World

Creating Better Hiring Practices: How KENTECH Can Improve New Employees

Published

9 months ago

September 15, 2024

Although some may think background checks are only necessary for high-security jobs like government positions or teaching roles, most employers could benefit from the additional insights that a background check provides. In addition to providing information about an applicant’s criminal history, employers can use background checks to understand their abbreviated credit history or confirm information like employment, educational, and licensure history.

Why background checks are important

Unfortunately, while one would like always to assume the best, the truth is that not everyone is telling the truth. A study by SHRM found that 31% of people admitted to lying on resumes, while 56% admitted to “stretching the truth.”

This statistic makes it abundantly clear that business leaders must not feel comfortable simply trusting prospective employees’ applications at face value. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so a background check is used to confirm important information about an applicant and help make a better, more informed hiring decision.

At KENTECH, a leading background check technology provider, the team likes to say that they help their clients hire “not just the best person, but the right person.” After all, the cost of hiring and onboarding a new employee is extensive. Indeed reports that these costs can range from $4,000 to $20,000 per new employee.

If a hiring decision is made, only for that person to not perform well in the role and have to be let go shortly after, that’s a lot of money wasted. It’s better to make sure that you are making the right decision from the beginning.

KENTECH’s revolutionary background check technology

Some of KENTECH’s cutting-edge background check technology solutions include:

● Employment Verification Program (EVP): KENTECH’s Employment Verification Program is a web-based service designed to help streamline the background check process for employers. It gives employers one location through which they can manage the entire process from start to finish. Users can order background checks and verifications and easily manage documents — all from a single, convenient dashboard.

● Report Investigative Scoring Count (RISC): KENTECH’s RISC system helps organizations quickly interpret screening results at a glance. An organization can set up the criteria that matter most to them for screenings, and each background check will be labeled with a color code corresponding to the criteria set by the business. This provides employers with a visual cue for what applications may require closer scrutiny and helps identify which candidates may be most qualified.

● Rapid Application Center (RAC): KENTECH’s Rapid Application Center technology allows applicants to input their information and order background checks themselves. This saves hiring teams time with minimal burden to the applicant. An applicant signs onto a custom-built website and enters their information so administrative staff don’t have to. Administrators then receive email notifications when a candidate posts their information and when results are returned, allowing them to sign on at their convenience to view them.

● Unified Bulk Screening (UBS): For businesses that screen a high volume of candidates, KENTECH also offers a solution called Unified Bulk Screening (UBS). Once business leaders sign into their EVP account and import a list of candidates and their required information, they can see up-to-the-minute results in their portal or opt to receive a consolidated report that displays all results at once.

However, although the primary audience of these developments is the business and its leaders, there are also some significant benefits to the candidate experience. If a background check feels obstructive and frustrating to an applicant, they may form a negative first impression of the business or even give up. The KENTECH team designed their technology to be easy to use, often able to be integrated into the application and HR management system to make the process as seamless and intuitive as possible.

Although background checks might seem like an extreme step for the average employer, with the help of technology like that offered by KENTECH, it doesn’t have to be. KENTECH’s advanced background check technology helps streamline the process, allowing employers to get better insight into their prospective employees without significantly burdening themselves or their applicants. With this, background checks can become a standard, beneficial step in virtually every job application.

World

Empowering Minority Women to Pursue Leadership in Business and Law

Published

1 week ago

June 3, 2025

Jenny Jackson

There is a familiar saying that a “rising tide lifts all boats,” and there are professionals among us who truly take that concept to heart. Attorney Leah Wise is one of them. From an early age, Wise knew that whatever she wanted to do in life as a career, helping people had to be a primary motivation.

On her way up as founder of the first Latina-owned law firm in South Texas dedicated 100% to personal injury law, Wise acknowledges that she stood on the shoulders of some great mentors. Now, she is paying it forward through a series of initiatives and programs dedicated to helping minority women pursue their dreams.

A love for law and justice

While working for a state senator prior to law school, Wise developed a deep love for making a difference in people’s lives. “I learned that one person can truly have an impact on the world,” she recalls. This lesson led her to pursue law as a career, and she soon found herself in the position of a trailblazer as a woman and a Latina.

Unlike most young upstart lawyers who battle it out for positions at established firms after law school, Wise knew she wanted to set out on her own immediately. She started her own personal injury firm right out of law school and got to work making a name for herself in the Texas law community, an act of rebellion that flew in the face of norms within the law field and stood as a testament to the Wise’s resilience. It’s an approach Wise hopes to help other minority women embrace — go after what you want, no matter what stands in your way.

Giving back

Wise has not stopped wanting to help others since the days of working in the senator’s office. She has made a point to make philanthropy a significant part of her brand, focusing on building the confidence and careers of minority women, especially Latinas.

Wise created a non-profit organization called the Wise Women Foundation to address all of the ways she wanted to empower and inspire women seeking careers, especially those looking to make their mark in male-centered fields like Wise. The Wise Women Foundation helps empower minority women through education, mentorships, and resources that can often be scarce in minority communities.

“The foundation is about offering women options,” says Wise. Through the various resources provided by the Wise Women Foundation, women can better reach their full potential and overcome obstacles that are often placed in the way of minority women.

Part of Wise’s main focus through the Wise Women Foundation is helping women start their own businesses — as she did — especially within the legal industry. A serial entrepreneur herself, Wise knows the value of steering one’s own ship.

Wise has other beneficial initiatives as well, including the Leah Wise Latina Student Hardship Fund at her alma mater, St. Mary’s University School of Law, which offers $50,000 to the law school to aid Latina law students. She also hosts a CrashGal Mentorship Group for aspiring Latina lawyers and has raised funds for Teach for America, the Family Crisis Center of the Rio Grande Valley, and toward distributing tampons and pads in low-income schools in the Rio Grande Valley.

Using social connection to inspire others

Since starting her law firm, Wise has known the value of social media. As one of Texas’s first personal injury lawyers to truly take advantage of social media marketing, she knows how powerful social connections can be. As the co-founder of the social media segment “Latina Feature Friday” and the host of “Coffee With CrashGal,” Wise highlights minority-owned businesses and gives advice in a relatable and authentic way.

“The business world is so competitive,” Wise shares. “Everything I do is in an attempt to lift people up and encourage them.”

Changing the business landscape

Through every philanthropic project Wise takes on, Wise is helping change the business landscape for minority women. She has shown the value of being a multifaceted entrepreneur not only through her philanthropic works and her law firm but also through her other ventures, such as CrashGal Couture and her real estate business.

Recently, Wise purchased a building to house her empire — and made a statement about the strength and resilience of women in the process. The building was a former strip club, and Wise is dedicated to turning it into a safe space for building dreams, serving clients who are going through difficult moments, and empowering minority women in business.

Wise knows that with a helping hand, minority women can do extraordinary things — in business and in life. Whether it’s helping her clients get justice during a personal injury case or helping disadvantaged college students access money toward a law degree, Wise is making an indelible mark on her community.