Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire - Part One

(Part One of a Three-Part Series)

With all the news about Brian Williams lately, it got us thinking about honesty in the workplace. Employee honesty is an important concern during every phase of employment, from hiring through post-employment. In this brief series, we will explore the negative ways that employee dishonesty can impact your business, and touch on some cost-effective safeguards that we may use to tilt the odds in our favor when making that ever-important hiring decision.

PART ONE - THE HIRING PROCESS

The first step to increasing the level of honesty in your particular workplace is (obviously) don't hire the candidates that lie in the first place. That's easy enough to suggest, but in the real world, how do you know? You conduct one or two interviews, you like the candidate, they tell you everything you want to hear, so you extend the offer.

Some of the easiest and least expensive steps we can take to try to learn whether or not a candidate is who they say they are and have the qualifications stated, require spending a little time and money up front.

Time is required on the telephone checking references. This includes contacting past employers and personal and professional references. It should also include contacting people the candidate did NOT place on his/her resume and/or application. You must develop a list of specific questions aimed at gaining valuable information to help you make your decision.

Money is required for products aimed at prescreening candidates. This can include criminal background checks, motor vehicle reports, candidate profile testing, credit report and drug testing.

At Creative Business Solutions, we can assist you in your hiring process. Whether you want us to handle it from beginning to end or just certain components, the staff at CBS is here to help you select the best candidate. A general rule to remember is hire slow; fire fast. It is very expensive to hire a bad employee. A poor hiring decision has internal and external costs, such as damaged corporate culture, lost customer good will, damaged company reputation, legal fees and lost productivity. A few extra steps in the hiring process can make a significant difference. Please call us today to learn how CBS can assist you.

Stay tuned for our next newsletter - PART TWO - THE TOXIC EMPLOYEE