Ethics and Good Recruiting

8/13/2019 Ethics and Good Recruiting

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Ethics and Good Recruiting

It is far too easy to get caught up in our own perspectives, careers, and day-to-day activities thatwe don't see alternatives to the problems we face. Instead, we continue to follow traditional

approaches, even when they are obviously inadequate.

Almost everyone involved with talent acquisition is squirming under pressure from hiring

managers to find more qualified candidates. Recruiters are quick to grasp at any solution thatoffers hope of giving them access to better people.

ence, the rapid rise of niche !ob boards, referral and networking tools, and greatly renewed

interest in Internet searching and in "poaching" candidates.

At the same time, recruiters face pressure to source in ways that may be legal but not e#actly

ethical. $iscussions about ethics on %R% and on various blogs over the past year have not been

encouraging.

I do not believe in or advocate many of the practices that are being offered. All is &( fair in

war, as the )eneva *onvention, the &uremburg trials, and the International +ar *rimes (ribunalin (he ague demonstrate.

It is easy to mark patently dishonest and deceitful practices as unethical the real test comes in

the gray areas. (hese are where it is not clear if a practice is wrong, such as willfully discrediting

a company to make an employee feel that it would be best to move on, that test ethical thinking.

Recruiters who use methods they know are deceitful or dishonest do no one a favor. (hey harm

their employers' reputations and sully their own. Recruiters who are not sure whether a practiceis wrong might do well to put themselves in the shoes of the candidate or the manager on the

other side.

(hey might also look at all the options they have and ask which does more good than harm.)ood ethical practices treat all the parties concerned with dignity and respect and advance the

values of the organiation. In the long run, it is not important whether you "win" the candidate,

but whether you have done so with integrity and fairness.

Assuming you practice ethical recruiting, how can your organiation meet its needs for talent*onventional thinking about careers and a lack of imagination on the part of R and recruiters is

probably contributing to the perception that there is a growing lack of skilled talent available inthe workforce. (here are many alternatives to unethical recruiting and to filling talent shortages.

Create a Strong Brand

Rather than go after people with desperation and resort to unethical practices, create a websitethat is e#citing and that compels interest in your organiation. &o matter what your organiation

does or how big or small it may be, your organiation has unique characteristics that are


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attractive. (he key is to define your target audience very clearly and go after it with specific

messages and promotions.

I see most organiations promoting generic criteria and using generic messages that are notaimed at any particular group. (his means that many ignore you and others, mostly the

unqualified, apply in droves.

/se emerging tools such as 0y1pace to let potential candidates know about you. (he /.1.

0arine *orps has recently done this and has en!oyed great success. *reating a 0y1pace profileis simple and brings your organiation to hundreds of people through referrals. 1ign up for

2obster, a service that makes referrals more effective.

Hire a Recruitment Process Outsourcing Firm

If you are really struggling to attract good people, it may make sense to contract with a

recruitment process outsourcing company that can help promote your organiation and that has

access to a wide community of potential talent.

3or smaller organiations, or for those with a highly specialied talent base, using R4 can offer

lots of advantages. (hese firms are staffed with seasoned pros who know their markets and offer

service agreements that make it a low-risk proposition. (his is better than becoming frustrated tothe point that common sense and good ethics get compromised.

Look Inside

5arger organiations have many talented, culturally aligned, and productive employees whowould welcome an opportunity to do something different. 5eading-edge firms, such as $ell and

1chlumberger, have developed internal systems that allow recruiters to locate people withspecific skills within the organiation.

(he systems capture employees' skills, performance history, education, and interests. (heseemployees are usually passive, or not looking for an internal move and not aware of the

opportunity.

6et, they are often eager to take a look at that opportunity once they are approached. (hese

systems also allow actively looking employees to add personal information or apply directly forposted positions. +hen there is a need to fill very highly specialied positions, internal people

are frequently the best qualified to do so with the least amount of training.

Short-Term Training and Coaching

0any times employees can be given skills more quickly than we think. *isco, I70, and

countless other organiations have put together short-term, intensive training programs thatenabled employees to gain new skills and become productive in a matter of weeks. (his is often

no longer than it takes to source, screen, interview, and hire a candidate from outside who, after

being hired, still needs time to become productive and to learn the new culture.


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+ith e-learning, mentoring, and coaching, employees can be given skills they need quickly while

being productive.

Rotations

1ometimes it is a good practice to let people rotate through several !obs so that they acquire atleast some skills in many areas. (his way they can be moved to fill gaps very quickly and with aminimum of additional education.

Rotations can be done frequently but on a short-term basis so that the impact on the employee's

current position is minimal. It !ust takes some creative thinking to make this work without much

bother. $o this in slower times, when work tends to be less than normal.

Educating Hiring Managers

(imes are changing and with this comes the need for managers to better understand the talent

marketplace. It will be harder and harder to find qualified people over the ne#t decade.

3or some !obs, including certain finance positions, nursing, and pharmacy !obs, as well as

management positions, there will be a crisis. %ven aggressive stealing and blatantly unethical

practices will probably not meet the needs.

0anagers must have a better understanding of these issues and you as recruiters need to makethe business case for managers approaching talent acquisition from a variety of ways, rather than

to simply go outside to meet every need.

(alent acquisition is getting more complicated and requires recruiters who are strategic talent

advisors more than !ust "order takers." (he best recruiters do not need to use unethical practicesbecause they have learned more options and have sold those internally.

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Ethics and Good Recruiting