You want to hire employees with integrity. That is a given. But what about your and your company? Do you hire with integrity?

Your first response may be, “Of course.” You may even be offended by the question. But bear with me, please. It isn’t as easy as it sounds. (I know some churches that don’t hire with integrity. Not because they intentionally set out to deceive, but because it so easy to mess up in this arena.)

Where are several places that you can go astray?

One place is in the self-disclosure part of the interview. We all try to make ourselves look good. We want to make our company look good. Are we presenting an accurate, though necessarily optimistic, picture? Or are we painting a fantasy that will be sure to disappoint the employee shortly after he/she reports for duty?

I am not saying that we must air our secrets nor our dirty laundry in interviews. However, we must be sensitive to telling the truth, and painting a realistic picture. Does the job require overtime some weeks? Then be sure to mention it in the interview. Don’t spring it on the employee after he/she reports to work. I have seen managers try to hide it from the candidates.

Or perhaps the company only plans to fund the position for two years. Do you make the candidate aware of that? Do you ignore it completely? Do you present it with mitigating factors (if there are any)? (Some industries have an 18 to 24 months average tenure in a job. In that industry, the funding for two years is unlikely to be a significant deterrent to a candidate. In an industry where 10 years is the norm, two years will be a negative factor you will want to address and mitigate.)

Another place you can inadvertently go astray is in the way you write the job ad. Are you really conveying who you are looking for or are you trying to attract someone who you know it won’t be a good fit for them, but you are hoping they will stay, anyway?

A little thought in this vein will lead you to more examples, I’m sure.

The point is that you want to model the integrity that you hope to hire. Even in the hiring process, you are conveying to your employees (both present and future) the company standards on ethics and integrity.

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