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PBSA Journal PAGE 16 JULY/AUG 2021 Except where otherwise indicated, articles are copyright © by PBSA 2021. All rights reserved. Continued on page 17 Challenged with the impact of the pandemic on their own respective businesses, this rock star group of volunteers remained vigilant and pushed forward, continuing to deliver on the strategic plan and making quick adjustments as our new world was unfolding in real time. U.S. Council Update By Adam Townsend, U.S. Council Chair W ay back in January of 2020, which feels like decades ago, the U.S. Council was born. The Council is comprised of the Advocacy Committee, Educational Resources Committee, Government Relations Committee, Industry Practices Committee, and the Provider Advisory Group. The purpose of the U.S. Council was to bring together these already well-established committees and advisory groups under one umbrella to represent this geographic region. Since the formation of the U.S. Council, these committees have done unbelievable work in the face of uncertainty. Challenged with the impact of the pandemic on their own respective businesses, this rock star group of volunteers remained vigilant and pushed forward, continuing to deliver on the strategic plan and making quick adjustments as our new world was unfolding in real time. The amount of work done by the Council is too long to list, but I wanted to shine a spotlight on some of the most significant accomplishments so far this year in 2021. Advocacy Committee Communication Structure – During the pandemic, a tremendous amount of work went into planning how to organize their outbound communication with outside groups. This included the creation of a survey, a centralized PBSA email address, numerous email templates that the group can leverage to engage, review of various position statements, and increased interaction with other committees. Outreach to Advocacy Database – As a result of their communication structure, the committee began efforts to achieve engagement in the Advocacy database with outside groups, associations, and individuals in an effort to identify partners with whom PBSA can work with on important issues. This is an ongoing and extensive effort that will take the committee into 2022 to see the true benefits of this work. Increased Internal Collaboration – The committee has been working more collaboratively with other PBSA groups to provide support for association strategic plans and initiatives. It is important to the Advocacy Committee that, as needs arise to engage members of PBSA or conduct outreach to other associations, the committee is leveraged to assist. With their outreach efforts, the ability to support other groups inside of PBSA will only become stronger. Educational Resources Committee Back to Basics Webinar Series – After nearly two years of blood, sweat and tears, the Back to Basics webinar series was released to the membership in February. This 5-part series aims to introduce the background screening industry across a wide range of topics. Built for new employees and those that are more seasoned, the webinars are geared for both self-directed training as well as a refresher for those who already have their feet wet in the industry. If you haven't already had the chance to watch these webinars, what are you waiting for? Visit the PBSA Webinar Library today. Presenter Feedback Form – The committee has developed a customizable email to provide feedback for submissions that were not selected for presentation. The goal is to encourage all presenters that were not selected to try again in the future, and therefore the committee will begin to provide those individuals with additional feedback, insight, and considerations. Further, to support this goal, the committee is helping in areas such as refining a topic, helping to decide if content is relevant, or even assist with matching mentors for new presenters who are just starting out. Webinar Tracking Updates - While the committee has always tracked metrics such as number of registrations, attendees, and evaluation score, there is now an added United States

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