Message from Tim Dowd

In today’s business environment, many companies need a strong service provider to help solve their individual screening and pre-employment challenges. In an effort to strengthen our dedication to client satisfaction, USIS has restructured our team to represent a customer-focused mindset. As part of our efforts, we have increased the size and scope of our geographically dispersed sales team in order to meet more frequently with our customers about their screening and drug testing needs. read more

Time & Attendance: Lessons Learned from Retail

Reprinted with permission, Unicru, 2006

Successful retail managers know that employees are both the source of most of their costs and the drivers of most of their revenue. A recent Aberdeen Group study found that employers ranked managing employee availability as a more important problem than managing gross margins. Finding the correct balance is therefore critical, but is not easy. Hire more employees than are needed and revenue will climb, but costs will climb faster. If managers don't have the right number of staff on hand, even the best salespeople will quickly become ineffective.

Finding and deploying the best employee mix requires using behavioral-based assessments, automated hiring, and time and attendance systems. Properly used, these systems will identify the best candidates, reduce costly time to hire, and lead to the optimal staffing level at all times of the day and week.  read more

Top 10 Hit Alert:
December 2005, January & February 2006

Employee Spotlight: Vicki Galama, Call Center Supervisor

Employers who employ undocumented workers run the risk of fines and possible lawsuits. This is especially applicable to businesses who have a high number of seasonal and/or temporary employees and firms located in the states that have a high concentration of immigrants.

Screening an employee for immigration status shows due diligence in preventing the ramifications of employing an illegal resident. Pending legislation indicates that screening employees to determine their eligibility to work in the United States may become a requirement in the near future. read more

USIS Enhances Guardian Sex Offender Product

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 60 percent of convicted sex offenders are on parole or probation; and, when released from prison, released sex offenders were four times more likely to be rearrested for a sex crime. A high percentage of sex offenders on parole, coupled with the increased likelihood of these offenders re-committing a sex crime, means employers have to be especially diligent in screening employees for sex offenses.

USIS Guardian, our national sex offender search, is the most comprehensive product available to the public for researching the sex offender registries of 47 states plus Washington, D.C. Results are usually returned within 24 to 72 hours.

For more information, call 866.205.6129 or visit www.usis.com.

USIS Announces Adjudication Services

USIS Adjudication offers clients standardized solutions for all your hiring needs. USIS has extensive experience automating our clients’ manual approval processes, which are traditionally based on the review of different background reports for potential employees. USIS’ adjudication service creates a streamlined, automated process that provides the proper hiring guidance based on guidelines developed by each client. read more

Company Closings

USIS and Affiliates will be closed July 4, 2006 in observance of Independence Day and September 4, 2006 in observance of Labor Day.

Trade Show Schedule

USIS will be participating in a variety of trade shows in the next couple of months. Please take a look at the list by visiting www.usis.com/commercialservices/calendar.htm.