Here are this week’s links to a few good stories that we found and selected. We feel they might add valuable insights and perspectives for small to midsize businesses.
In the hiring process, if a business owner accesses an applicant’s credit report, it is important that the employer know and understand the implications of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Just ask the managers at Dave and Buster’s—a class action suit has been filed in Florida against the sports bar chain alleging the restaurant frequently uses background checks for decisions in terminations, reduction of hours, position changes, hiring and promotions. The FCRA requires all employers to notify individuals when a background check is conducted and must share the information with the applicant as well. Read Kathryn Rattigan’s post, Dave & Buster’s faces FCRA class action for alleged background check violations, to learn more.
Want to grow your small business? Then pay attention to these tips from Andrew Gazdecki’s article, 14 Ways to Grow Your Small Business. What I found interesting about the article was that while much of the advice was timeless, a great deal of attention was given to the dynamics that drive today’s marketplace. The final bit of wisdom makes a great deal of sense as well: “A penguin cannot become a giraffe, so just be the best penguin you can be… remember that it’s your purpose and goals that set you apart from everybody else.”
“Engagement level starts at the bottom of the organization, and it is an inverted pyramid that make (sic) this puzzle work. It no longer works from the peers down, because it is now bottoms up.” So says Ron Thomas in How A Cleaning Lady Taught Me A Management Lesson I Never Forgot. So often, executives believe their own press clippings and barely acknowledge those at the bottom of the income scale within their own organizations. This article reminded me of an excerpt from a commencement speech given by President Kennedy in 1962 when he said “For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.” Something we should all never forget.
