Your organisation’s brand and reputation matters, particularly if you operate in a smaller community. Recruiting can go a long way in either enhancing or impacting your organisation’s brand. If done poorly, the jobseeker can blast negative reviews all over social media, the internet, and of course, to their friends and family. However, if handled correctly, unsuccessful job seekers will bow out gracefully, and even respect you more as an organisation. If you’re looking for good publicity, and to improve your reputation, it’s time to learn the importance of ethical recruiting!
Ethical recruiting matters more than you think
Ethical recruitment isn’t just about complying within legal and legislative frameworks, although that certainly is important. It means pledging to be free from prejudice and bullying during recruitment, and choosing to further candidates through the process based on proven skill set, experience, education, and organisational fit, rather than assumption or bias.
Recruitment can be fast paced, and sometimes appear ruthless. But when an ethical process is carried out by a third-party recruitment company (such as ourselves), it can do wonders for your organisation and its brand. A recruiter’s role is to truly understand the culture , values, and goals of your organisation, and in some ways, they become a champion for you while they find the perfect candidate to join your team.
Ethical recruitment also helps candidates feel valued. And valued candidates are happy candidates! If you put yourself into a candidate’s shoes, they are trusting you with their future career, and where they will be spending 5 out of 7 days each and every week. If you can make the often stressful recruitment process that little bit easier for them, by really taking the time to get to know them, their goals, and their needs, then they will really appreciate the time and effort made by both the recruiter and the employer, whether they are successful or not.
The Dos and Don’ts of ethical recruiting
When it comes to recruiting ethically, there are some things that should be done, and some which should be actively avoided. Following the “don’ts” can result in a poor reputation for your organisation. But, if you follow the “do’s”, community members and candidates will be singing your praise, and other businesses will want to take a leaf out of your book when they look to make their next hire, too.
The Dos of hiring for your new role:
Be fair: An essential component of ethical recruitment is treating all candidates equally. Candidates should always be viewed based on their skills, experience, and ability to thrive in an organisation’s culture. They shouldn’t be judged for their gender, age, race, religion, or political views. All applicants should go through a fair and just screening process based on their application, and it is important to remain objective and consistent throughout this process.
Be respectful: Candidates should be treated with respect throughout the recruitment process, and this has a lot to do with communication, and ensuring that you consider the goals and values of the candidates before recommending a job placement. Remember, your candidates are the ones who can refer your organisation to others, and promote your business to their family and friends.
Ask the right questions: While questions like, “What was the name of your childhood pet?” can help you get to know a candidate more personally, it won’t tell you their values, their ambitions, their experience, or how well suited they are to the job. Instead, the focus should be on their career path, obstacles they have overcome, their strengths, industry insights, and how well they work in a team environment.
Maintain confidentiality: Ethical recruiting means to be transparent and upfront. There may be situations where the candidate does not want to announce they are looking for a new role, so tread carefully, and gain the consent of the candidate before making anything public.
Inform candidates of the selection decision: A large part of enhancing your organisation’s reputation is by the way in which you communicate with unsuccessful candidates. Never leave candidates hanging, and try to consider their feelings when drafting an email or communication to notify them of the selection decision. A poorly worded, impersonal email which has very clearly been copied and pasted to a large number of unsuccessful candidates won’t do you any favours. Taking the time to personally reach out to all candidates will be appreciated.
Give feedback where you can: A large part of maintaining a great relationship with candidates and job seekers is to provide feedback and assistance on how they can improve their interview skills, resume, or development, to assist them in landing their dream role in the future. Just because a candidate isn’t ready for a certain role now, doesn’t mean they won’t be later, and they would truly appreciate the time you give to providing them with feedback.
The Don’ts of hiring for your next role:
Don’t misrepresent the position’s duties: Your job position, company, or its benefits should not be oversold or exaggerated to attract a higher tier of candidate. While this might look impressive on-paper to your candidates, if expectations aren’t managed, and an overqualified candidate is talked into taking a job, it won’t take long for them to realise it wasn’t what they signed up for.
Don’t rely solely on a computer to tell you who will be a good match: With so much of the hiring process done online through automation today, it can be hard for jobseekers to get a look in, particularly if they are screened by their online responses to arbitrary black or white questions that don’t allow room for grey areas. A large component of ethical recruiting is to conduct face to face interviews, to gain a real understanding of a candidate beyond their resume or online application.
Don’t use social media unethically: While it’s quite commonplace nowadays for employers or recruiters to assess a candidate based on their social media accounts, they must proceed with caution. Screening applicants via what’s apparent on their Facebook or Instagram profiles can appear discriminatory, particularly when looking at their political views, sexual orientation, or hobbies outside of the office. An image on a newsfeed won’t give an accurate representation of how well a candidate will do in their 9-5 job, but it can be used to fact check employment history and placement timelines.
The Best Match approach to ethical recruiting
Here at Best Match Recruitment, we manage the end-to-end recruitment process in a professional manner, and believe in working with clients who run safe and thriving organisations. We put our clients and candidates first, and understand that recruitment is not a one-size-fits-all approach!
Other agencies may value quantity over quality, or speed over precision, but this makes for an arduous process for the client. We pride ourselves on taking the time to understand the nuances of the position, and applying a comprehensive process to find the right fit the first time round. As a trusted advisor, we manage expectations for both the employer and the candidate, and take the time to understand the must-haves for the role and organisation culture and values, before making our recommendations on the right candidates for the job! This ensures a positive experience for both our client, and candidates.
A somewhat unheralded, but very important part of the role of a recruiter, is to manage the brand of the hiring organisation. Ethical recruiting plays a large part in brand reputation, and, if done well, it can secure you as an organisation that people dream of becoming a part of. So, before you decide to do the hiring process in house, or seek the help of the first recruiter you find on LinkedIn, do your due diligence and take the time to learn more about their process and recruiting ethics.
Are you looking for a recruitment company who cares about the future of your organisation, and its candidates? We can help to ensure you recruit for your next role in an ethical manner, all while improving your reputation!
Contact the team at Best Match Recruitment today for a no-obligation quote.
Call us on (03) 56 22 0986.
References:
- February 18, 2020, “What we mean by ethical recruitment”, Bower, https://www.bower-talent.com/2020/02/what-we-mean-by-ethical-recruitment/
- “What are some common ethical dilemmas that HR professionals face during the recruiting process?”, SHRM, https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/ethicaldilemmashrprofessionalsface.aspx
- Bruce Kasanoff, May 12, 2016, “Bring humanity back into the hiring process”, Medium, https://medium.com/the-mission/bring-humanity-back-into-the-hiring-process-dc18c4f0a3e7
- KC Makhubele, May 11, 2016, “What you need to know about ethics in recruitment”, HR Future, https://www.hrfuture.net/talent-management/hiring/what-you-need-to-know-about-ethics-in-recruitment/
- Mia Mäkipää, May 24, 2018, “Is your employer brand true?”, Smarp, https://blog.smarp.com/is-your-employer-brand-true
- Valerie Bolden-Barrett, February 27, 2019, “Candidates are asking for a little respect”, HR Drive, https://www.hrdive.com/news/candidates-are-asking-for-a-little-respect/549075/