Career advice and information for the new millennium         Issue 3

Recruiting Ethics: Good for Business

By Diana Krajewski, President, Luminara LLC

Ethics is the talk of the town. With issues like Enron and Worldcom, ethical behavior has become a prominent business initiative. With the lack of ethical decision-making directly affecting the global economy, business ethics has moved to the forefront of our business community.

The Recruiting and Staffing industry has a particularly unique challenge in upholding ethical standards. This group of professionals is privy to confidential information on behalf of a corporation and on behalf of an individual. Corporate hiring managers rely on the recruiting professional for insight into the staffing process. The job seeker looks to the recruiter for valuable assistance on the job search, interviewing, and resume writing. Achieving a balance between the two clients is an ethical challenge for the recruiter.

Integrity, Honesty, and Values are major ethical principles that require recruiter commitment. Knowing that unethical behavior can cost the recruiter, not only a client, but a loss in reputation is a key reason to adopt a set of principles that will guide ethical behavior. It is a good idea to adopt an agreed upon set of operating standards.

The Recruiter's Operating Principles
Guidelines for Ethical Behavior

Integrity
Personal and professional integrity are key factors that ensure ethical dealings with the recruiter's clients. We must look to achieve a high level of industry integrity by setting and applying standards for all aspects of handling customer relationships. By establishing a set of acceptable behaviors for managing client relationships, the recruiter is able to uphold a reputation of integrity.

Honesty
Honesty is the cornerstone of ethical behavior. Simple actions will show your clients that honesty is important to you. For example, most recruiters do not send the candidate's resume to a company unless the candidate is informed. Upholding this standard indicates that the recruiter honors the candidate's privacy.

Values
Define the values that drive your team. What are the values that guide the recruiter's in routine client interaction? Are all clients treated with respect? Reach a consensus on the values that the team will live and embrace in all client interactions. Remember that the values apply to the corporate clients as well as the job seekers.

The emergence of strong client relationships will result from the application of a standard set of ethical guidelines. It is not enough to just write a set of standards; but it is imperative that the recruiters live the standards in routine client interactions. The commitment of the company's leaders is essential to the successful execution of any ethics program.

It is time to sit down with your recruiting and staffing team to openly discuss appropriate ethical behavior. Encourage the recruiter's to discuss acceptable solutions to handling challenging clients. Reward ethical behavior.

Ethical behavior does lead to profitability. Sit down, discuss, and live ethical recruiting principles.