There are a number of factors to consider when hiring a new employee. You want to be sure they will be a good fit in the company culture, ensure they have the skills necessary for the job, and can be a valuable resource to your team. Ethics also come into play when hiring someone new and your ethical consideration can be extremely important when deciding whether or not to bring a candidate on board.
Defines Clear Expectations
Having ethical standards that your employees need to meet defines clear expectations for them in the workplace. For incoming employees, knowing your ethical standards help them know whether or not they will fit into the company culture. Beyond that, it will help you know whether or not they can meet the standards set by your organization.
Ethics are also helpful in the recruiting process. When these expectations are set, your human resources department knows what to look for when hiring a new employee. If the individual won’t meet the company’s ethical standards, they will know how to identify it.
Holds Your Employees Accountable
Another way ethics are important to consider when hiring a new employee is that a known standard will help hold your employees accountable. You should define what ethical behavior is for your new employees and hold everyone to the same standard. For instance, if a higher-level executive is known to get away with unethical behavior, your other employees may try to do the same.
There should also be ways for your staff to report unethical behavior. Some employers use an anonymous online submission form or document so employees can file their complaints. This makes it easier to hold everyone on the team accountable.
Improves Retention
All in all, maintaining an ethical workplace will help you in your recruiting process and make it easier to retain good employees. People like to know that they are working for an ethical company and respond well to the positive environment working with ethical employees helps foster. Not to mention, you will attract more reliable, qualified candidates for the job at hand.
How to Incorporate Ethics Into Your Hiring Process
With the benefits above in mind, you may be wondering how to incorporate ethics into your hiring process. First, you should include some of your star employees in the interview process. This will give incoming staff members an idea of what characteristics you are looking for. It will also give your most ethical and valuable employees input on whether or not the candidate will be a good fit.
You should also ask questions to help determine character during the interview process. For example, ask about previous experiences in the workplace and how they handled them. Like, “Has your boss ever done something to make you uncomfortable? How did you handle it?”
Most importantly, don’t waiver from your stance on hiring ethical employees. Know exactly what ethical behavior looks like within your organization and don’t settle for candidates who are anything less. Remember, one unethical employee will hurt the morale of the entire team, so maintaining this expectation is key.
Partner with Timpl
Working with a staffing agency can help you identify characteristics that are important to you during the hiring process. The staffing professionals can then help you find candidates that fit your specific needs. Contact Timpl to see how our team can assist you.
