Tim Dimoff is the type of business owner who makes the region look good. His passion for all things Northeast Ohio stems from his days spent protecting the city of Akron as a narcotics officer from 1977 to 1991.
Dimoff retired from the force on disability after being injured on the job, but security never left his blood. The Akron native then spent close to a year researching why U.S. corporations typically lose employee-related lawsuits and determined there were five areas being neglected by business owners when dealing with their employees — the hiring process, training for supervisors, development of foundation policies (employee manuals and drug testing), security-related matters and consistency of implementing the four across all shifts and locations.
This information became the nucleus for Dimoff’s firm, SACS Consulting.
Ten years later, he has built a reputation not only as a security and training expert in employee-related matters, but also as an entrepreneur willing to invest time, money and energy in emerging regional businesses.
Active in organizations including COSE and the Greater Akron Regional Chamber of Commerce (Dimoff is chairman for the chamber’s Small Business Council), he serves on the University of Akron’s Community and Technical College Advisory Board as well as on Witness Justice, a Washington, D.C.-based advisory board that works with victims of crimes.
Part of Dimoff’s passion is to stave off regional brain drain by bridging the gap between education facilities and the local business community. He regularly brokers meetings with university executives and regional business leaders. And he has put his own money to the test by investing in several local start-up ventures.
When he’s not busy helping facilitate Northeast Ohio business, Dimoff coaches youth sports such as soccer, basketball and baseball.
Since Sept. 11, business security has moved to the forefront of issues that affect employers. SBN sat down with Dimoff to discuss security measures and other pre-employment steps owners can take to protect themselves, their employees and their companies.
Why is security such a big issue?
Because of Sept. 11. It’s caused us to reexamine everything that goes on around us. We now have no choice but to be aware of the security around us. Simply put, we expect it to be better.
So what can businesses do to reduce their risk exposure?
It’s a lot of simple things. People aren’t using things they already have. For example, they have access control but allow everybody and anybody to come into their business. They may have cameras, but don’t upgrade them or use them. These are very simple things. Many companies can do simple procedures with employees, vendors and visitors that are cost effective. It usually comes down to using what you have and upgrading a little.
More important is developing procedures for security and actually using them. Many companies have them in place, but don’t. Consider piggybacking. That’s where an employee has an access control card. They swipe the card, and the next 20 people behind that person don’t swipe their cards. The first person just holds the door open until the entire group is in.
If the purpose of access control is to keep a record of each person who enters the building, piggybacking prevents that. It lets in visitors, vendors and other people who potentially could be criminals coming in while employees are pouring in. Someone who is a threat could stand back and watch this, then penetrate that first level of security.
What about drug testing? There are many changes going on in drug testing procedures. Where’s it heading?
It’s another tool to help better select applicants. Statistically, people who are using drugs tend to have to resort to criminal actions to support their habits. Their judgment can be suspect and their safety questionable. It trickles down to causing trouble in the company and costing it money. We know that potentially anybody utilizing drugs in the workplace have a 40 times higher rate of injuring another worker. When you start using a higher rate of medical benefits or down time, it translates into millions of dollars. That’s why it’s important to include drug testing in any hiring process.
But hiring isn’t an exact science, so how can you improve upon it?
When companies are hurting for money, one of the first areas they cut back on is the hiring process. That’s the last place they should be cutting back. That hurts their ability to screen applicants. The hiring process is the key to the rest of your company, so it’s a bad idea to cut back there first. Beyond that, most companies don’t have a strong hiring process – it can be a sloppy process. If it becomes sloppy, it’s more difficult to correct a problem after the hire than during the process.
Is there one issue looming out there that will become the next big issue companies will have to face?
The employee-on-employee altercation issue. People aren’t getting along as well as they used to and there’s been a breakdown in cooperation and working together. We’ve already seen the start of it, and it’s heading in the wrong direction.
How to reach: SACS Consulting, (330) 255-1101
