Austin, TX

March 2007

I was not able to attend this year’s conference as I had unfortunately already long ago booked a three-week trip to Africa [not unfortunate I went to Africa-it was a SUPER trip, but unfortunate because I missed NAPBS].   I had booked it to end before April, the historical conference date, but this year he conference was moved up, so…. 

However, my capable people were there, Don Berg, Asysha Hogan and Cindy Sullivan, whose input is below.  Pictures of the trip to Africa are available via a link at the top of the home page on this website.

There were well over 600 people (600!) in attendance at the conference. Another bang up year for NAPBS and our industry.  Also, NAPBS member companies increased to 610, a new record.  Congratulations to the membership committee chaired by Alicia Jones and Kim Ross.

The feedback from the 62 fellow exhibitors was very positive.  This conference is obviously a great opportunity for industry suppliers to meet, greet and do business.

Suggestions for next year’s conference:

• Make the opening night cocktail hour last until very late.  This is one of the most productive times and with hundreds of people to meet and greet, more time is needed.
• The educational sessions descriptions should be better described in the program.
• The FCRA 101 session was good, but a higher level “FCRA 102” would be useful and might be well attended.
• Better climate control.  Some areas too cold and some to warm.
• The conference had an overall very professional, growth oriented feel to it, yet some left feeling the need to step it up a notch. 
• Since our own Asysha Hogan has been invited to join the Conference Committee, she will help here.

There was much talk about an IAPBS (the International Assoc of Background Screeners), with the possibility of several conferences in different parts of the world.  NAPBS now has several non-USA members.

The general consensus was that the Track Sessions were too basic.  Although there were a lot of first time attendees, most people, especially business owners, thought the sessions were geared towards beginners and their time could have been more productive if given more advanced, practical and useful information. 

The keynote speaker, Bob Prosen, was well received and did provide good information but mostly for business owners, managers, sales managers and salespeople.  He was an engaging speaker and it was a nice touch to receive his book, provided by ClearStar.net and Credential Check.

Speaking of ClearStar, Bob Vale made a good point about the direction of NAPBS regarding standards and accreditation, stating that the standard should be set somewhere in the middle and companies can choose to exceed them to gain a competitive advantage.  But, if the bar is set too high many smaller companies will not be able to or afford to be accredited.

People were talking about growing their businesses through acquisitions.  Most thought that the large players such as ChoicePoint and FADV were done for a while. While our M&A activity has been very strong this past 10 months (almost a deal a month), I think the “big boys’ are still looking to acquire, it would just have to be substantial in size.

There were nine companies exhibiting their background-checking software and a couple that would set you up as a private-label provider.  This means this is still fertile ground because there are still companies out there with no software and companies that need more robust or lower cost systems.  We have a pretty good feel for this arena.  So if you need advice, call us for consultation.

If you are reading this, you should be there next year, too. 

New Orleans April 13-16, 2008

Commercial message:

We can help you sell your business when you are ready. 

Call to discuss.

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