Episode 70: The Veterans Panel: Matt O'Connor, Wanda Hess & Rory Bogdon

I've been lucky enough to talk to a lot of impressive people on this podcast, but this one was a little different. These three didn't just work in background screening. They built the backbone of it, and they're still at it.

Matt O'Connor, Wanda Hess, and Rory Bogdon have a combined career span that stretches across fax clerks and help wanted ads, through the ChoicePoint and Sterling acquisition waves, into the wholesale world, and all the way to PBSA's government relations desk. In this episode, the three of them talk about what's really changed in the industry, what keeps them here after all these years, and the lessons that stuck with them from the beginning.

Pro Conversation You Don't Want to Miss!

• Wanda's 28-year career in a single thread: fax clerk to CEO, including the pivot to sales she almost didn't take and the gut-call that led her to start Iprotech Screening
• Matt's take on the biggest shift in the industry: the flip from human-led research supported by technology to technology-led operations supported by humans
• Rory's most practical career lesson: bad news doesn't age well, and it goes double if it's your fault
• Wanda's argument that AI in background screening needs a human checkpoint, because no two clerks do it the same and court records are full of misspellings that only a person can catch
• Why all three are still in this industry after 30-plus years: it's never boring, you never stop learning, and the people are, frankly, some of the best around

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss a conversation. Thanks to our sponsor, PreemploymentDirectory.com, publisher of Background Buzz and numerous other resources. And a special thanks to W. Barry Nixon

Connect with US:

• Les Rosen- https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesterrosen/
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/@BehindtheSCreens200

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:00

I would say I'm thankful to no longer be making eight dollars an hour.

SPEAKER_00 0:05

So You mean you gotta raise? Yes.

SPEAKER_02 0:11

$859? That's great.

SPEAKER_03 0:21

Welcome to Behind the Screens Conversations with Background Screening Pros. I'm Les Rosen, your host, and I'm excited to have you here. On this podcast, we chat with the people who know the background screening world inside and out. Executives, industry experts, legal pros, and more. We dive into their personal stories and insights to give you a real look at what's happening behind the scenes. Whether you work in the screen industry or are just curious, behind the screens bring you the real unfiltered conversations from the people who make it all happen. Stick around for stories you won't hear anywhere else. And ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another edition of the Behind the Screens podcast featuring background screening pros. And today we have three special guests. We have three guests who are longtime veterans of the background screening industry. I call this the Veterans Panel. These are folks that represent the backbone of the background industry. These are the folks that make it go, that runs the engine, make sure the trains are on time, et cetera, et cetera. And what's really interesting to me about it is they have lots of history, lots of insights. They knew back then what was happening, they know now what's happening. I think they probably have a pretty good idea of what will happen in the future. So happy to have on today's panel Mr. Matt O'Connor, Wanda Hess, and Rory Bogdan. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. Thank you for being here on Behind the Screens.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Thank you for having us, Les. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 1:58

My pleasure. So let me ask you first, where are you talking to us from today? We'll pick on Matt first, and then Rory and then Wanda. Where are you speaking to us today, Matt?

SPEAKER_05 2:08

Les I am coming at you live from Indian Land, South Carolina, which is uh basically a suburb just south of Charlotte, North Carolina.

SPEAKER_03 2:17

All right. Well, we gotta love love North Carolina. Love Charlotte. And Rory, where are you where are you talking from?

SPEAKER_06 2:23

I am in my office in a small town called Mexico, New York, which is north of Syracuse, almost to Canada, so out in the middle of nowhere, pretty much.

SPEAKER_03 2:35

So you live on the Mexican-Canadian border.

SPEAKER_06 2:38

Exactly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

I didn't know there was one. So, so anyway, no political jokes, but there's some joke there about I can't quite pull out of my head. And wonder where are you talking to us from?

SPEAKER_01 2:52

I am talking to you from Winchester, Virginia. I'm in Northern Virginia, but right outside of DC. Not sure it's a great place to be at today, but that's where I am. And I've been born and raised my whole life here in Virginia.

SPEAKER_03 3:04

So all right. Well, obviously, something happening in Virginia.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

Well, I'm right outside of D.C. Virginia's fine. It was D.C. that had the issues of three.

SPEAKER_03 3:12

If it wasn't for DC, Virginia would be a good Northern Virginia would be a great place. That's right, exactly. All right. So let's get for folks that may not know you or or talk with you recently, let's talk about current roles. We'll start with Roy. Roy, what's your tell us about your current position? What do you do? What do you like about it? Uh if there's something you don't like about it, don't share that. But uh, what is it? What do you go your folks are currently doing?

SPEAKER_06 3:36

Yeah. Currently I work for PBSA as state and local government relations director. That is a long title that admittedly I came up with to say that I am in charge of tracking uh legislation at the state level to make sure there's nothing happening in that legislation that could harm the background screening industry. And I also work on issues related to public record access. And the two folks on this call with me, Wanda and Matt, help me in that capacity on the access subcommittee. Um, but yeah, I just I kind of work on strategy and outreach and advocacy on behalf of the industry to make sure, as you mentioned, up to the top, you know, the wheels keep moving for us.

SPEAKER_03 4:25

All right. And and I know on the access issue, the the three of you, this is not the first time you've been on a panel together. You presented on the three of you presented on access at a PBSA conference, as I recall being told, correct? Yes. Yeah. We did. Okay. And uh Wanda, what are you currently up to these days?

SPEAKER_01 4:45

I am founder and owner of um IPRTEC screening, and I run the company. I'm the CEO here, and I run the company, and as a company owner, you as you know less, you wear lots and lots of hats. So I'm doing a little bit of everything, juggling a lot of balls these days. But just running the company and just really I've been doing this for almost 28 years now. So the work and what we do is the easy part. It's all the other administration, administrative bull crap you gotta deal with. That's the hard part. But mostly, you know, like running the the company, making sure our processes are in place, we're aligned with the right partners in the field. Um, we're introducing the right products when it's the right time to introduce the right products, that type of thing. So a little bit of yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:30

And Matt, I feel I should ask you what don't you do instead of what you do do. But what what are you doing these days?

SPEAKER_05 5:37

I I do sometimes wear multiple hats myself, but I'm a vice president of operations at First Advantage. Um, been with the the company since prior acquisition in in 2013. Um and in my current role, I oversee what we call consumer affairs, a broad term for things related to disputes and reinvestigations, things related to FCRA compliance and and you know other types of escalations and situations that that involve background reports and consumers who engage with first advantage.

SPEAKER_03 6:12

Okay. Well, it's certainly we certainly got a a diverse amount of experience here, and and I think it's always interesting to find about people's career paths. So I'll just randomly ask Wanda to start this one. How did you get from point A to whatever point you're at now, point A to B or A to Z? Tell us about your career path.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

Les it's been a very long journey, but it's been a good one. But it's been a very, very good one. I actually started at a CRA, a company called American Background, and that was 28 years ago or so, and I was started as their fax clerk, making eight dollars and fifty cents an hour. However, you know, it was it was my foot in the door. That was actually a real job back then because I mean you guys remember faxes, right? You know, I mean faxes were a thing. And so when it was like the manual fax, not where you can automatically do it now on your computer, but I started as a fax clerk, and so when the verifications team would call for an employment verification or an education verification, many times they would say, fax me the sign release. So we had these huge filing cabinets with you know paper applications because our clients had faxed their applications. I'm showing my age here, guys. Sorry, but I would go find the file, hope the file was in the cabinet to make a copy of the sign release, put the file back, and go back and manually fax for the verification. I did that for about three months and I was bored out of my mind. I'm like, y'all gotta give me something else to do. So I ended up just, you know, they allowed me to start doing some verification stuff and learning that. So I kind of got my start there. And then as I progressed further, I was able to go into like running the data entry team. That again was a thing when people we had to actually data entry things ourselves, right? And then they asked me to run the verification team at one time, the customer service team at one time, the supplier management team at one time. We've got a lot of experience there in running teams. I think it ended on the customer service team, which I loved. American Background ended up selling to Sterling. Thanks, Matt. So Sterling actually bought American Background, which now, of course, Sterling was bought by First Advantage. So they ended up buying the company, and so I ended up leaving, of course, there, and then I ended up somehow in the wholesale world where I was working with suppliers and what have you, you know, doing working for wholesalers, supplying to CRAs, which was kind of a different role for me because I had to learn the different side of it, but it did help a lot from everything I've learned from over here. But to walk into that role, it's such a different experience, you know, working in the wholesale side and actually learning how all these little tiny pieces work. So that was very interesting. That's where I spent a lot of my time. Make sure the people who owned American Background was owned by the Lowers, who also started wholesale screening solutions. And they had called me up and said, Hey, you want to come over and you know, talk to us? And I did, and long story short, I ended up going there and they hired me as their vendor manager. So I was doing that, and at that time they were starting to build, they were new. I think, gosh, I was like employee number 10, 12, something like that, there at wholesale screening. So, but it was a great going into that, learning all of that, setting up their supplier network. So I did that for about eight years, and then one day, Vince Pascarella, which we all know and love, right? Vince. So Vince had come up to me and said, Hey, you know, have you ever thought about doing sales? I'm like, I don't know about that. I don't know about. And at that time, I was worried about, you know, what if I don't sell anything? You know, what am I gonna do? I need money, right? And so anyway, he ended up, I don't know what happened, but we were going to a PBSA conference. And Mark Lowers, one of the owners of wholesale, said, Hey, I want to talk to you at the conference. And I'm like, Oh crap, what'd I do? You know what I mean? You know, when the big man called you to talk, it's like, what did I do, right? So he wanted to talk to me about joining sales, and I told him my concerns about doing it. So we ended up talking a little bit more after that, and he made me a pretty nice offer, and I'm super, super thankful that I did join the sales team and where I was able to actually learn more sides of it because it helped me learn like contract negotiation, pricing. We all love that, right? All of those different things, right? And I love talking to the people in the industry, so I was able to do that more, but I feel like going through all of that helped set me up to be able to start what I'm doing now. Wholesale and SJV merged. The two largest wholesalers ended up merging. This was probably 14, 15 years in or so at wholesale. Them two ended up merging together and forming one company, which of course is now is Inform Data. I was there for about four or five months, and I felt like you know, it just wasn't for me anymore. I was too old for it. So I was like, you know what? I don't want to do this anymore. But they were owned by a PE firm. I felt like with wholesale, we really kind of captured a lot of magic there because we all got along so well. I think when we merged, we had close to 500 employees at that time. So we were really, really a taken off. So it just it was a different environment, different world. And I ended up leaving and I made a short stint somewhere else, and then I ended up, you know, quitting that job and then ended up like I was literally sitting in the seat right here, and I was like, gosh, what am I gonna do? I knew I did not want to put my career in somebody else's hands anymore. So ended up said, you know what, after talking to some people in the industry and talking to some folks, like, why don't you do this? I'm like, okay, and I did, and I didn't look back, so it's probably good I didn't think too much about it. I was like, okay, I'm gonna do it, right?

SPEAKER_03 11:42

So the rest is history, as they say.

SPEAKER_01 11:44

That's right, Glass. As you know, if they tell you everything you gotta do, if you might need to think a little bit more, right?

SPEAKER_03 11:49

Well, you're you're one of those people, you're part of that rare breed who's done it all, been there, done it all, you know, had all this experience where now people are more segregated. And thank you for sharing. Matt, what's been your career journey?

SPEAKER_05 12:01

Oh, my career journey sounds kind of similar to Wanda's, and she's got me beat though. I started in the industry at $8 an hour. Um Wanda, you yeah, you taught me at $8.50, but I've I literally what one of the things I've shared with folks in the past that is kind of like your fax clerk role. I got into the industry literally by answer answering a want ad. A help wanted ad in the newspaper in the Tampa Bay area in late 1995. I don't even know if they still have help wanted sections in newspapers or who even buys the paper anymore, but I don't think they have newspapers anymore. Yeah, exactly, exactly. But in any case, I answered an ad to be a background investigator and started with a small family-owned company in January of 1996. And I I started obviously in the entry-level role, just doing public record checks in in different states and counties by really any means and means necessary or means available. So working with vendors, working with court clerks and different sources, that that small company ultimately sold the business to a company some of us will remember called Choice Point. Choice Point bought the company I started with in uh 1998. I started to to work with for Choice Point by way of that acquisition, um, relocated with Choice Point to the Atlanta area, and uh Choice Point later um sold the business to to Lexus Nexus in 2007 or or eight, if I I remember correctly. So I've I've now worked for four different companies without really ever applying for a job or changing companies. But the Choice Point, like I said, sold the business to Lexus Nexus. I I spent years working for Lexus Nexus in what then was called their screening solutions business. And then fast forward to 2013, and Lexus sold that screening solutions business to First Advantage. So I've been fortunate enough to weather multiple storms by way of acquisition. I'm still around, so hopefully that means I'm doing something right.

SPEAKER_03 14:14

You and Wanda so far have both rode the acquisition surfboard, right?

SPEAKER_05 14:18

Yes, we certainly have. We certainly have with honor less, with honor.

SPEAKER_03 14:23

And yeah, and that and that's sort of the nature of uh corporate America these days. Yes. Uh Ray, how about you?

SPEAKER_06 14:29

What was your path to get from uh you know, honestly, kind of similar to Matt's and Wanda's, and I just want to say, like, I don't think anyone goes like, I want to be a background screener when I grow up. There's maybe like two or three people I can think of that might have ever had that thought, but I think the rest of us kind of wound up here. In my case, I had gotten back from living and working in China with my wife. We were there six years, got back to the States, and she got a job in Nashville. I didn't have a job in Nashville, so I went to a temp agency and they were like, We have this researcher job at a background check company. So that sounds interesting. Interviewed, and they were like, Are you sure you want to do this? Like, cuts a check, and then yeah, I started doing operations research like Matt, you know, learning about different states, and then just kind of worked my way up into supervisor and then management. This was at a company called Higherite, by the way, and worked there for some time, found my way into account management, which I did not like, then ultimately left higherite to go work at my first time at a kind of wholesaler as well at a company called SecureTech, which several acquisitions later is now part of Equifax. That was the job where I, yeah, as vendor manager, I got to really get engaged with PBSA, meet a bunch of people, then came back to higher to work on a project that morphed into me being vendor manager again over there, then went back to a regional researcher for a short time, and then on to PBSA, what I'm doing now.

SPEAKER_03 16:05

So that's so interesting. Your first advantage, higher sterling, and you all ended up in different ways, different acquisitions. I interviewed one person, I can't remember who it was now, who every time they they left a job, went to a new place, that new job got bought by the same firm. They kept going back to the same acquire. So it must have been meant to be. And the only thing you haven't shared with us, we have Matt at eight. We have Juan to eight.

SPEAKER_06 16:30

Oh, yeah, I'm I started in 2013, so not as long. And I started at the princely sum of twelve dollars an hour. Oh my gosh. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:38

He's got us, Matt.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

I don't know, adjusted for inflation. Juan, he might still be the winner. I'm not sure. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 16:44

Thanks, class. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 16:46

Yeah, I'm not, I'd have to freak this out. Well, these are very varied career paths, and so we we really do have three veterans. And when I said we have a panel that understands the backbone of the background industry, you proved me right. I mean, you've all had these adventures and really interesting. So here's the big question. You're all veterans, you've all, I can say, done it all, seen it all. I mean, top of mind. What is like a big global change that you've seen in the industry? Other than you know, everyone, you know, AI or technology, sure, but anything other than that you've seen that really just strikes you? And Roy, I it looks like you're ready to go, so I'll call it.

SPEAKER_06 17:22

Well, I was just gonna say, I mean, and mine is technology related, but it is basically that I've seen, I think, a shift from humans really leading research and kind of company prioritizing really, you know, human-led research that's supported by technology to that really being turned on its head to where I think now the focus is on getting good data and having good technology that is supported by humans to make sure it works. And I think that we're not unique in our industry, but certainly over the last decade that's to me really been evident.

SPEAKER_03 18:04

So we're becoming slaves of the robots. Oh no. Right. Matterwater, you want to add to that?

SPEAKER_01 18:10

I would just like to add to kind of jump on that too, with and one more thing, is that you know, I think we have to be careful on how we're using AI some with some of this. So I think you just can't, in our space, especially, there's no uniformity, right? You know, there's no uniformity at all. And so there's so many different things, and sometimes you really need a human to look at dockets or papers, what have you, to kind of read between the lines. No clerks do it all the same. They're always, you know, they easily make misspellings or what have you. So I think we've got to be very careful on how much we are using AI in our space. I think I do like the point that it is uh assisted, you can assist with it, but I think you also need to make sure it's not that's all you're doing. And the other thing that I would add, you know, because we go way back, you know, way back to what we're doing, is that I've seen just the volume we're dealing with today is so much different than what we dealt with back in the day. Because I think back then a lot of people were doing background screenings to be in compliance, they had to, right? The industry they were in, they had to run it. And now I think people really are looking for security, making sure their workplace is good, not just doing it to check a box. So I think that you know that's kind of helped a lot of the volume growth. So on top of the obvious technology thing, I think it's worth noting that you know, our volume has definitely increased a lot because people really are doing it because they want to now versus they had to.

SPEAKER_03 19:29

Well, by the way, I meant to interrupt you when you were telling your story about the files. That it's you know, we all we've all lived through that, and you said you go looking for the file. And the thing that came to my brain, assuming the file was there, assuming the file was wasn't at the social trace desk or at the criminal desk, right? And not the back.

SPEAKER_02 19:45

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 19:46

Matt, what about you? Have you been doing this since since the days of uh of newspaper one ads? Yeah. What's sort of like a big global shift?

SPEAKER_05 19:56

I think Rory and Wanda certainly raised some good points. I think you know what I would add to that a little bit, most of my early career and and right up until about 10 years ago, you know, I spent in different roles related to public records and and record access. So I think the evolution of how records are stored, where records are stored, how they're maintained, has been cool to watch over the years and to follow. Obviously, going back to the days when I started and much like Wanda was was, you know, faxing and we were faxing things to courthouses, we were accessing paper files and so just you know, again, somewhat on the technology track, but to watch the evolution of how uh criminal records and data became available in the you know, now 30 years I've been doing this has been pretty remarkable. And I think it kind of touches a little bit on what Wanda said in terms of uh employers and end users. I think the other thing that comes to mind to me is that our customers, right? The end users and employers are a lot smarter about background screening now than they were a long time ago. Right? And they they they ask the right questions, they're engaged. I think to Wanda's point, in early stages of screening, it was a formality, it was a check the box compliance kind of issue. And now the conversations that I have with our customers, they're a lot more savvy and they want to fully understand the process and how things work and where things work. So that's been an interesting change too, is really just the education and the intelligence of the end users growing.

SPEAKER_03 21:34

Yeah. And they're also a lot more savvy about the second chance, fair chance, the fair use of criminal records, and all that as well. Yeah. So we're gonna do kind of a of a quick lightning round here. I always like to ask about mentors or early influencers, and we want to keep to our time here. So we'll whoever wants to kick in, is there anyone you want to give a shout out to or uh a mention?

SPEAKER_01 21:57

I'll go for a quick that's okay. So probably early on. I had an old boss. Her name was Jeanette Ashby. She's not in the industry anymore. She was fabulous. And not so much as about the industry, but just, you know, mind you, I was making 850 being a fax clerk, right? So she helped, you know, you really got and helped me learn the different sides of the industry, but not just industry, business, how to handle stuff, right? And business. So probably her. I actually mentioned a few earlier when I was talking with, you know, there was the Lowers, of course, you know, and then Vince, of course, you know, helped me push me over into sales, which I think definitely helped project me into being able to do what I'm doing today. And then I think, you know, as I was starting to do iProtect, I had so many people I spoke with in the space, business owners already of CRAs and other people that's been around for so long, Gina Kessler, some others, Mike Croca, some others that just really was pushing me, not so much of them to push me, but other people I'd spoken to that's been around for a very long time.

SPEAKER_03 22:49

Well, thank you for sharing. And Matt, anyone you want to give a shout out to, the mentor or an influencer?

SPEAKER_05 22:55

Yeah, sure. I think who comes to mind for me probably right out of the gate is my first boss in the industry. And some of you may know her, she's still in the industry, but Joan Henry, Joan Grondon now, who who's with iCover, she literally taught me probably everything I know about how and where to go search for records. She was my boss at Application Profiles in the late 90s, where I mentioned I I started with that small company, and Teresa Preg was her boss, and and many of you know Teresa from from PBSA days as well. So Joan and Teresa certainly taught me a lot, particularly as a you know young kid straight out of college. And like Rory mentioned earlier, I don't think any of us had initial aspirations of becoming a background screening expert, but uh here we are, or getting into that field, so to speak. And then probably another boss and mentor that comes to mind would be Eric Hess from my days at Lexus Nexus. And Eric's probably one who I spent most of my, as I mentioned, early days kind of in the weeds with public records, and he pulled me out of the weeds a bit and taught me to be a lot more focused and strategic, and I'm grateful for that.

SPEAKER_03 24:08

Oh, that's great. And Teresa, I haven't talked to her for a while, but she was a former chair of PBSA and she was wonderful. Spent a lot of time with her in the in the past. Certainly.

SPEAKER_05 24:15

Oh, thank you. She's she's retired and hopefully spending lots of time with grandkids these days.

SPEAKER_03 24:20

Wow, that's fantastic. And Rora, do you want to finish up this one?

SPEAKER_06 24:24

Sure, yeah. I mean, there's a lot of folks that have helped me along the way, but one I really wanted to make sure I'd call out is Kathleen Nottingham, and she was one of the first people that I had exposure to in leadership in background screening. She was always very good at analyzing every angle of a problem and the outcomes, potential solutions would have. And I like just such depth of knowledge of the industry and how things work, just really always impressive and kind of instilled in me to really make sure that when you're presented with an issue, you're trying to see it from every possible angle.

SPEAKER_03 25:03

I think she had she was a guest on one of our podcasts, so that was wonderful talking to her. Well, thank you for sharing. One of the interesting things to talk about, particularly for folks who have seen it all and done it all, are an early lesson. Maybe just pick one that comes to the top of mind, an early lesson that you learned in your career, business in general or background screening, that you've kept in mind and bears repeating so that listeners of this podcast might hear and think about it.

SPEAKER_01 25:30

You know, probably the biggest thing I think is that I learned very early on. It's okay to ask questions. It's okay. You don't need to be the smartest person in the room. It's okay to ask a question. Don't be afraid to do that. Because a lot of people, especially for early starting out, you're scared to you don't want to look dumb, you don't want to, you know, sound like you're uneducated about it. And so you just don't ask a question. So it's okay to ask it. It's okay not to know the answer. It's not okay not to find the answer. Right. So I think that's just, I would just say knowledge is power. Just soak up as much as you can and ask.

SPEAKER_03 26:02

Great advice. Rory, do you have something that comes to mind?

SPEAKER_06 26:05

Sure. Mine would be that bad news doesn't age well. That goes double if it's your fault. So I think, you know, starting out, if you make a mistake, you kind of want to see if you can fix it yourself, and that's fine to a degree. But then if it's gonna have an impact, especially in what we're doing, where it's literally a matter of someone getting a job or not, you know, just if you know something's wrong, let people know. That's the thing is like don't fail alone, kind of goes in with that. Your team is there to help you, and it doesn't benefit anyone to try to, you know, sweep things under the rug. It's better if you know, especially if it's your mistake, if you're the one to call it out versus being found out, found that always went better.

SPEAKER_03 26:50

There's a book there somewhere, bad news does not age well, and it goes double if it's your mistake.

unknown 26:55

I like that.

SPEAKER_03 26:57

I mean I mean so clearly someone needs to write that book. I love that. And Matt, what do you want to share with us?

SPEAKER_05 27:04

Mine I'd I'd keep simple and say question the process. Right? I think one of my least favorite things I've heard folks say over the years in different roles and with different companies is you know, when I ask why are we doing it this way, that answer, well, that's always how we've done it. And I usually try to find ways to blow that up and go do things differently. Right? Just because you've always done it that way doesn't mean it's the right way, it's not evolving and things change in the industry like we've talked about. So again, I think the life lesson or professional lesson there for me is to just to always question the process.

SPEAKER_03 27:43

And sometimes you can't even find who it was who created the process in the first place or why.

SPEAKER_05 27:52

Exactly right, exactly right.

SPEAKER_03 27:55

You you heard it here, folks. A good reason to listen to these podcasts. So all three of those are fantastic lessons. Well, all three of you obviously you know have substantial uh business experience and skills and leadership skills, etc. And it sounds to me like you can probably be any industry you wanted to, but you're all in background screening. What is it about background screening in particular that uh attracts you or that you enjoy? And why'd you why'd you stay in this space when you know the skills you have are transferable to lots of spaces?

SPEAKER_05 28:28

I would say what keeps me going and what's kept me in the industry is even 30 years in, I'm still constantly learning new things. You know, the process has changed, things like public record access that we mentioned, data collection and acquisition, all of those have continued to evolve over the years. And, you know, somehow, like I said, even having done this for a long time, I find at least probably once a week I'm still learning something new, which is always motivating and you know has been enough to keep me here.

SPEAKER_03 29:00

Fantastic. Hey Wanda, the same question to you. What do you like about most about the screen industry? Why have you stayed?

SPEAKER_01 29:06

Yeah, you know, I think it's very much what very similar to what Matt was saying. You know, other than the crazy stuff that we find, guys, every day, we find some crazy stuff, and sometimes it's head scratchers like, what is this career criminal doing? But I think it's true, you know, it's always changing. I always said it's like trying to nail down a moving target. And even after all these years that we've had in here, you're still learning something new. And then the other thing that I would add to that is the people. The people are fabulous in this industry, and we've got some really great people here who are just so willing to help and just really be part of, you know, regardless if you're a competitor or whatever you're doing, they're really willing to help. So the people make it really great, and that's why you want to stay too. And then you just never get bored. It's not a boring industry at all.

SPEAKER_03 29:53

Never a dull moment.

unknown 29:54

No.

SPEAKER_03 29:57

In the background screening world, never a dull moment. Great answers. And Ray, what about you?

SPEAKER_06 30:03

For me, I think I've been able to grow within the industry. There's a lot you can do in background screening, you know, if it's vendor management, if it's operations, if it's sales, there's a lot of stuff you can explore. I also like that I kind of feel like as an industry, we're like the underdog. I always root for the underdog. I feel like we are constantly being attacked from many different angles, and we're here to sort of fight the good fight. And so that is is always a motivator for me.

SPEAKER_03 30:32

Yeah, we're and we're fighting the good fight on behalf of employers, on behalf of applicants, on behalf of everybody. And uh yeah, you're right. There's a lot a lot of people nipping on our heels for lots of different reasons. But we'll set them straight eventually, right?

SPEAKER_01 30:45

Hopefully, we're still here to see it, Les. Hopefully we're still here to see it.

SPEAKER_05 30:48

We're gonna go down swinging, that's for sure. Exactly. All right.

SPEAKER_03 30:52

Well, with all the great career experience and lessons and advice that you have, I do like to ask people to think back and about a proud moment in their career. And I mean, obviously, people don't like to brag, so I'm not don't want you to feel uncomfortable, but I think we all have you know something we've accomplished professionally to at least brings a smile to our face, whatever it might be. And I was wondering for this panel what that might be for each of you. And you look back on and say, Okay, yeah, I did that. That was very cool. I did that. Who wants to start? Wanda.

SPEAKER_01 31:25

I think that for me this is gonna sound really weird, but leaving wholesale was tough. That was really hard. But I'm super proud that I had the guts to actually do it after being there so long and just feeling like such a big part of everything, and then just to actually leave with people that I love was there. I built a lot of experience there. So it was very, very hard, but I was super proud of myself that I actually made that step and was able to say, look, this isn't working, so let me figure something else out. So that I thought that was very brave, and I was super proud of that. And then, of course, starting NyProtech Screening, you know, being a nationwide wholesaler provider to, you know, the industry and what have you. Super proud of being able to launch that and have so much success so early on. And then also we're We Bank certified, Women Business Enterprise, National Council. So, you know, we're able to get that certification so early. So those are just a couple of things that I'm super proud of that I've been able to do in my career.

SPEAKER_03 32:21

Congratulations. So it's satisfying to take that leap of faith and leave the familiar and the uh behind and comfort and then then succeed. So congratulations and all that. Very nicely done. Yeah. Matt, how about yourself?

SPEAKER_05 32:37

Well, I think kudos to you, Wanda, first, for taking that leap. That's a huge move. I don't think I would have had the courage to do that myself, but like I mentioned earlier, you know, the fact that I've managed to stick around and transition from company to company as those mergers and acquisitions took place is you know, hopefully a testament to what I've been able to bring to the table in my career. I think more specifically, there's a couple things that come to mind. And you know, we talked about what motivates you in in the industry. You know, what one of the things early on that is a a little bit of a bragabout moment was playing a role and pulling data and providing information. This goes back a ways, but at the time we didn't know what what we were doing or who it pertained to, but we pulled a bunch of information and records and and ultimately helped play a little little small part in capturing the DC sniper back in in 2002. Uh so we did database searches and motor vehicle records and pulled a whole bunch of information. And at the time, like I mentioned, no one shared with us who those people we were looking up were or why they were asking. But you know, I I saw on the news a day or two later that they had apprehended the two folks that you know had been kind of wreaking havoc on the the city of DC for almost a month. So that was a was a really cool experience and obviously helped demonstrate the value of what information and and data can lead to when it's used for the right purposes. And then I think one other thing that that comes to mind for me personally was just being involved, having an opportunity of being involved with a number of good folks from both the Lexus Nexus screening business and the current First Advantage company and helping to facilitate the sale of that Lexus business to First Advantage. There were, I think, about 25 or 30 of us folks from, like I mentioned, from both companies who were in essence locked down in a room for days on end and trying to figure out ways that would work and and how it would work and what we needed to do to block and tackle to make that happen. So that was a cool experience and certainly something I'm proud of.

SPEAKER_03 34:51

Oh, that's fantastic. Yeah, the actual X's and O's are you know are the critical things when it comes to that. So congratulations. Very cool.

SPEAKER_01 34:59

Can I can I just add real quick, thank you, Matt. With me being right out here here at DC, I didn't realize you guys had part of the DC sniper thing. But I remember that, and people were scared to go get gas. I mean, you know, right here because they were in Virginia as well. As DC was in Virginia, and people were literally scared to stop and get gas because they're afraid they're gonna get shot. But so thank you for your help there.

SPEAKER_03 35:18

Hey, of course, glad to do it. Yeah, that that was a big national story. Yeah. And Roy, what about yourself? You're now in the heart of the screening industry because you're you're with the PBSA, Professional Background Screening Association. What what would be yours?

SPEAKER_06 35:32

Yeah, I mean, I think I'd actually go further back in time to earlier in my career when at higher right we had half of our staff on an old system that you know basically they came over from an acquisition and needed to learn our new system and to migrate onto that. And I was able to uh use my experience in the classroom to create the training to essentially train an entire staff of people on a new system and get them up and running on it. And uh that kind of I think set me on track for for leadership here. And that was really cool to do um so early on, and you know, as I mentioned, like transfer some of my my classroom skills over over to background screening. That's neat. Also, I mean, you know, any of the access issues that I've had a chance to work on, I can't claim credit for for any of them really. I mean, but I've been a part of some pretty major ones, like you know, regaining access to Michigan date of birth and tattletailing on the clerk in what was it, Arkansas, that PBSA ultimately sued and won. So those are some neat things to be involved with. That's great.

SPEAKER_03 36:41

And and for those of you that have been in the industry long enough, one of the most traumatic things that can happen to a background firm is change of systems. And so we all know that you know it is a significant accomplishment to train a team on a new system. And clients as well. So well Rory, we're gonna start the next one with you. We're gonna talk about how PBSA has influenced your careers. And I know you've all presented at PBSA on different things, and uh we'll talk about that. Rory now works at PBSA and on the access uh matters you described. So what's been the role of PBSA in your career, Rory?

SPEAKER_06 37:15

Yeah, I mean, obviously huge for me. They're the folks, you know, paying my salary at the moment. But yeah, I mean, I got involved in PBSA when I had initially left higher the first time and was working in vendor management, and one of my boss adjacent folks there thought it would be helpful for me to get more involved in PBSA, and I started uh just attending the access subcommittee calls, and then you know, went to my first conference, and it just really opened up, you know, this whole new world that I didn't realize existed in background checks. Learning, you know, just again, who are the researchers in this state, and you know how do the court systems work and all that stuff. You know, be engaging with people in PBSA just really was helpful in expanding my horizons in terms of how things actually work and being involved, you know, in in these issues is something I I really enjoy. I mean, I think maybe not everybody likes arguing with court clerks, but I do. Um it's just been great, super supportive. You know, our our team is is small, but we have really great people on it. Melissa is an awesome boss. I think she does a great job with the association, and it's like a family reunion when you go to the conferences, right? So it's just it's nice to be around people who know, you know, what it is we're talking about with all this jargon we eat is all the time.

SPEAKER_03 38:45

Shared experiences, shared trauma. I was honored right now. That's true. And Melinda, how about yourself? You mentioned I I think you mentioned you were gone to PBSA. I know you and Matt and Ron have all presented. What's what's been the impact of PBSA on your career?

SPEAKER_01 39:01

I think for me, PBSA obviously has helped me stay in the know, like the knowledge that you get from it. Just going and the people and talking to everybody, being able to be a co-chair of I started as a co-chair of the provided the provider committee, and then now I'm, of course, the co-chair with Matt, with the um government relations access committee, with Rory, and um so I think it's just been the knowledge that you get and you gain from going and talking the industry, like Rory kind of pointed out. You go and everybody's talking the jargon that you're talking about, and they get it, right? They understand what you're saying, and um, so I think it's just being around the people, it just it definitely helps me stay in in the know, and being on the access committee actually forces me to be, you know, hands-on with this. And I'm definitely a hands-on learner, you know. I gotta get in and dig in and figure it out. You preach to me all you want, but I gotta get in and do it, and so being able to do it um helps me learn. So I think just the education that we've been able to get from the conference is totally invaluable for anybody in this space. And if you're not part of PBSA, you really should be to just be able to, you know, just even if you don't go to any session, just talk to the people, see what's happening. If it's not your thing, just talk to some folks. And so you definitely learn a lot from each other.

SPEAKER_03 40:17

Fantastic. And Matt, how about yourself? I know you're involved and you go, what's been your experience?

SPEAKER_05 40:23

Yeah, I I think, you know, it it admittedly, I've been a PBSA member for a long time, probably in the 20-year range. But admittedly, the first 10 years or so, not that actively engaged, right? I'd show up and and go to sessions, and it, you know, I think 10 years or so ago, I don't know what what changed or what when the why the light bulb went off, but it dawned on me that you know I can learn a lot from other members and folks who are attending, right? Whether that's the conferences, whether that's the access committee and and the members who participate and and bring issues to the table there. You know, to me, it uh well said it earlier, really. The people are in our industry are awesome. I truly believe that. And I I feel like in the last 10 years or so, when I've been a more active, engaged member, I've gotten an opportunity, you know, to learn from folks, to share information. In some cases, we've obviously got CRAs, we've got providers, we've got all different kinds of members, and you know, nobody's afraid to share information. We're of course not talking about the secret sauce, so to speak, of how everybody does every everything behind the scenes, but everyone's willing to share information. Everybody, for the most part, is you know, here for the same purpose and and same means. And I like what Rory said. To an extent, it's it's a family reunion when we're all able to get back together.

SPEAKER_03 41:52

Well, that's great. I really appreciate you sharing. The one thing that came to mind, Matt, when you were talking, is that I'm not sure in our industry there is much secret sauce. I mean I mean no one has anything. If someone comes out with something new, someone else comes out with it. But at any rate, yeah, I I appreciate that. Well, we're winding down towards the end, and uh we're gonna pivot away as much fun as it is to talk about background screening, we're gonna leave that particular topic and we're gonna go to uh non-background screening. A couple of quick questions. And uh we'll have to do this as a bit of a speed round, but want to make sure we get everything in. What do you guys do when you're not background screening? I mean, I assume you have lives beyond background screening. So uh a hobby or an interest or things you like to do for fun uh when you're not uh doing all the things we talked about for the first part of the show. Who wants to start? What does that mean, Les?

SPEAKER_01 42:46

What does that mean? I don't understand what that means. I don't get it. I don't get it. You know, really what? Free time again. What does that mean? You know, I think for me, just a couple things real quickly is that you know, I'm that annoying person who's up before the crack of dawn, right? And trying to get it, you know, my workout in and get my time in the beginning, you know, to get that done because if you don't get it done, you won't get it done. So I'm kind of that annoying person who's up super early, you know, early bird, right? I guess the word. So I'm the person who does that. But other than that, you know, we live in a small community. Me and my husband love to go, we have a lot of friends, entertain, go to dinners. We have a lot of wineries and breweries here, lots of mounts, so it's just beautiful in some of the areas here in Virginia, especially in the fall. You know, Virginia has got to be the prettiest state in the f in the fall. In the fall. It's beautiful here, just the different colors of the leaves and stuff. And then just traveling. We'd love to travel and especially go to like tropical islands, especially when it's cold here. You know, we like to travel a lot. So that's kind of my thing when you find time to do those.

SPEAKER_03 43:47

Oh, that's fantastic. Well, that's lots of fun. Matt, what about you?

SPEAKER_05 43:51

Yeah, I you know, I would say I'm thankful to no longer be making eight dollars an hour. So, you know, I could. I can afford to travel a little bit these days as well.

SPEAKER_00 44:03

You mean you gotta raise?

SPEAKER_02 44:09

That's great.

SPEAKER_05 44:12

So so certainly travel is probably the first thing that that comes to mind. My wife and I love to to just go check out different places and you know try to disconnect and get away for a bit. And I think probably the other biggest obsession of mine is uh almost anything and everything sports related. I'm a huge sports fan of just about anything involving a ball or a net or and uh I'm a born and raised New England guy, so we'll leave it at that. We had a heck of a run in uh in New England with with titles and teams, so I've enjoyed that. And coincidentally, my my wife and I met in Atlanta in the industry, but we both grew up in Massachusetts. So we we at least on a positive note there, we share the same loyalty to New England sports teams and enjoy watching those.

SPEAKER_03 45:00

So the Patriots and the Sox and the Bruins, huh? You got it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 45:05

Don't forget this, don't forget the Celtics.

SPEAKER_03 45:07

Oh god, how can I forget that? Well, I'm from LA, so I can easily forget the Celtics. And Roy, what about yourself? What do you do for fun and games?

SPEAKER_06 45:19

Yeah, I'm a music nerd, obsesses with finding new music. I am a record collector, I think I've amassed over 500 at this point and growing. I think like anyone who hits 40, you start bird watching, enjoy that.

SPEAKER_03 45:35

Oh, yeah, every 40-year-old I know bird watches. You're right.

SPEAKER_06 45:37

That's been good. You know, like a lot of watching movies and TV comedies, yeah. You know, into the entertainment. I like Matt, if he's big on stats with athletes, I'm that way with, you know, musicians, I guess. So you're a vinyl guy then. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:53

I love that. I love that, Roy.

SPEAKER_06 45:55

Yeah, actually, when we were at mid-year, um, another member, Kevin New Decker, he took us up. He's like, hey, let's go record shopping. And we're like, all right, let's do it.

SPEAKER_03 46:08

Oh, it's like like like me at an all-you-gate buffet is you at a record shop. Well, before we conclude with a couple final questions, well, one of the things you gotta do if you're on this podcast is you gotta share a fun fact. And the definition of a fun fact is once it's revealed, you will be mercifully teased about it at your next PBSA conference. All right, so so who wants to be the first to drop the screen and reveal a fun fact that no one knows or suspects that has not here too too far been revealed? Do I see volunteers? All right, Rory, I see I either you had an itch or you raised your hand, but I'm calling you anyway.

SPEAKER_06 46:48

I already let it loose about the China thing. I think some folks know that already, but what maybe people don't know about me is that, and this is going on 20 years ago now, but it used to be a rock and roller. I was in several bands. Um I was in a ska band in high school, and then uh emo band, and we got picked up on a little tiny label, and then some other projects, including a B-52's cover band. This is all out there somewhere on the internet. I'm not giving you any more info than that, but yeah, had a pretty rock and roll full past life before screening.

SPEAKER_03 47:24

Well, if you can find Rory's band on the internet, and I would invite you to uh put it on the LinkedIn, right? Or give Rory the chance to buy you a dinner in order to bribe you. One of the two.

SPEAKER_01 47:37

Just bring a record. Just bring him a record.

SPEAKER_03 47:39

So that's the challenge. Try and find Rory. Let's you know, where's Rory on the internet? I gotta see what's one of these these rock and roll motifs. Wanda or Matt, you won't who wants to wanda.

SPEAKER_01 47:48

Oh no. I hate to go after I hate to go after that though. I mean, it's um I've not been nearly as I've not been in any cool rock and roll bands. I mean, it's I'm totally unmusically inclined. I'd love to sing, but my husband hates to hear me sing, so that's a problem, right? I'm so terrible at it. But I think, you know, for me, my fun thing, it's not as cool as what Rory did, but it kind of funny, it almost led me up to what I'm doing. One, I'm a super neat freak. I mean, that's just everything's gotta be in order. And it drives people around me nuts because I'm like, your shoes are messed up. You know what I mean? I'm a super neat freak. But the the weird, the funny thing I have is it's it's a story actually of when I was probably 14 or 15 years old, we had a store at the end of our subdivision. It was called Highs. It's like a 7-Eleven, that type of thing, of where I lived at. And so it's a convenience store. So um, our parents had gone out, and my girlfriend had lived beside me, and she's like, Hey, let's walk up to the store. I'm like, We're not supposed to leave, but okay, let's go. So we walk up to the highs, right? And back then, keep in mind, it's been a long time ago. Remember the Pac-Mans that come out, the Pac-Man machines? So we go in and there's a Pac-Man machine in there, and we just wanted to go play the Pac-Man machines. We took all these changes, quarters, we were playing Pac-Man. Well, this man walks in and he has a ski mask. And we're like, it's not that cold outside. What's he doing? He's there to rob the place. So he goes up with a gun, he produces a gun, he's robbing the store. I look at her and I'm like, oh crap, we took off running out the store. So we're running down the street. That's in a subject, we're running back down the street. We heard this boom behind us. He's coming out of the store, running behind us. So now we're running down the street from this robber guy, right? We go up to this door, like, oh my god, we're freaking out. You know, we're just these two little teenagers who weren't supposed to leave the house. Now we're in the middle of a robbery being chased by a gun. So we go up to this door and we're banging on this door. Nobody comes to the door, and we're like, clap! And we run to the next door and we bang on the door. And the woman answers the door, and thank God they let us in, and then they called the cops. She said, I'll never forget it. She was decorating a Christmas tree and she was fixing lights, and she said, Do you guys try to fix Christmas lights? I'm like, Lady, we're just in a robbery. You know what I mean? Christmas lights, right? So anyway, the cops came, but you know, so I dodged a bullet.

SPEAKER_03 50:03

Literally, figuratively.

SPEAKER_01 50:04

Yeah, exactly. From that, but it was just kind of an interesting story to tell because not many people have been in the story, but not once have I been in that situation, but twice. Me and my daughter were at the mall one time, or two, we were at the mall one time and we're leaving the mall, and all of a sudden here comes all these cops just pulling up, right? We're pulling up. And now she's like a young adult, right? You know, and we're just there shopping around and we're leaving, and we see these cops come where this guy comes running out of the mall. Apparently, he was trying to rob something in the mall.

unknown 50:32

Who does that?

SPEAKER_01 50:33

You know what I mean? Why are you robbing a store in the mall? There's so many people in there. So he goes into the mall to try to rob a store, he runs out, and they're like drawing guns on him, and my daughter's like pulling me down, mom, get behind this car, get behind this car, and I'm like, Where are the hell? What's going on? And she's like, Oh my god, you're gonna get shot. So, anyway, apparently I'm not real smart according to my daughter and life situations when it's a dangerous situation in the real world in the public. So, you know, apparently that's not a strength of mine. So, yeah, dodging bullets apparently is a strength of mine because I haven't been shot yet, but I've been in the situation tours. So, there you go.

SPEAKER_03 51:07

There you go. Light light lightning has struck twice. And for those of you that missed it, you were playing Pac-Man, and so you can all Google Pac-Man.

SPEAKER_01 51:14

That's right. Everybody's like, what does that mean? What does she mean?

SPEAKER_03 51:18

I'm not even gonna try to explain Pac-Man.

SPEAKER_01 51:20

Actually, funny story, I have a Pac-Man machine in my basement right now.

SPEAKER_03 51:24

Oh my gosh. Yeah, sure. That's that's a collector's item.

SPEAKER_04 51:27

Yeah, sure it is.

SPEAKER_03 51:28

Yeah, all right, Matt. We have a rock and roller, we we have a a professional crime witness. What do you got for us?

SPEAKER_05 51:36

Well, I feel like Wanda needs to take a closer look at places she hangs out at.

SPEAKER_03 51:40

And the man maybe the people she hangs out with, I don't know. Yeah, that's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_05 51:47

I would say uh prop probably, you know, given the the sports nut that I am, and you know, I mentioned earlier, I I've been and something most folks wouldn't know about me. I've been super fortunate, and I have a good friend who I've known, coincidentally, who I met in the Tampa area about 30 years ago when I started this job. And uh he went on to work in various roles across the National Football League. And so with help help from him and and by stroke of luck, I've been fortunate enough to attend six Super Bowls. Wow in six, six, yeah, in six different cities over the years.

SPEAKER_03 52:25

Wow, one less than Tom Brady.

SPEAKER_05 52:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:29

Where did go, Matt?

SPEAKER_05 52:31

My husband Two of those involved Patriot wins, so that was that was an extra bonus.

SPEAKER_01 52:36

My husband will be very jealous.

SPEAKER_03 52:39

That's amazing. Wow. I I I guess it it it pays to have friends in in strategic places.

SPEAKER_05 52:46

It does. It also costs a lot, too, but that sounds okay.

SPEAKER_03 52:50

Oh well, you guys, this is a fun group. I I I hate to have to sign off, but uh we we have uh two questions left. We'll make it uh kind of kind of make this a uh next question kind of a speed round, just uh real quick answer comes to mind and advice for newcomers. Well do Matt, Rory, and Wanda just uh for a newcomer in the industry, or may someone who's been in the industry for a little while and started off where you guys started off, and they may want to advance. What's your advice?

SPEAKER_05 53:20

I think my speed round answer would be soak in everything you possibly can. And regardless of what your role is, the more you know, the more you learn early on, the more value you'll bring to your whatever organization you're working for.

SPEAKER_03 53:36

Perfect, thank you.

SPEAKER_06 53:39

After you've soaked that in, you as a sponge, then drain it out. And that is, I mean, share what you know. Because I think like when you become a resource for people, you gain trust, you gain, you know, respect, and you know, people will go to you for help. And I think that yeah, there's not really a benefit to being the only person who knows how to do something, right? So I think just sharing what you know is really important, and I'll leave it there.

SPEAKER_03 54:08

I think that's great advice. You know, my experience is that the least valuable person in the organization is a person that keeps knowledge of themselves and refuses to share it. And they think they create value by being a single point of failure. So you don't want that to happen. And Wanda, how about your how about you? What would your advice be?

SPEAKER_01 54:24

Very much, very quickly, very much the same thing. You know, ask learn, just ask questions, see if you can sit in other departments, learn what they do. It helps you understand how a lot of times people will make a decision and not realize how it's affecting this other department. So it makes you more valuable in making your decisions. Ask if you can sit in on meetings if you're loud, right? Listen to them talking, even if you're just a flying the wall, just listen to them talking and just absorb that power, and then to jump on what Rory said as well. Just share it. You know, share what you have.

SPEAKER_03 54:52

That that's great advice. I think that this panel makes that so clear. You want to be a sponge, you want to ask questions, you want to absorb, you want to learn, and then you want to be valuable to the organization by sharing it. So that's just great advice. We really appreciate it. Time goes quick when you're having fun. We're sort of at the uh come to the end of things, but as is our custom, we play the last word. And um each of you will have uh the opportunity to uh say the floor will be yours. Who wants to go first or last? Anyone jump in. Let you decide.

SPEAKER_05 55:24

Uh I'll jump in first, Les. I I'd just take a minute and thank you for the opportunity for us to be here together to your point. It's it's always fun to share information, to to learn new things uh about industry colleagues. I'm gonna spend the rest of my evening googling Rory's name and see if I can find those rock bands. But I think it's for you know for me, the last word comes down to what we talked about earlier and as far as the the screening industry goes, and it's the people. I'm grateful to be here with you guys. I'm grateful to work regularly with Rory and Wanda and really just collectively try to share the information that we've all we've all been able to gain over the last you know 30 something years and and and you know to provide a medium for folks to to learn and to raise issues that help us all as far as the ax specifically the the access committee goes.

SPEAKER_03 56:20

I appreciate that. Uh Rory, do you want to go next? We'll end with Wanda.

SPEAKER_06 56:24

Yeah, I just I feel very lucky to be in this esteemed group who've been invited to behind the screens. And yeah, I I just feel super lucky to be working with the folks that I get to work with. Matt and Wanda are are my dudes, and I get to bother them every couple weeks uh on our subcommittee. I just want to say thanks and uh yeah, I think it's just a great, you know, experience.

SPEAKER_03 56:48

Fantastic. And and Wanda, the floor is yours.

SPEAKER_01 56:52

Yeah, it thinks the same, and we actually do have a text message trail, and we're called the Access Dudes. So we that he's not wrong about that. We are the dudes. I think for me, I mean that's just the same thing. I think our industry is aging a little bit. You know, we have a lot of industry veterans, a lot of people aging. So at the last conference, I think there was definitely some newer faces. So it's great to see new people coming in. And just I think with you know, as we're aging, somebody's got to carry the torch, we are sharing it, but be kind. You know, just at the end of the day, just be kind. And if there's something that you can do to help, please do so as we kind of beat the drum on that the session. But I think that, you know, I mean, a lot of people are they're scared, they're learning. Just be kind. It'll come back to you eventually, but just be kind because we've all been there. Just remember that we've all been a newbie in the space. Hopefully, most making more than you know, me and Matt then for starting out, but you know, it's okay. But we've all been a newbie, so just be kind. I think it'll definitely it goes a long way, and you make people's day, you know. Smile, be kind. So, but yeah, but and thank you so much, Les, for having us. It's been a great time. And these guys, you know, always have a great time with them, and like we vibe very pretty gut off of each other. So we thank you for the opportunity to come in and share all of this. So thank you very much.

SPEAKER_03 58:06

Well, let me thank you for being here. We have Wanda Hess, Matt O'Connor, Rory Bogdan, great panel, our industry veterans, our backbone of the background screening world, and uh fantastic shares, so and some great stories. So um I I really hope people see this episode and have a chance to listen to all of you. So, ladies and gentlemen, this ends this episode of Behind the Screens, our conversation with the background screen pros, but there will be future episodes. Once again, our thanks to Barry Nixon and the pre-employment directory as our premium sponsor. Thanks for listening in, and we'll see you next time on Behind the Screens. Thank you. All right, that was yet another wonderful conversation with a background screening pro. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to hit subscribe so you never miss an update. And hey, if you got a moment, we'd love for you to leave us a review. It really helps get the word out. For more info or to catch up on past episodes, or to make suggestions, or to suggest possible future guests, head over to our website. Once again, this is your host, Les Rosen, and it's been a pleasure to bring you another episode. See you on the next episode. Thanks.