Chika Uwazie’s TalentBase: How To Hire Ethical Employees… For Nigerian Employers

Company culture is the people; it is not the words which employers put down in the founding documents. Words mean nothing, if the people don’t put them in the works; worse still when they put them in the wrong works. Many employers think less of this, and it affects how they structure their recruitment strategy. Yes, they get smart people, with the right qualifications but there is no cultural fit.

Over time, employees learn that the only way to stick it through without bending the rules of the business is hiring an ethical person, not by imposing strict rules. An ethical person knows what compromise is, but will rather stick to the values that built the business. You feel safe with them, because, when push comes to shove, they always make the right decision. Here’s how we suggest you go about finding them:

Take Resume Reviews Seriously
The very first way to find an unethical hire is through his resume. If they lie in black and white, they will have no problem lying to your face. When reviewing resumes, look out for red flags. Do they have gaps in their resumes? Aim to find out what happen within those gap years. Check with their references. Find out if they are who they are. One other good pointer is volunteer activity. People who are ethical often turn out altruistic.

Define Your Recruitment Questions
When you feel okay with what’s on paper and have brought them in for a face-to-face interview, be sure to ask questions that tell the story about who they really are. Seek to find what they do when boxed in a corner. Some sample questions include: “have you suffered in your career for doing what was right?”, “if your boss asked you lie, would you?” These sort of questions show what they think about  being ethical or gives an opportunity for them to tell some personal stories.

Make Your Company’s Values Clear
Sometimes, we feel focused on finding out what an employee can do for your business that we miss the point to sell what your company can do for them. Yes they will earn good pay, meet awesome people; but do we mention that our values and ways of doing business mold them into better people? Every company with a great culture should be proud to show it off; right from when we announce the job opportunity. Be clear on who you want at your firm and be ready to remind everyone why it matters to you. Over time, people who don’t match leave; sometimes, by themselves.

Keeping company culture is one of the hard parts of building a business. It takes one bad hire for everything to go wrong in a company. The only reason you wouldn’t hire an ethical person is because you lack the value as a business.