|
|
|
Can You
Interview for Integrity?
After a thorough search
for a new employee, one candidate has risen to the top, and he has the
look of a winner. Impeccable résumé. Extensive relevant experience.
Great interpersonal skills. Plenty of energy and enthusiasm. Great new
ideas he's eager to set in motion.
So you hire him. And it turns out to be one of the biggest mistakes you've
ever made.
That glowing individual, so impressive sitting across the conference-room
table, lies to clients and misrepresents your products. He can't
satisfactorily explain the irregularities in his expense reports. He
backstabs co-workers and takes credit for work he didn't do.
You have to let him go. But in his wake the questions remain: How were
we so misled and so wrong? Why couldn't we have seen what kind of person
we were really hiring?
Scenarios like this one are all too familiar, perhaps painfully so. But in
light of the numerous examples of illegal and unethical behavior that have
garnered headlines in recent months and years, managers are more
interested than ever in making sure that they hire people, for positions
at all organizational levels, who are trustworthy and share the
organization's ethical values.
But despite their interest in doing a better job of hiring for honesty
and integrity, too many managers continue to believe that their hands are
tied. This is a mistake: They can screen for integrity and ethical
behavior when selecting new employees. It might be as simple as doing
background checks and checking references-steps that many organizations
had tended to skip in recent years but are resurrecting. Then there is the
often-overlooked yet substantial information on ethical behavior that
managers can obtain during the interviewing process-by having properly
trained interviewers seek examples of how candidates have handled ethical
situations in the past, and by having everyone who interviews a candidate
share, cross-check, and evaluate the information.
"Doesn't Everyone Do It?"
Some people are understandably
skeptical that dishonest and unethical individuals can be ferreted out
simply by asking them questions about their past behavior. After all,
won't a dishonest or unethical person just lie, anyway? Psychology
suggests that the answer is no, they won't. People with low integrity tend
to think that everybody else has the same degree or an even lower degree
of integrity than they do; they readily admit to integrity lapses because
they think that their behavior is normal and assume that the interviewer
feels the same way.
I have seen this theory borne out many times in my own interviewing
experiences and in those of others. On one occasion, I interviewed a
prominent politician's administrative assistant who bragged about how she
helped her boss pad his expense account. Another time, a candidate I
interviewed for a sales position told me how he had obtained "gold status"
on a major airline by taking needless flights-paid for out of his
employer's travel budget.
The real key to effectively interviewing for integrity is seeking multiple
examples of behaviors and asking probing follow-up questions that reveal
the thinking behind the behaviors described. While integrity-focused
questions need be only a small part of the total interview, any ethical
issues that arise must be explored fully so that the examples can be
accurately evaluated and the best hiring decision reached
Timing Is Everything It is
important to incorporate integrity questions into an interview — and
equally important to know when to ask those questions. Interviewers are
wise to save sensitive ethical questions for late in the interview, after
rapport has been developed. And, of course, as with all interview
questions, once you have asked an ethical question, remember to listen and
respond with empathy.
Empathy does not mean acceptance or agreement — it means understanding.
You can be empathetic with a person who is telling you about an unethical
behavior, without having to bend or sacrifice your own ethical standards,
by reflecting the interviewee's feelings ("So you felt really good after
the presentation," or "So you had second thoughts after the sales call").
And by showing empathy, you can keep the individual talking, providing
other examples of behavior that will foster your understanding.
The recent bad behavior of high-profile executives has been nothing short
of alarming. But it's an alarm that conscientious managers needed to hear
— and to heed. Organizations must have leaders and associates who will
share and live their ethical values, and extra care must be taken to
ensure that these individuals are the ones who are brought into the
organization — and promoted.
The Top 11
The first step in an interviewing process to screen for honesty and
integrity is for interviewers to ask the right questions. These questions
need to be geared toward gathering information on past behaviors that
illustrate whether a candidate's own ethical values are compatible with
those of the organization.
Following is a list of questions, any of which could be incorporated
into an interview to elicit examples of a candidate's past ethical
behavior and to reveal insights about the candidate's honesty and
integrity. While I've included 11 questions, most interview situations
will dictate using only two or three such questions to obtain examples of
past ethical behavior.
I've also given examples of good and questionable answers that candidates
might give to these questions. The "rightness" or the "wrongness" of the
answers is up to the interviewer's judgment. As such, it's important to
train interviewers to follow up answers with more questions to pin down
behavior and the thinking behind the behavior, to ask for additional
examples, and to have a systematic integration of data so that multiple
interpretations of the answers can be obtained and discussed.
1. "We are often confronted with the dilemma of
having to choose between what is right and what is best for the company.
Give at least two examples of situations in which you faced
this dilemma and how you handled them."
|
|
Good answer: Once, we discovered a technical defect in a product
after it had been shipped and used by a client. The client did not notice
the defect. We debated whether to tell the client and admit we had made a
stupid error, or just let things go because the client seemed to be using
the product with no problem. We decided to tell the client and replace the
product at no cost.
Questionable answer: We discovered that our sales clerks were making
errors in charging for certain combinations of products and that the
errors were almost always in favor of the company. In no way were the
clerks encouraged or trained to make these errors. We also learned that,
with training, the errors could be eliminated, but the training would be
fairly expensive. I decided not to institute the training |
2. "How would you describe the ethics of your
company? In which areas do you feel comfortable and
uncomfortable with them? Why?"
Good answer: My company is extremely ethical, and I've never, ever run
into a situation in which I disagreed with a decision made because of
ethics. In fact, we bend over backward in the treatment of our
customers-such as taking back out-of-date products and providing free
service past warranty, whenever there is any question about our products
and services.
Questionable answer: I'm not sure what the ethics of our company are.
People seem to do what's necessary to get the job done.
3. "Give me an example of an ethical decision you have had to make on the
job. What factors did you consider in reaching this decision?"
Good answer: We had a customer return a large shipment. While
technically it was in the second quarter, it would have been very easy to
move the revenue hit to the third quarter. Including it in the second
quarter meant that we would not meet sales expectations. To me, it was a
matter of borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, and we probably wouldn't meet
our expectations the next quarter. Anyway, I felt that it was better to
take the bad results when you were supposed to, rather than cook the
books.
Questionable answer: I've never really had to make a tough decision
regarding ethics.
4. "Have you ever observed someone stretching the rules at work?
What did you do about it?"
Good answer: One of my fellow executives took a company car to use for
a weekend vacation. I spoke to him, and he agreed that it was not right
and that he would not do it again.
Questionable answer: Everybody stretches the rules sometimes.
5. "Have you ever had to bend the rules or exaggerate a little bit when
trying to make a sale?"
Good answer: My experience is that when salespeople misrepresent
products and services, customers buy less from them. Having credibility
with customers brings in better long-term sales. For example, when I was
selling servers, we had a proprietary server and operating system. The
client asked me why my machine was really worth the higher cost. I listed
the advantages and disadvantages, which indicated for him that the cheaper
solution would work. I lost that sale but came back to win a much larger
sale six months later.
Questionable answer: Sometimes when selling to a doctor, the doctor
will state that he's heard that one of my products is effective against a
certain disease. I listen and nod my head and say, "Interesting." I don't
correct him even though I know that the drug is not recommended for that
purpose. I'm not saying that it does work the way he thinks it does; I'm
just not disagreeing with the doctor. You can't give advice to physicians.
|
|
6. "Have you ever been in a situation in which you had to make something
seem better than it really was?"
Good answer: That's a big temptation in the high-tech field,
particularly with new products. Often you know that there are errors in
the program and that there are going to be some problems-what do you do? I
try to be as honest as I can and give people realistic expectations.
Questionable answer: Our product has a very long sales cycle, and very
often when we come out with a new release, it's not really done. It's
"vaporware." We talk about it and sell it as if it were really done, with
the expectation that by the time we make the sale and the client gets
ready to have it installed, it will be ready. Most of the time we meet the
client's deadlines, but we've had some really embarrassing situations when
we didn't |
7. "Tell me about an instance when you've had to go against company
guidelines or procedures in order to get something done."
Good answer: Like any manager, I move budget money around in order to
get projects done with the resources that I have been allocated-for
example, by reassigning people. That's what managers are expected to do.
You can't precisely follow detailed budget allocations that are made six
or nine months in advance.
Questionable answer: My wife works for one of our suppliers, and I
actually buy things from her. This is technically in violation of company
rules, but it doesn't hurt anything, and, frankly, it's the best product.
8. "We've all done things that we regretted. Can you give me an example
that falls into this category for you? How would you handle it differently
today?"
Good answer: When I first took over my job, I let seven people go
without a whole lot of knowledge about their skills and contributions.
Later I found that three of them were actually outstanding employees who
should not have been let go. My jumping to conclusions hurt them and the
company's operations. It took us several years to replace their knowledge
of our equipment.
Questionable answer: I've never regretted anything about business.
It's a game. I play the game to win.
9. "Have you ever had anyone who worked for you do or say something that
was misleading to the company or to a client? How did you handle it?"
Good answer: I had a salesperson misrepresent a feature of one of our
products in a presentation made to a client. I knew that the feature was
important to the client. I asked the salesperson to meet again with the
client to correct the misrepresentation, and I made a follow-up phone call
to ensure that the discussion occurred.
Questionable answer: I was part of a sales presentation by one of my
best salespeople to a very, very big client. In the presentation, the
salesperson absolutely misrepresented one of our product's features. It
was an important misrepresentation because a competitor for that business
had that feature. I sat through the rest of the meeting thinking about
what to do but decided that I just couldn't let the misunderstanding
stand. So after we left the presentation, I asked him to call the client
and clarify the situation. I think he did, but I'm not sure.
10. "There are two philosophies about regulations and policies. One is
that they are to be followed to the letter; the other is that they are
just guidelines. What is your opinion?"
Good answer: Regulations and policies are made for important reasons.
A regulation seems to me to be stronger, and I feel that I follow all
regulations, such as getting reports in at a certain time and accounting
for expenses in a certain way. Policies are a little bit more indefinite.
They express more of a guideline and a philosophy. There are circumstances
when you fall into the "gray area" when applying a policy. When I have had
questions, I've checked with my boss.
Questionable answer: In order to get things done, you can't be held
back by old-fashioned policies of your organization. You have to know
what's right and do the right thing. You have to have good ethics and make
decisions based on those ethics. You may have to bend the rules sometimes.
11. "Have you ever felt guilty about receiving credit for work that was
mostly completed by others? If so, how did you handle it?"
Good answer: I frequently encounter this situation. By nature of being
the boss, I get the credit for many of the things that my people do. I try
my best to redirect that credit to them. For example, I insist that
everyone who works on a proposal has her name on that proposal. We have
celebrations when we win a contract at which we particularly point out the
contributions of various people.
Questionable answer: No, I've never felt guilty. The person at the top
gets credit when things go well, and he gets the blame when things go
poorly. It's the nature of the job
Interviewers should gather multiple examples from each question by
employing a simple follow-up query: "Can you give me another example?"
This will tell the interviewer whether the dishonest or unethical behavior
was a one-time event or if there is a pattern. Also, interviewees tend to
be more truthful in later examples than they are in their first example,
which may be more of a PR effort.
Contributing Writer: Ayesha Saini,
ayeshasaini@gmail.com
Contribute Resume Writing / Cover Letter / Interview Tips
|
|
|
|
