task: (http://www.cnn.com/interactive/career/0012/violence.sidebar/frameset.exclude.html/)However, many experts claim that pre-emptive alertness and attentiveness to people who might show signs of extreme stress or hurt is far better than testing.
The Edgewater Technology incident and others like it (remember the shooting at 101 California in San Francisco?) will re-ignite more HR discussions around testing and background checks and could possibly affect the way recruiting is done.
(Your thoughts? Write auren@summation.net) -------------------------------- Send Summation Push to a
colleague. READER RESPONSES Roberto Matus writes: "Your note really connected w/me. I suffer from the saver syndrome, too! For some reason ever since i was a kid i felt that if you did not keep all your atm
receipts and the IRS found out that they would throw you in jail for 30 years and fine you your salary squared! Thanks i am happy to hear you have over come
the "Filer Syndrome"! and Sheila Paris Klein writes: "The definition of junk: Junk is something you throw out two weeks before you need it. That's my experience."
And Cynthia Reed writes: We also talked about Coke ads at Ruby's. Zack Stein from Harpoon Brewery wrote: "I can tell you right now that Ruby's got a HUGE deal from Coke. The big boys pay big bucks to control the "gun" in place of that stature. Coke probably installed the soda system (multiple soda guns for bar, service stations, etc. feeding into a central unit) and gave them a tremendous price break to keep Pepsi on the outside. That's standard operating procedure in the beverage business - we do the same thing on a smaller scale @ Harpoon." -------------------------------- Send Summation Push to a
colleague. -------------------------------- FRIENDS OF AUREN [this section updates you an interesting person
that is a member of Auren Inc] Rich Thau, executive director of Third Millennium I met Rich Thau a few years ago and have watched him build Third Millennium (http://www.thirdmil.org) into a very formidable organization. Rich and others started Third Millennium in 1993 to help "promote sustainable reform of Social Security and Medicare by informing and mobilizing the nation's opinion leaders." Rich has become one of the foremost experts on social security and I expect him to be the Domestic Policy Advisor to a future president. Rich lives with his wife Nicole in New York City. (Got a good idea? Write auren@summation.net) -------------------------------- Send Summation Push to a
colleague. -------------------------------- THIS WEEK'S SUMMATION PUSH PICK
LINKS: * Washington Post OnPolitics Section (http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/)
-- one of the best politics sections.s
* Junior State of America (http://www.jsa.org/)
-- check out one of the best organizations for high school students.
* MySimon (http://www.mysimon.com/)
-- are you an avid magazine reader like me? You can use MySimon to find the cheapest prices for magazine subscription.
NOTE: Auren Hoffman works for BridgePath.com but the opinions
expressed herein are solely those of Mr. Hoffman. NOTE: You may reprint in full or in part (for
free) with permission from author.
Auren Hoffman's bio can be found at:(http://www.bridgepath.com/about/management.html/)
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