Check integrity before you hire

A father who had been laid off from his job had been watching expenses for months. He'd made a promise to his twin sons that he'd take them to a nearby amusement park to celebrate their tenth birthday.

When the day came, the father withdrew some money from his savings, and he took his two sons on the bus to the amusement park. When they reached the front gate, he saw a sign:

"General admission (ages 10 and up): $10. Children under 10: $5."

If he'd come a day earlier, the father realized, he could have saved $10. With a sigh, he led the boys up to the ticket window and said, "Three general-admission tickets, please."

The woman in the booth looked them over and smiled. "How old are you boys?"

"I'm 10 years old today," said one son.

"So am I," said the other. "We're twins!"

The woman leaned forward. "You know," she whispered, "you could have asked for two 'under 10' tickets, and I never would have known."

"Yeah, but they would have," said the father.

Why do so many executives and employees apparently go along with blatantly unethical and illegal conduct? The answer may be that people don't always know what to do when confronted with requests (or demands) that aren't on the straight and narrow. But that's not a good enough answer. Organizations need to be clear and specific about what is acceptable and what is expected.

Here are some suggestions on how to respond when someone in your organization asks you to do something unethical:

Explain your concern. Tell the other person how you feel. Use "I" statements that describe your position without attacking the other person: "I have some reservations about that plan because ..."

Offer an alternative. Chances are there's an honest way to accomplish the same goal or a similar one. Concentrate on that, emphasizing your common interests: "We both want to make more money on this product, and I think we can do it better by cutting some less-important features rather than by using cheaper materials."

Go upstairs. This should be a last resort, but if the other person insists on behaving unethically, you'll have to protect the company and yourself by discussing the matter with a superior.

Careful hiring can often help avoid problems from the outset. We use a reliable method at MackayMitchell Envelope Co. to supplement our usual background screening process called the Merchants Pre-employment Integrity Test, developed by Merchants Information Solutions.

The Integrity Test will help you reduce the number of criminal records you are required to review under the new Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines. Using this test will speed up the hiring process and keep you in compliance without reducing the scope of your candidate review.

It is a self-admitting "overt" test that has been validated and adheres to EEOC non-discriminatory standards. In fact, Merchants' website identifies integrity testing as an acceptable pre-employment screening tool, especially effective in identifying applicants with a propensity to commit employee theft. The Integrity Test is proven to identify applicants who are engaged in employee theft, have a high level of hostility which can spill over into workplace violence, abuse drugs and alcohol, and have other high-risk behaviors. You can learn more at merchantsinfo.com.

Honesty is always the best policy. You must be able to trust the people you work with.

Mackay's Moral: Corporate integrity begins with personal integrity.

by Harvey Mackay May 27, 2012



Check integrity before you hire