The Maryland Chamber: In Reality Episode One from Storyfarm New Media on Vimeo.
New Maryland Chamber of Commerce member Storyfarm New Media is partnering with us to create a monthly reality video series chronicling the company’s first year of membership.
The goal of the video series is to call attention to the many ways the Maryland Chamber helps member companies grow, while working to enhance the state’s economy and business climate. Follow along as Storyfarm Managing Partner John Sherman attends Maryland Chamber events, connects with other members, gets involved in Chamber committees and activities, and learns more about the organization’s legislative advocacy efforts in Annapolis.
We’re pretty excited about this new collaboration, and we hope you find it entertaining and informative. This new format is being pioneered by Storyfarm, and we think it’s a great fit to showcase our efforts and get real-time feedback about our events and activities.
In the first episode, Sherman begins the series by going to the joint Marketing and Membership committee meeting at McCormick & Company headquarters in Sparks. Watch as John makes new contacts, learns about the Chamber’s legislative agenda for 2011, and shares what it’s like to be be a part of it from a newcomer’s perspective.
There is a fantastic story about Betty Buck in the July edition of Washington SmartCEO Magazine.
From a 5-year-old running around her father’s warehouse to one of the most respected business women in Maryland and beyond, the story provides a fun and interesting look at Buck’s career. There are also great photos, including the cover shot, which is a take on the classic Miller High Life “Girl on the Moon” logo.
Buck is President of Buck Distributing Co., Inc. In 2007, she became the first woman to Chair the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. Read the full story here.
So far, our series of posts on the hiring process has covered writing good job descriptions, finding innovative ways to identify candidates, screening applicants and interviewing prospective employees.
Now that you’ve chosen a final candidate and preparing to make an offer, it is important to consider conducting background screening and a drug test. HR Anew President & CEO Deborah Stallings said that this is critically important for small businesses.
“For many small businesses this is a step that is skipped, and it is very, very important. Making a bad hiring decision can be much more costly for a small business than a large corporation. It is important to protect yourself, and get as much information on a candidate before extending an offer of employment to them,” she said.
There are several free resources, as well as paid services that can be used to conduct background checks. A simple Google search of a candidate’s name can bring up additional information about a candidate.
Drug testing is also something employers should consider.
“Drug testing is something a lot of small businesses do not conduct and a lot of candidates know this and they seek out employment with small businesses for that reason,” Stallings said. According to the U.S. Department of Labor alcoholism and drug abuse have a profoundly negative affect on the workplace in terms of decreased productivity and increased accidents, absenteeism, turnover and medical costs.
It is important to protect yourself and your business and to evaluate your potential new employee before extending an offer to them. Here are some resources for conducting background checks and drug testing, from the Maryland Department of Labor and Licensing.
