What are the correct methods HR managers can use to assess the ethics of job candidates?

To help HR managers assess the ethics of their job candidates correctly, we asked 7 experts in this department for their best methods. From Michael Alexis’s to Eva Taylor’s helpful tips, here are several techniques that may help you assess the ethics of job candidates successfully.

Here is what 7 experts had to say on the correct methods HR managers can use to assess the ethics of job candidates:

• Behavioral Questions
• Competency-based Assessments
• How They Describe the Former Employer
• Give Them An Ethics Test
• Ask Candidates to Share their Idea of Ethics
• Ask Situational Questions in the Job Interview
• Share a Scenario to Gauge a Candidate’s Reaction

Behavioral Questions

Asking behavioral-based questions is one way to gauge candidate ethics. These interview questions are harder to prepare in advance because the responses are so situational-specific. Asking applicants to talk through their reactions to delicate circumstances is a way to gauge their integrity and conflict resolution skills. These unexpected questions can prompt honesty or, at least, may prompt body language cues that signal insincerity.

Michael Alexis, TeamBuilding

Competency-based Assessments

2022 will see the continued trend of HR technology refocusing candidate searches to help ensure the right people are matched with the right positions. Using a reliable piece of HR tech (like Reveal’s competency-based assessments) can be a very useful tool for screening candidates for newly-opened positions. Another way this tool can be useful is when dealing with competencies. You get a better overall picture of the candidate, such as their strengths, their internal makeup, etc. Understanding WHO your candidate is as a person gives you greater insight into how they will be as an employee and how they will treat your customers. At the end of the day, you want your employees in positions best suited to their abilities and your needs. It makes for a much more cohesive and healthy culture.

Linda Scorzo, Hiring Indicators

How They Describe the Former Employer

Speaking about tricky situations at their former or current place of employment is a test of diplomacy for candidates. Finding balance in praising the prospective employer while respecting the previous can be difficult. Despite the circumstances, how interviewed people approach this task can indicate their ethical standing when facing a conflict of interest and ambiguity.

Michael Sena, SENACEA

Give Them An Ethics Test

Ask your candidates to complete an ethics test, which consists of a series of questions about their ethical beliefs and decision-making processes. Doing this in parallel with reference checks can provide a more holistic view of a candidate’s ethical tendencies.

Matthew Ramirez, Paraphrase

Ask Candidates to Share their Idea of Ethics

The best way to assess someone’s beliefs and knowledge is to ask them to share what they know freely. When candidates share this knowledge, an HR manager can clearly outline the boundaries the candidates draw and see just how much importance they accord to this particular aspect of work. This discussion can lead to further probing, giving the manager even more specific ethical details about the candidate’s mindset.

Krista Haws, Dripped Coffee

Ask Situational Questions in the Job Interview

Situational questions allow you to understand how a candidate thinks and reacts to various scenarios. The way they answer a question about a hypothetical situation can provide insight into their ethics and morals, and it will be a more honest answer than simply asking them to give their opinion.

Mark Pierce, Cloud Peak Law

Share a Scenario to Gauge a Candidate’s Reaction

A tactical approach to gaining firsthand knowledge of a candidate’s commitment to ethics is to provide an example or scenario to seek the candidate’s response. Every tiny detail, from the way the candidates react to the narration of the scenario to the response or resolution they share, will tell the HR manager a little more about the good sense of the candidate.

Eva Taylor, WP Buffs

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