Hiring an Administrative Assistant. Thoughts?

HuntAssuranceGroup

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In need of advice!

I am in need of hiring someone to help with administrative tasks. Here is my track history with an administrative:

Initially hired a virtual assistant, too long to train and ~18/hour
Secondly hired my nanny, she just did not have the skill set, 1099'd her
And now, work with a temporary company. 1st girl was great but she just moved back to NJ. Second set of interviews and I have crap to pull from. The one I really like has a felony for drug possession from 2005. No other things on record, she brought it up in interview and stated that she was at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

My question is....Does it look bad, do I run into ethical issues, Dept. of Insurance issues by hiring a felon (over 10 years) to be my administrative assistant?

Thanks!
 
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In need of advice! I am in need of hiring someone to help with administrative tasks. Here is my track history with an administrative: Initially hired a virtual assistant, too long to train and ~18/hour Secondly hired my nanny, she just did not have the skill set, 1099'd her And now, work with a temporary company. 1st girl was great but she just moved back to NJ. Second set of interviews and I have crap to pull from. The one I really like has a felony for drug possession from 2005. No other things on record, she brought it up in interview and stated that she was at the wrong place, at the wrong time. My question is....Does it look bad, do I run into ethical issues, Dept. of Insurance issues by hiring a felon (over 10 years) to be my administrative assistant? Thanks!

I would call your state dept of insurance and ask about the felonies. But if you are 1099ing someone then who cares what kind if record they have! Right? Or am I wrong?

Amber
 
You're wrong on that. Sorry.

When considering hiring someone, you're exposing them to your client's information - bank accounts, social security numbers, dates of birth, signatures, state id/dl information, etc.

You probably have a lot of information that's a GOLDMINE for identity theft. If you hire someone with any kind of criminal record... and you KNOW about it... and something happens... how would you explain that to your clients & policyholders?


This comes from personal experience. I was a manager at a Wells Fargo Bank in south orange county California. One of my tellers was pulled over and searched by police officers. He had copies of drivers licenses, signatures, bank account information, and other identifying information. My teller called me to confess it... which meant immediate termination. My internal fraud & investigation team wanted to keep him longer to question him... but since he confessed, I couldn't do anything other than let him go. It was suspected that he was part of an identity theft ring, creating fraudulent home equity loans against people's property.

He couldn't be hired if he had a bad background check. He must've been clean.

An ounce of prevention can prevent a whole lot of problems down the road.

Yes, it was related to drugs, and it was nearly 10 years ago... but you have a business to protect and client data to keep secure.

In my mind, it's a clean background... or no deal.

We're in the insurance business... we're supposed to transfer risks... not increase them, especially for our own businesses.

Just my thoughts. Keep looking.
 
You're wrong on that. Sorry. When considering hiring someone, you're exposing them to your client's information - bank accounts, social security numbers, dates of birth, signatures, state id/dl information, etc. You probably have a lot of information that's a GOLDMINE for identity theft. If you hire someone with any kind of criminal record... and you KNOW about it... and something happens... how would you explain that to your clients & policyholders? This comes from personal experience. I was a manager at a Wells Fargo Bank in south orange county California. One of my tellers was pulled over and searched by police officers. He had copies of drivers licenses, signatures, bank account information, and other identifying information. My teller called me to confess it... which meant immediate termination. My internal fraud & investigation team wanted to keep him longer to question him... but since he confessed, I couldn't do anything other than let him go. It was suspected that he was part of an identity theft ring, creating fraudulent home equity loans against people's property. He couldn't be hired if he had a bad background check. He must've been clean. An ounce of prevention can prevent a whole lot of problems down the road. Yes, it was related to drugs, and it was nearly 10 years ago... but you have a business to protect and client data to keep secure. In my mind, it's a clean background... or no deal. We're in the insurance business... we're supposed to transfer risks... not increase them, especially for our own businesses. Just my thoughts. Keep looking.

I agree. Keep looking! I get it, we all make mistakes..but, Why risk it.
 
You're wrong on that. Sorry. When considering hiring someone, you're exposing them to your client's information - bank accounts, social security numbers, dates of birth, signatures, state id/dl information, etc. You probably have a lot of information that's a GOLDMINE for identity theft. If you hire someone with any kind of criminal record... and you KNOW about it... and something happens... how would you explain that to your clients & policyholders? This comes from personal experience. I was a manager at a Wells Fargo Bank in south orange county California. One of my tellers was pulled over and searched by police officers. He had copies of drivers licenses, signatures, bank account information, and other identifying information. My teller called me to confess it... which meant immediate termination. My internal fraud & investigation team wanted to keep him longer to question him... but since he confessed, I couldn't do anything other than let him go. It was suspected that he was part of an identity theft ring, creating fraudulent home equity loans against people's property. He couldn't be hired if he had a bad background check. He must've been clean. An ounce of prevention can prevent a whole lot of problems down the road. Yes, it was related to drugs, and it was nearly 10 years ago... but you have a business to protect and client data to keep secure. In my mind, it's a clean background... or no deal. We're in the insurance business... we're supposed to transfer risks... not increase them, especially for our own businesses. Just my thoughts. Keep looking.

Very true! Didn't think of that real quick :)
Crazy people!

Amber
 
I agree with everyone about the felon- just don't do it. It would be like a kid in a candy store for the right person.
My experience in finding an admin was challenging. Hundreds of resumes, dozens of interviews, to hire someone who no-called-no-showed on her third day! That sucked. Did find another person, but it was a tough experience. Do your due diligence and take your time. You've gone without help for awhile, what's another week or month, when you find a winner?
Good luck to you!
 
You're wrong on that. Sorry. When considering hiring someone, you're exposing them to your client's information - bank accounts, social security numbers, dates of birth, signatures, state id/dl information, etc. You probably have a lot of information that's a GOLDMINE for identity theft. If you hire someone with any kind of criminal record... and you KNOW about it... and something happens... how would you explain that to your clients & policyholders? This comes from personal experience. I was a manager at a Wells Fargo Bank in south orange county California. One of my tellers was pulled over and searched by police officers. He had copies of drivers licenses, signatures, bank account information, and other identifying information. My teller called me to confess it... which meant immediate termination. My internal fraud & investigation team wanted to keep him longer to question him... but since he confessed, I couldn't do anything other than let him go. It was suspected that he was part of an identity theft ring, creating fraudulent home equity loans against people's property. He couldn't be hired if he had a bad background check. He must've been clean. An ounce of prevention can prevent a whole lot of problems down the road. Yes, it was related to drugs, and it was nearly 10 years ago... but you have a business to protect and client data to keep secure. In my mind, it's a clean background... or no deal. We're in the insurance business... we're supposed to transfer risks... not increase them, especially for our own businesses. Just my thoughts. Keep looking.

Great feedback. That was my husbands opinion too!!!

Sent from my iPad using InsForums

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I agree with everyone about the felon- just don't do it. It would be like a kid in a candy store for the right person. My experience in finding an admin was challenging. Hundreds of resumes, dozens of interviews, to hire someone who no-called-no-showed on her third day! That sucked. Did find another person, but it was a tough experience. Do your due diligence and take your time. You've gone without help for awhile, what's another week or month, when you find a winner? Good luck to you!

Yes, finding a good assistant is so taxing. I'm on number 3 now, interviewed 6. I'm trying to balance my need for one with patience to get the right person.

Sent from my iPad using InsForums
 
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