Honesty Tests at Jennifers Company - Case Study Example

HR Midterm The Advantages and Disadvantages to Jennifer's Company of Routinely Administering Honesty Tests to All of Its Employees Honesty testing is becoming more and more common among employers. Human resources offices use these to help determine the honesty of a prospective employee for several key reasons. Some of these are, "These factors include legislation banning the use of polygraph testing (which was previously used by many businesses to identify dishonest employees), the rising costs of employee turnover, and other changes in the corporate climate. Honesty questionnaires are usually intended to identify the most dishonest candidates, as well as those who might sway from ethical behavior when they find themselves in enticing situations. Employers are most likely to use honesty testing for positions where employees have access to cash or merchandise, where people need to be trusted to work with little supervision, and in other situations where there is temptation to act dishonestly" (PsychTests, 2009, pg. 1). Whereas honesty testing can be helpful in the hiring process, it should never be the only instrument used to determine the suitability for hiring a prospective employee. They are not always right in every case, just like every other test. Furthermore, their results can be misinterpreted. In fact, they are illegal in Massachusetts and Rhode Island because of their controversial nature (PsychTests, 2009). For any business who has ever hired someone they later fired for stealing, failing a random drug test, or failing to show up to work on time, these tests can prove to be a valuable tool. They can help reduce the chances of these problems occurring by a significant proportion (PsychTests, 2009). Before hiring someone, it is important that a company like Carter Cleaning Centers know how much integrity, reliability, and work ethic the prospective applicant possesses. It is also important to know if they have a substance abuse problem. According to employee surveys, the following startling facts reveal just how big a problem it can be: 56% of working people admit they have lied to their supervisors 41% say they have falsified records 64% admit using the Internet for personal reasons during working hours 35% have stolen from their employers, by their own admission 31% abuse drugs or alcohol (Honesty Testing, 2009, pg. 1) It is interesting, yet sad, that many businesses fail because of their employees' actions. Millions claim that they were stolen out of business by their employees. Higher-rank employees tend to steal more or to steal items of higher value or embezzle more cash, while lower-ranking employees tend to steal less or to steal items that are of lower value (Honesty Testing, 2009). It is difficult to stop the problem, mainly because certain questions cannot be asked. According to Honesty Testing (2009, pg. 1), "Increasing lawsuits have made it extremely difficult, even illegal for you to ask important questions to determine the integrity of a job candidate. Past employers can be held liable for information they give you. If you choose to avoid hiring suspicious candidates, can you prove that you did not discriminate In the absence of objective data, it is often impossible to demonstrate that your decision was made objectively, without regard to gender, race, age, etc. There are other assessment tools that can help weed out potential problem employees. They help to reduce your risk and select the best employees. They help to stop the following types of common employee problems: Unauthorized use of the Internet Using company email for personal use Disclosing private and restricted computer data Theft of office supplies and other company property Clocking in or out for other employees Revealing confidential information and/or trade secrets to outsiders Inventory shrinkage Carelessness Unexcused absences Tardiness Drug use Sub-par job performance Fraud Job-hopping (Honesty Testing, 2009) Survey reports can include a multitude of checks. One company puts out one that administers a Quick Check, Employment Profile, Integrity, Substance Abuse, Criminal Convictions, Candidate's Attitudes, a Graph (visual summary), Distortion Scale, and Structured Interview Questions. It claims to be fast and easy to use (Honesty Testing, 2009). Furthermore, the survey provided by the company above promotes positive behaviors in companies. It does the following: An honest day's work for a full day's pay Promptness Conscientious use of company time and resources Confidentiality of proprietary data and other information Dependability Employee loyalty Increased productivity (Honesty Testing, 2009) Other Screening Techniques the Company Could Use to Screen Out Theft-Prone and Turnover-Prone Employees and How they Could Be Used One of the most tried-and-true methods to accomplish this feat is by performing reference checks. However, these may not always be accurate. An employer can never be certain who he or she is really talking to on the phone or if there is any bias involved in the process. However, in a good screening process, reference checks, background checks, drug testing, psychological profiling, and personality profiling, and a good solid interview should be the first step in a good, solid employee hiring process. A third party company can be hired for these screening processes, and they should adhere to keeping employees motivated once they are hired, take diversity into account, customize their services to your needs, have advanced and secure technology and a very high level of customer support (DDS, 2009). Workplace safety is vital to a company's very existence. So are security and integrity. That is why it is important to run the right kinds of checks (DDS, 2009). Uncovering unknown facts is essential for a company's hiring practices. It helps to significantly lower the risks that companies may have to undertake like the ones that occurred in the case study involving Carter Cleaning Services. Certain third party prospective employee check companies can check for companies large and small. They also check entry level and higher-level employees. One such company is Advance Research Solutions. They offer the following: Quality control Timely background checks Flexible solutions Data integrity Clarity Compliance solutions Client support and training (ARS, 2009) How the Company Should Terminate Employees Caught Stealing, and What Kind of Procedure Should Be Set Up for Handling Reference Calls About these Employees When they Go to Other Companies Looking for Jobs According to About.com (2009, pg. 1), "Assuming that you have taken steps to help an employee improve his work performance - and they are not working - it may be time to fire the employee. These are the legal, ethical steps in how to fire an employee. Ensure that the company's actions as you prepare to fire an employee are above reproach. How you fire an employee sends a powerful message to your remaining staff - either positive or negative. So, always fire an employee as a last resort. But, do not jeopardize your company success to retain a non-performing employee. Fire an employee to ensure the success of your other employees and your business." When considering terminating the employment of someone, give him plenty of notice. Provide feedback so that he knows he is not doing well and has the chance to improve. If the employee has committed a crime or other serious offense, immediately dismiss him from the premises, give him significantly more intense feedback, and obtain feedback from the struggling employee. If the employee's actions are not as harmful, try the following: Give feedback that has a lasting impact and that avoids the employee having a defensive response. Coach the employee so that his performance improves Hold that difficult conversation Come up with a performance development plan process Come up with a performance improvement plan "This format enables you to set goals, establish measures, conduct review sessions and chart progress. No specific amount of time is required for an employee to follow a performance improvement plan. In fact, if no progress is made, you can terminate an individual's employment after several weeks" (About.com, 2009, pg. 1). There are certain steps that must be taken before any termination that is not resulting in severe consequences for the company. First of all, progressive disciplinary should be started. All steps taken must be documented, using a form such as a Progressive Discipline Warning Form (about.com, 2009). Next, the employee must follow the steps to termination. These include options, asking him if he would rather voluntarily quit, perhaps offering him severance pay, and speaking with an attorney to make sure you are within legal guidelines. Finally, it all leads up to the Employee Termination Meeting, which is usually expected by the employee by the time it occurs (about.com, 2009). Job hunters can really be hurt by a bad reference, because employers are allowed to pass along negative information about the employee to prospective employers after that employee has left the former company. This is protected by most state laws provided it is related to a job, has supporting evidence, and there are no bad intentions (References, etc., 2009). According to References, etc. (2009, pg. 1), "It is illegal for a former employer to purposefully give false information for the sake of harming one's reputation or preventing one from obtaining employment. In addition, personal information that is not job related should neither be asked about nor provided by either a prospective or former employer. In general, it is inappropriate for a prospective employer to ask questions or a former employer to provide information about an individual's race, color, religion, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, disability status, marital status, sexual orientation, or parenting responsibilities." References "Bad Job ReferencesWhat Information Can Your Former Employer Disclose" References, etc. 2009. Online. http://www.references-etc.com/zipping_the_lips_of_a_former_employer.html "Employment Screening Services and Employment Background Checks," ARS, 2009. Online. http://www.arsbackgrounds.com/ "Honesty Tests," PsychTests, 2009. Online. http://www.psychtests.com/tests/career/honesty_access.html "Honesty Testing," Honesty Testing, 2009. Online. http://www.honestytesting.com/ "Welcome to DDS," Employee Screening, 2009. Online. http://www.employeescreening.com/ "When Employment Ends: Layoffs, Job Termination, Firing, Resignations," About.com, 2009. Online. http://humanresources.about.com/od/whenemploymentends/When_Employment_Ends_Layoffs_Job_Termination_Firing_Resignations.htm Read More