ISGU – Your Eye On The World

Every time you come into contact with someone, you are promoting.  It could be as simple as promoting who you are, as a person.  You could be promoting what you think or believe in or just about anything that passes in your head.  Or you could be promoting your abilities and expertise’s and utilizing that time to maximize your ability to make money.

I have been very fortunate in that what I have done most of my life has let me do things that I am good at by choice and also things that I enjoy and also has given me the ability to help others.  That is why handwriting analysis and handwriting formation therapy was a great addition to my repertoire of talents and services both professionally and also as a humanitarian.

So how can YOU promote your talents and abilities and let the world know what YOU can do and HOW you can help them?

First, make sure all your support circle (your friends and family) know what you are now trained and certified in and how that is a benefit to MANY type of people with many KINDS of problems.

Be sure to :

1. Tell them about it in one on one conversation – “Hey, did you know I just finished some continuing education and was certified as a……  I can’t tell you how excited I am”
2. Send out a mass email to your friends, colleagues and exiting business relationships.  Tell them how excited you are and WHY you are excited and also offer a free demonstration or consultation.
3. Print up cards – not business cards but something that is catchy like – “Hangman – it’s not just for kids and I will tell you why.”  Then just have your name and email and phone number below it.  Give it to everybody!!!  I mean it!
4. If you Tweet or Facebook, talk about it.  Tell people about your training and then draw the attention away from you and start talking about examples of handwriting, cases, etc you see in  the media.  If one of our group talks about it, “share” their post as well to stimulate conversation.  (Let me tell you a secret about Facebook.  If you entertain people 85% of the time and make them think 12% of the time, you get to talk about yourself 3% of the time and every body not only allows it, they appreciate it and that is all it takes to get new clients when you have a network that is expanded by making your posts available to the public.)
5. Call your local newspapers and offer to submit articles about cases or subject matter pertinent to your expertise.  They may not all get accepted but it just takes one or two to get you some exposure and to add to your credibility.
6. Check out professionally conferences in your field(s).  For example, as an investigator and a mental health advocate, I have spoken at conferences in both arenas.  Treyce has some ready- made presentation or you can easily make a PowerPoint presentation to cover an hour talk about so many subject matters from so many perspectives.  And most conferences never have enough presenters and would love to have you submit.  It is also a great place for you to network and find new clients for yourself.

Here is just a few ideas.  Don’t’ be nervous and don’t be afraid to ask for help!!!!  My best to you all!!!

When does a non-profit need to worry about liability and exposures?   The day it opens for business. A non-profit organization faces most of the same liability exposures as a for profit corporation.

These liability exposures can be broken down into different categories. Two main issues are employment and liability exposures.

With employment, there is the exposure of hiring the wrong person.  Wrong person can be defined as the wrong personality, a peson who lacks the proper skills or someone who brings their own liability issues by having a criminal history.  This includes paid staff and also volunteers that are often the backbone of a non-profit organization.

Many organizations are not aware that volunteers have the same rights to protection as do paid employees.  As well, non-profits can be exposed by the actions and activities of volunteers.

EMPLOYEMNT ISSUES

Much of the liability from inefficient hiring practices can be prevented by performing pre-employment background checks on both volunteers and staff. The purpose of screening is to aid volunteer and non-profit organizations and agencies in determining whether prospective volunteers and staff have a pattern of criminal behavior that would make it unwise for them to be working with vulnerable populations.

Pre-employment background checks

      Helps protect non-profit organizations from negligence claims

      Helps ensure safety of vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly

      Helps protect non-profit organizations from negligence claims

Although the majority of surveyed nonprofit human service organizations conduct some screening, most agencies that serve vulnerable populations could benefit from more thorough and comprehensive volunteer screening practices.

The urgency of such questions has risen in recent years, as millions of volunteers (61 million in 2006)(1) donate billions of hours, sometimes serving in roles previously reserved for paid staff.  Thorough security practices, play a critical role in protecting vulnerable clients from harm and nonprofit organizations from liability.

Organizations that do not screen volunteers reported a variety of reasons, including the cost of screening, questions about the usefulness of screening, and concerns about offending potential volunteers.  Of those that do screen, nearly 50 percent had identified “inappropriate” volunteers through screening.

LIABILITY ISSUES

Liability exposure is the peril of not having the proper insurance policy and coverage to cover the people that work for the non-profit and also those that are served by the non-profit, along with the general public.

These categories are defined really by the insurance coverage that responds to them. The main liability exposures to non-profit organizations are as follows:

      General Liability Exposure

      Workers Compensation

      Professional Liability

      Employee Benefits Liability

      Auto Liability

      Directors Liability Exposure

_____________________________________________________________________________

General Liability Exposures

Bodily Injury

Property Damage

Personal Injury

Worker’s Compensation Exposure and Coverage

Worker’s Compensation provides coverage in two parts. Part one is the statutory benefits for the injured employee. Part two is the “Employer’s Liability” coverage.

Worker’s Compensation coverage is REQUIRED by law.

Professional Liability

Directors and Officers Insurance does indeed provide coverage for Professional Liability. However, there are two very important reasons why you should look at a separate policy for professional liability

Directors and Officers does not provide for Bodily Injury claims.

The directors and officers policy may specifically exclude coverage for certain business practices of a non-profit organization.

Employee Benefits Liability Exposure and Coverage

Employee Benefits Liability applies to errors made by the human resources individual in your organization responsible for administering the employees benefits. Liability arising from providing erroneous information concerning group health, COBRA, worker’s compensation, and other employee benefits can be insured by purchasing an employee benefits liability policy.

Fiduciary Liability Exposure

Fiduciary Liability arises when promised results are not met, or when you are accused of giving bad financial advice.

Auto Liability Exposure and Coverage

Liability arising out of the ownership or use of an automobile. If you own vehicles, purchase the insurance. If you do not own vehicles, add hired and non-owned auto liability to your General Liability coverage. If you frequently rent vehicles, add hired physical damage coverage to your auto policy and avoid paying the rental car waiver fees.

Directors & Officers Liability Exposures & Coverages

The exposures facing directors and officers are unique and complex. Any action taken by a board member can be legally challenged by a third party. In addition, the scope and impacts of the directors and officers duties are continually expanded by the courts. Direction of the non-profit organization has an impact not only on the organization, but on the employees and volunteers of the organization. Directors and Officers are now held accountable for the business practices of the organization such as hiring and firing of employees. 

Nonprofits are vulnerable because they are mission driven. Everyone is working based on the belief that the mission is important and everyone in the organization is passionately working for the cause.  No matter how deeply you are engaged in your mission, how much you hate dealing with the money, or how short staffed you are, never ever entrust one person to handle all the matters. 

ISGU can help you make safe, informed decisions about the people you work with, the companies you contract with and the policies and procedures needed to help you make these decisions.

Drug testing is of major importance in the hiring process.  Just as important is continued random screening to reduce the possibility of having employees working under the influence of drugs. 

Statistics from the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the Department of Labor show that:

1.  70% of drug abusers are employed. 

2.  8.5 Million employed persons are drug abusers.

3.  One out of ten employees has a drug problem

4.  Pre Employment drug screening, without continued random testing defeats the purpose of screening.

Methods of drug testing are by urine, the most reliable, and saliva, a less restrictive method.  There are outside agencies that can test for you, however, one of the least expensive and a reliable method is on site testing.  Certification of in house Human Resource personnel is quick and easy, SBI, Inc. can arrange for your product, urine or saliva testing devices, and certification.

Depending on individual state laws as to when you can test, either before hiring or after a contingency job offer has been made, you can do in house drug testing which is more prudent than sending someone to an outside lab.

With the exception of applicants or employees that fall under the Department of Transportation (DOT), regulations, in house testing is a cost saving alternative. 

Whether your drug tests are for DOT employees or not, if you choose to use an outside laboratory or a doctor’s office a main consideration for getting reliable results is to never let an applicant or employee go for testing without an escort.

Why?  If you check on line there are more methods of contaminating or making a drug test inaccurate than there are methods of drug testing and detection.  In our experience over twelve years we have seen and heard of some astonishing ways to avoid detection.  Convenience stores, health food or vitamin outlets have products such as Clean Whiz to adulterate a specimen.

Some chronic drug abusers may use one of the following methods to avoid detection:

1.  They carry small vials of clean urine on their body in the event they are tested.  By carrying it on their body they hope that the temperature will be close enough to body temp to fool the collector. 

2.  They carry packets of products to put into the specimen to adulterate it. 

3.   Some wear a belt that wraps around a bag to hold clean urine that has a “hose” that extends down their body.  By using this method, even with an observed collection they hope to avoid detection.

Your drug collection site must have a strong, consistent protocol to protect you from inaccurate drug test results.  Ideally a person in management should go and request a demonstration of their protocol.  Men should not be allowed to wear coats or jackets, belts, or take their wallets into the area that is secured for testing.  A secure area for collection means color tinting in the tank and bowl of the commode.  There should not be any cleaning or other chemicals of any type left in the collection area.  Faucets should be taped so that water cannot be drawn to dilute a specimen.  Women should not be allowed to wear jackets or coats into the collection area, and purses should not be allowed.  Ingestion of water should be limited.

There are convenient, reliable products for urine or saliva testing for in house testing.  For non DOT applicants or employees in house testing catches the applicant off guard and may generate more reliable results.  Your in house collection site must be secured in the same way as a lab or doctor’s office.

Urine is more sanitary than saliva, the collector should protect themselves with latex gloves, and the subject being tested can also wear gloves and be asked to seal the cup, tilt it, and if it is negative dispose of the urine and cup.  Results of the testing takes five (5) minutes, cups from 5 to 10 panels of detection are available. 

Saliva testing takes approximately two to four minutes for collection.  Protection with latex gloves should also be used.  SBI, Inc. strongly recommends that if you choose to use saliva testing products that they are NOT instant result devices.  Testing has proven that these instant saliva tests are NOT reliable.  Saliva tests should be sent to a lab for proper testing.

Urine testing shows drug use over an extended period of time, saliva only detects usage generally within the last 24 to 48 hours.

The following story saddens me on many levels.

It Is Tough Times for the People in Blue:

By CNN Ann On’Neill

I have been in business for myself since I was 21 years old.  I have owned my own private investigative business since I was 25.  There are many things about owning your own business that are tedious – accounting, marketing and some of the basics things can be pretty dull.  And there are parts of the investigative filed that can get dull – sitting for hours on end, watching NOTHING HAPPEN can be a pretty good indication that this industry is not much like what they show on TV and then again at times, it is very much like what you see on TV.  I’ll explain in a bit.

First, let me tell you that I woke up one day and realized I did not feel like “me”.  I knew that this had been something I was aware for a very long time and had chalked it up to many excuses – “I was tired.” – “I was getting older.”  – “I was dealing with stress.”  – “I was dealing with grief.”   Well, you get the picture.  Something was missing.  I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

Now here is where investigations is LIKE what you see on TV.  We are dealing with people – all kinds of people.  And to be good at what we do you have to study people and the things they STUDY to understand them better.  To improve my business, I have taken all kinds of classes and seminars in the study of people.  Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, NLP, fire walking, meditation, mental health classes – you name it, I have probably studied it in some form or fashion.  I even had as my personal coach, Lisa Nichols, from the Secret.  The upside to all this study is not only did I understand human nature better, but I learned a lot about my own self.  And because of this, I knew it was time to deal with this feeling of “Where is the real me?”

Some of the studies I had just completed where with Treyce Montoya.  I had found a whole other world of information into the minds of people through forensic handwriting analysis.  I was able to discover things about my own child from what I learned from Treyce and it actually saved my daughter’s life.  She was having suicidal thoughts that I could see when I looked at her handwriting and I was able to intercede because of my training.

So when Treyce told me about handwriting THERAPY, I was like, “Tell me more.”  I signed up immediately and began one of the most interesting and at times grueling 6 months of my life.  About half way through the sessions though I woke up and KNEW something had shifted inside of me.   I saw things and felt things like I did when I was a child.  I found joy in simple things that I had long been ignoring.  I wasn’t angry over things that in the past could set me into a frenzy.  And as the song goes, “I gave forgiveness I’d been denying.”  I have always been a passionate woman.  I was passionate as a child.  And all that passion seemed new and fresh to me.  What was also new was I felt peaceful – DAILY.  And the only thing different in my life was ME!  My daughter still has a brain disorder.  The economy still isn’t great.  I still work for a living. 

Handwriting therapy is an incredible experience and it is a journey I will continue on.  Our minds and our bodies are interlocked and while I may not understand this mystery, I do have some tools that allow me to improve my life by integrating my body and mind, giving my soul a much happier place to reside!