Developing recruitment partnerships

By NEHRA, 11/26/2002

If a job candidate looks good on paper and looks good in the interview, one would naturally assume this candidate would look good in the job. But while it sounds logical, it doesn't always work out that way.

Too much faith in resumes and interviews can lead to bad hiring decisions, with negative repercussions including low morale, high turnover, and the high cost of starting the hiring process all over again. An unfortunate truth is that sometimes candidates are not entirely honest on their resumes. In a survey conducted by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), 53 percent of HR professionals who participated said they discovered false information when checking the references of applicants. It is clear that HR professionals today must go through a rigorous screening process in order to identify and hire top talent.

Looking beyond the resume

Let's say the candidate being interviewed is honest on his or her resume, and let's assume that after a couple of interviews, people in the office are impressed. Too often, this is where the hiring process ends, but the wrong person may be hired. Maybe the candidate had the experience, but he came from a company with a different corporate culture, and therefore, will have trouble adjusting. Or perhaps the candidate's resume was impressive, but she would have conflicts with the leadership style of her manager, creating a lower level of performance than expected. As many HR professionals and managers have come to discover, a resume and professional interview cannot accurately predict a candidate's success in a new job.

Individuals are complex, as are the jobs they are interviewing to fill. Factors such as education, skills, and experience are elements that can be seen on any resume, but they do not describe the entire person. Does this person prefer working in a group or alone? How does he or she handle criticism? Is she used to more work, is he used to less?

Companies are now realizing that the time and money spent on a properly conducted preemployment screening program can ensure a safe, secure, and productive workplace, while expediting their selection process. Let's face it: whether we like it or not, the future trend in business will require the HR professional to absorb much of the responsibility in regards to employee risk management. HR professionals can craft a company-wide hiring management process which will aid in knowing more about the candidate before that person is hired, thus reducing any adverse effects down the road. This process is comprised of criminal and background checks, objective behavioral testing, a formalized behavioral interviewing process, and extensive reference checks. You may ask, does an HR professional really need all of that? Can we just make a hiring decision without all that time and expense? Sure. But "gut feeling" hires, and "what you see on paper" hires, are much like flipping a coin, and can lead to cataclysmic losses.

Add in criminal and background checks

Background and criminal checks are absolutely essential in the hiring process today for obvious reasons: workplace safety, "at risk" behavior, propensity for theft, sexual harassment, alcohol and/or drug abuse, falsified employment applications, substandard driving records, and negligent hiring lawsuits. It is common knowledge that corporations lose billions of dollars each year hiring candidates with criminal records or deviant behavior traits. Much can be gleaned through a comprehensive reference check. However, many previous employers are very cautious when sharing prior performance information, fearing lawsuits if they do. It is for this reason that past disciplinary issues often remain undiscovered until it is too late.

Employers can minimize these risks considerably by working with a qualified screening provider whose job it is to protect businesses against losses associated with a wrong hiring decision. When you consider the shear volume of applications that must be sorted through, filed and stored, it is no wonder that employers want to fill positions as soon as possible. Many times, when an HR professional finds an applicant whose resume is perfect, whose presence and appearance are seamless, and whose interview is impressive, the urge to cut corners at this stage in the game is overwhelming! Barry Nadell, president of InfoLink Screening Services, Inc., warns employers against taking this kind of shortcut since "you are not only assessing the possible contributions of an applicant, but their potential employee 'costs' in terms of low morale, lateness, absenteeism, accidents, insurance claims and turnover, as well as possible theft, violence or lawsuits." Consider the following statistics.

• There are 6 million threats of violence and 2 million assaults each year.
   
• 13 people die due to workplace violence every year.
   
• 33 percent of employees have admitted to stealing a product or money from jobs in the last 3 years.
   
• An estimated 30 percent of business failures are directly related to employee theft.
   
• Nearly 40 percent of applications are falsified.
   
• Employers lose 72 percent of all negligent hiring suits.

Mr. Nadell stresses the importance of verifying that the chosen screening provider follows procedures that comply with the law. However, the investigation must go beyond a criminal record check. If a behavior, such as past sexual harassment, is not caught and reported, documentation will not exist. If a past employee has never been convicted of stealing, there will be no record of theft. To muck the waters even more, many times the candidate being considered for a position does not have a criminal background, but can have unseen character or ethical deviations. If hired, this candidate can wreak havoc, ultimately costing the company thousands. HR professionals must go a step further than background and criminal checks. It is during the interviewing process when employers can probe beneath the surface to find the character information they need to make a qualified hiring decision.

This article is the first of a two-part series on best practices in hiring. Part 2 addresses structured interviewing, behavioral testing, and reference checks.

Mike Poskey is vice president of ZERORISK HR, Inc., a Dallas-based human resources risk management firm. For more information, visit www.zeroriskhr.com or e-mail mike.poskey@zeroriskhr.com.