10
Making a Hiring Decision
George O’Leary was hired to fill the position of head football coach at Notre Dame. He described this as his “dream job,” yet he resigned after only five days when it was uncovered that for years he had lied about his background. It turns out that he did not have a master’s degree from New York University and he had not been a star college football player. If high-profile people lie about their background, you can be sure other people do as well.
According to Richard Paul and Michael Fox, attorneys who spoke at the 7th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium in 2011, there are actually websites that show applicants how to lie on their resume because, as it says on one site, “Everyone else is doing it, shouldn’t you?”
80 percent of resumes are misleading.
42 percent have major misrepresentations.
20 percent show unearned degrees.
30 percent show falsified employment dates.
25 percent list companies that don’t exist.1
Hiring a new employee for your organization is a time-consuming, expensive, and highly impactful process, and you want to be sure you that applicants are who they say they are. Resumes, applications, and even interviews can give an incomplete picture of a candidate, so it is necessary to widen your quest for information on that person prior to having him/her join the organization. Reference- and background-checking is the next critical step in the hiring process.
Be sure your application (whether online or paper) has a statement that any false information on the application is grounds for rejection or termination, and that each application is signed by the candidate. This may prevent some candidates from falsifying information, but it isn’t enough. You must check references and should consider some type of background checking to protect your organization.
Some organizations have HR do all the reference-checking. There’s no reason HR shouldn’t do them, but sometimes it makes sense to have the hiring manager do the reference check so that the manager can ask specific questions about the applicant’s technical qualifications. If your organization uses hiring managers to do reference-checking, it is important that anyone who does a reference check be trained prior to making that first phone call. Training should include how to ask the right questions and the best way to approach a reference.
Checking references by phone allows you to ask follow-up questions to gather additional information. Trying to reach people by phone in today’s busy work environment can be frustrating, so one tip is to email the reference to set up a time for a phone call. It is advisable to email the questions you will be asking in advance so that the reference can be prepared. You can gather information via email, but that doesn’t allow you to ask follow-up questions.
Because most organizations now only release the absolute minimum information on previous employees (date of employment, title, and last salary if employee has signed a release), it can be frustrating to get useable information. This is where you should be creative and use your network or social media sites such as LinkedIn to gather information. Ask yourself who you know who worked for the organization in question, and contact that person to get what you need.
Here is where it gets tricky. We recommend that you don’t give out information about past employees to people who contact you for a reference, so why would you think other organizations would give you the information you request on a prior employee? Most applicants will provide you a list of references for you to call whom they’ve asked to serve as a reference for them. These people will usually answer all your questions. (Just keep in mind that a person given to you by the candidate will not say anything remotely bad about the applicant.) If you have serious questions about the candidate’s suitability for your position, that is where you will need to get creative and find other people to answer your questions.
LinkedIn is a great resource for finding names of people you know who work for (or who have worked for) the organizations your potential employee has listed as previous employers. Reach out to your network through LinkedIn and see what you can find out about the applicant that will help you make a final decision.
Should you believe references? If you are hiring a senior executive for your firm and rely on the references provided by the candidate, you are, in effect, taking the word of perfect strangers about something that may have tremendous financial impact on your organization. It is obvious that references provided by the candidate are nearly always going to say wonderful things about that person. Otherwise, why would the candidate give you that name?
When the candidate does not provide the number of references you’ve requested or when he or she takes a lot of time to give you the names/contact information, when references don’t return calls, when references are from a long time ago, when references never worked directly for or with the applicant—all red flags.
Appendix: Reference Checking Template.
Here are some questions to ask if you’re lucky enough to get someone to talk to you about a reference. Of course, you’ll tailor the questions to fit the person with whom you’re speaking. For example, if you’re talking to someone who was the candidate’s immediate supervisor, you’ll ask questions different from the ones you’d ask of someone who was a peer or a direct report.
How long have you been acquainted with the candidate?
How long did you and the candidate work together?
Confirm dates of employment shown on the resume/application.
What were the job duties of the candidate when you worked together?
Is the candidate eligible for rehire and if not, why?
Describe the position for which you’re hiring and ask: Can you comment on how well you think the candidate fits those criteria?
Does the candidate have any developmental needs?
End with this: Is there anything else you can tell me to help us make a good hiring decision?
Background Checks
There are many reasons for your organization to consider doing comprehensive background checking on potential employees, including increases in workplace violence, negligent hiring lawsuits, and dishonest employees. Before you take this on, consider this question: What should be verified?
Well, referring back to the George O’Leary story at the start of this chapter, education should be high on the list. Many organizations are now also checking criminal records and credit history. Be sure that you have job-related reasons for doing criminal or credit checks, and be sure to verify what the laws are in your state regarding using credit information as an employment-screening component. Some states have enacted laws restricting their use for employment related decisions. The EEOC, under Title VII, is closely monitoring how employers use criminal and credit checks to review the potentially discriminatory impact they have on particular applicants. The Commission has advised employers to consider the specific nature and gravity of the crime, the time elapsed since it was committed, and its relevance to the position in question when using a criminal background check in an employment decision. It has also carefully looked at the use of credit reports in the hiring process due to the potentially discriminatory effect aggregate race-related disparities in credit ratings can cause. If you are considering using credit checks, check with your state. Some states have recently enacted laws restricting or prohibiting employers from using credit checks in the employment process.
Before you put your background checking procedure in place, here are some tips:
Check with your labor attorney to be sure what you are considering is fully compliant with all relevant laws and regulations.
Determine what you want to accomplish.
Document your procedure.
Cover all employees with the policy—not just selected ones!
Make sure your policy is defensible.
Once you know what information you want to have verified by an outside firm, develop a request for proposal to outline what you require. Ask your professional network for recommendations about firms they use, and send out RFPs to determine what each firm has to offer and their prices.
Making the Final Decision
This is where the “rubber meets the road,” and now you must make a decision as to whether this person will meet your requirements and fit your organizational culture. If you’ve done your job up until now, you just need to trust your decision-making ability, and make the call and make the offer. This is where many managers become hesitant to make a decision. Though no one ever intentionally makes a wrong decision, waiting for the perfect candidate can have serious implications. The most obvious one is that if you hesitate or take too long to make a decision, you stand to lose your best candidate. Applicants don’t want to wait too long for offers (and there is no hard and fast rule as to what “too long” means), so work to ensure your hiring processes are as streamlined as possible and that everyone involved does their part in a timely manner. And, be sure you’re keeping your candidates informed as you go through the decision process. Not only is this good business, applicants expect to hear from you often!
If you’ve done a very thorough series of interviews with your final candidate and have completed your due diligence by checking references and completing relevant background checks, it’s time to make the job offer. Bringing a new hire into your organization is a big step and you want to be as sure as you can be that this person is going to be able to do the job and also be a good cultural fit with your organization. (See Chapter 14 of this book for more on culture and engagement).
This is an important decision you’re making. Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, estimates that bad hires have cost his company well more than 100 million dollars and the cost impact doesn’t end when you get rid of the bad hire; it lingers for a long time and can have a huge negative impact on your organizational culture.2
See Chapter 11 (Making a Job Offer).
Once the selected applicant has accepted, there is one final action to be taken: to let those who were considered but not hired know of your decision.
Rejecting Applicants
Even though an applicant wasn’t selected for the position, you want that person to feel as if he or she was treated fairly and have a positive impression of your organization; how you tell an applicant that he or she didn’t get the job is important. A well-written rejection letter can actually increase your firm’s standing in the marketplace. Rejection letters are so important that it’s recommended that you not use a form letter. Instead, send a personalized letter. Some organizations actually offer help to candidates they reject—telling them what skills or experiences would make them a better applicant next time. Of course, you don’t want to make any promises of future consideration; however, if someone has made it all the way to the end of your hiring process and lost out to someone just a little better qualified, why wouldn’t you want to keep in touch with that person?
Discussion Questions
1. What are two to three reasons why it makes sense to check references prior to making a job offer?
2. Who should conduct the reference checks and why?
3. What is the best way to go about getting a reference?
4. Why is it a good idea to do background checks?
5. When and how should rejected applicants be notified of your decision not to hire them?