When does a company’s ethics begin to count? As a business and organizational ethics speaker, ethics consultant and author, I can assure you that employees initially care how they are treated during the recruiting process, before expanding their judgment to the universe. To a potential, or new hire, how they have been treated is an indicator of how the company treats the world beyond its doors.
Putting it more simply, if you have treated me ethically then I trust what you may be saying about your ‘world view’ of ethical behavior.
Is a company’s ethics important in recruiting?
You bet it is. In fact, market research in Europe as well as the U.S. indicates that in excess of 90 percent of employees want to work for ethical companies. The template, if you will, for how they make the judgment of ethics is how they were treated, respected, “honored” and supported during the recruitment an initial hiring process.
If an organization claims it has a strong stance on business ethics or corporate social responsibility, but treats candidates poorly during the recruitment process, it will be difficult to convince them to join the organization.
Among the many aspects of the ethical process of hiring employees that are valued include:
- Do the responsibilities and various aspects of the position match what the position turns out to be? The way in which the situation is described, must be clear, true and honest. If the responsibilities turn out to be quite different from what was offered, it should not come as a surprise if the new employee walks away or questions every other ethical motive of the company.
- If the social media postings and/or news in regard to the company’s environmental, diversity or gender equity records are in sharp contrast to the rosy pictures painted during the interview process, it should put up serious red flags that must be thoroughly explored. Honesty is ethically preferable to a cover-up. If past, unethical issues are truthfully addressed, the organization may be trying to correct wrongs.
- The point above leads to a sense of clarity. If there is accuracy in what the position entails then the candidate is free to make up their mind. If no transparency exists as to what the position is really about, or the description was intentionally clouded, it is another indicator of unethical tendencies.
- We all know that person hiring must consider everyone equally and across all lines of gender, race, country of origin, religious beliefs and other factors. It is pretty straightforward and even the most unethical managers are aware of that. However, there are intangibles such as arrogance, bullying, off-the-record derision or other behaviors that may be symptomatic of corporate ethical culture. If a candidate senses something is amiss, those feelings should be honored.
- Remuneration is not a shell game. If the compensation suddenly shifts or appears as though the numbers are almost arbitrary, it is again a sign of unethical behavior.
Is a company’s ethics important in recruiting?
As organizations come under greater examination, ethics and hiring practices will be ever closely linked. If, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdown, we have learned nothing else, it is that employees dissatisfied with the ethics of their organizations are willing to walk away from toxic work situations.
As a business and organizational ethics speaker, ethics consultant and author, I find this trend remarkably exciting. It is long past due for ethical behavior to take on a greater role. Corporate recruiters must now be aware that how an organization treats its employees is clearly seen as how it treats the world.
