in recruitment

Speaker: Andre JAD Alip

13 October 2015, Executive Function Room

Marriott Grand Ballroom
 It is okay to directly
recruit a candidate
currently employed by a
competitor.
It is okay to call a company
without revealing your true
identity to get the name or
position of a key potential
recruit.
 It is okay to ask
candidates personal
information that has no
bearing on the job.
 It is okay to tell a
candidate that the
organization is doing
poorly financially.
 Ethical dilemmas are
inherent in recruitment
and selection decisions.
Ethics

u  Ethics are specific standards and principles

for how we ought to act.
u  Ethics define our moral rights and duties,
and involve a commitment to doing the right
thing.
u  Ethics are not religion or feelings.
u  Neither are ethic laws or legal
requirements.
----Dr. Tom Shanks, Ethicist, UCLA
Ethics

u  principles or standards that guide day-to-

day business activities in accordance with
established corporate values.
u  Among ethical values are trust, respect,
honesty, responsibility and the overall
pursuit of perfection.
Recruitment and Selection
u RECRUITMENT: refers to the processes
followed by organisations when they
wish to attract applicants for vacant or
new positions.
u SELECTION: follows the recruiting
process with the appointment of the
most suited applicant to the position.
Examples of Areas of Ethical Dilemma in
Recruitment

u  Definition of position
requirements or how a position
is presented to a candidate
u Candidate generation
u Interviewing
u Referencing
Examples of Ethical Issues

u  Placing misleading advertisements for jobs

u  Misrepresenting the requirements of a
particular position
u  Responding to a hiring manager who has asked
you to find a way around not hiring a
qualified candidate for discriminatory
purposes
u  Not reviewing candidates based on their
merits

www.shrm.org
Ethical hiring practices
result in better
employees being
recruited
Honesty Consistency Objectivity

Recruitment Process
Some guidelines….
u  Hire based on merit. Special considerations and
preferential treatment should be allowed legally/stated in
company policy
u  Consistency and objectivity during the recruitment
process
u  Criteria and changes in criteria used to evaluate
applicants should be stated and explained in order to
avoid unnecessary claim of bias
u  Tell applicants about the true state of the organization
u  Do not publish misleading job advertisements in order to
get applications
Some Guidelines

u  Beextra careful when recruiting employees

from organizations that have material
dealing with us including our suppliers,
customers, and competitors
u  One critical role of the HR practitioner is to recruit the required candidates at a minimum cost, and ethical considerations in recruitment reduce the company risk of liability and damage to its
reputation.
Embracing ethics in staff selection means going beyond the minimum standards set by law, and forming enduring recruitment and selection policies and processes that attract highly skilled and
competent people, and inspire employees to do more for the organisation. 
Staff recruitment and selection processes should comply not just with the letter, but also with the spirit of the law.

u  Researchers agree that ethical hiring practices actually result in better employees being recruited. 
The widely held view that unethical behaviour in the workplace is a result of “bad apples” or poorly socialised people who sneaked into the organisation through poor recruitment and selection
processes validates the need to do a thorough job before deciding to offer someone a job.
Embracing sound ethical rules when hiring a new employee means using merit to select a candidate.

u  It means disregarding unethical practices that condone discrimination on the basis of gender, political affiliation, religion, age, disability, etc. 
In cases where there is need for affirmative action to address previous imbalances, these considerations should be well stated in the company’s policy statement and supported by law. 
A good example is the Employment Equity Act of South Africa, which seeks to achieve equity in the workplace by eliminating unfair racial discrimination that was entrenched during the apartheid era.

u  It seeks to accomplish this through equitable ethnic representation of the South African population in all occupational categories and levels in the workplace.
Sound recruitment hinges on practices that embrace the virtues of objectivity, consistence, and confidentiality, avoiding manipulation, stereotyping and the prejudice of the halo effect, which in most
cases may result in attracting needless risk through legal suits.

u  The criteria used for evaluating candidates should be stated and explained in order to avoid unnecessary claims of bias in the recruitment process. 
Objective evaluation results in the best employees being recruited while consistency builds stakeholder confidence.
When an organisation recruits new employees, it should advise the applicants on its true state.

u  It is unethical to mislead the applicant, allowing him/her to discover the truth only after engagement. 
Applicants should be given all pertinent information, including that which will materially affect their future engagement and relationship with the organisation. 
A good example is where a firm hires someone knowing fully well that the company is in the process of being taken over by new owners.

u  Such a situation can result in the firm being sued for withholding important information during the recruitment process.
The same applies when a company decides to recruit from organisations that it does business with as its suppliers, customers and competitors. 
A careless approach in this regard will bring to the fore serious ethical issues that may be very damaging to the reputation of the company.

u  It is not advisable to proceed with such a recruitment if its clear that it will result in the supplier feeling that you poached their good employee whom you got to know through the working relationship
you have with the supplier.

u  When you employ somebody from among your known customers it should not be obvious in the eyes of the public that in so doing you are returning a favour.
It should also not appear as if you are trying to influence a future award of contracts to the firm by having in your ranks someone who was with the customer before.

u  Employment of someone from your competitors if done without any regard for ethical considerations can result in accusations of stealing trade secrets from your competitors.
The pivotal role-played by the recruitment and selection process in an organisation challenges the HR professional to anticipate problems, and carefully exercise due diligence in executing the process
in order to avoid needless costs and risks to the organisation that comes with poor and unethical recruitment.