Modern Business Use of Statement Analysis

Liars cost money

A major trend in America is to "game" or "play" "the system", which is a new spin on an old crime:  accessing money one's own hands have not earned.  It has become acceptable, socially, and this has led to new and innovative ways to get money not personally earned.  

With statistics varying from State to State, more Americans today than ever before in history, are applying for, and receiving aid from the government.  This appears to correlate with continual increases in taxes (for another argument) but in some States, agencies distributing these monies are looking for ways to catch those who falsify records in order to gain money.  

Locally, methadone users are using fake addresses to get "travel reimbursement", tax free money that, on average is $800 to $1,000 per month on top of all the other aid.  This aid includes reduced/subsidized rent, free cable, medical, cash benefits, and so on.  In fact, an entire new industry of business has arisen just to help people fill out forms and guide them where to go to get more money.  

With this mentality has come another unwelcome cousin: 

The payoff. 

The "payoff" is anything in which a person does to attempt to extort money from a business.  

This is where someone "falls" in a store, and stays down until employees carefully help the faller up, take her to the back office, cut her a check in exchange for a signature not to sue, and be done.  Some stores fear sharing the list of "repeat fallers" with other stores, due to the threat of law suits.  They do not want to be tied up in court, paying outrageous hourly fees to lawyers, who, above all others, seem to always profit.  Some major stores do trade names but still do not want to be tied up in court, and regularly make payouts of $1200 to $2500, even to people known to have gone from Target to Walmart to Kmart repeatedly.  

Substance Abuse

Small companies do not want substance abuse in the work place, but fear drug testing because they fear being tagged with Rehab costs, sometimes as much as $10,000 per week, as well as being sued by the addict. 

The substance abuser is often erratic, and can terribly misrepresent the company with unpredictable behavior, including verbally abusing clients &customers, stealing, no shows, and so on.  When caught, the addict can demand treatment under the threat of suit.  It isn't the person's fault, after all, "I need help" and the business suffering from the person's behavior, can now get tagged even worse.  


Interview Process

A woman convicted of embezzling $200,000 9 years ago from a company has now been accused of embezzling $500,000 from a Bangor, Maine nursery, at the rate of about $50,000 per year.  How it is that she was hired by the nursery after her original conviction is not known. 

Can a business screen out thieves before they are hired?

Statement Analysis can.  

In various scenarios, we advise companies how Statement Analysis can help:  

it begins with the statement. 

"You were mistreated by one of our workers?  This is not acceptable.  Please have a seat.  Here is a paper and pen, please write out precisely what happened."

"You fell because our floor was wet?  This is not acceptable.  Please have a seat.  Here is a cup of coffee on us.  Please write out exactly what happened, beginning with when you decided to come visit our store and include everything you can remember.  We like to make sure our customers are happy and safe."

"You found a fly in your soup?  This is not acceptable!  We run a clean store and we would like you to sit down now, and write down for us..."

In comes Statement Analysis.  

"You would like employment here?  Wonderful!  Our business often requires writings skills.  Before you interview, please submit a writing sample for us.  Here is a topic to choose from:

*Why you would like to work for us;
*Tell us what you did, on a day off, from the time you woke up until the time you went to sleep;

and so on. 

The interview process, using Analytical Interviewing (interviewing based upon Statement Analysis) can readily identify a liar. 

As regular readers know, our words reveal us, and there are words in which we may red flag for possible deception. A liar is a dangerous person who is capable of more harm than we ever know.  

If someone really was mistreated by our worker, we want to know.  But if someone is seeking a payoff, we want to know, too. 

Statement Analysis is used even prior to the interview process to screen out deceptive prospective employees. 

Resumes

Statement Analysis can, and should be used on resumes, along with follow up phone calls and questions. 

A low level supervisor in state social services went to a police academy to speak for 30 minutes to the officers to tell them what 800 number to call in the event that they should meet up with a person with disabilities. He gave them the contact information and a generally run down on disabilities. 

 On his resume, this became "Police Academy Instructor"

Statement Analysis can point out the areas in which missing information speaks to us.