Why would the word Tombstone be in an Ethics blog entry? The word Tombstone is a common custom with some retained search firms. In practice, it means sending an announcement to all of the firm’s clients about the successful completion of a search. Its purpose is really advertising a successful completion and the firm’s ability to execute a search at a senior level. It is all about business development and keeping your firm’s name and results on the client’s or prospect’s radar.

Imagine receiving one . . . . .

announcing a senior level placement. The name of the placed candidate is mentioned (hopefully with the full knowledge and permission of the candidate AND their new employer). The only problem – your company is where the person came from. Were you on a mass e-mail list? Were you purposely targeted to get the e-mail – in the hope that you will use this firm to replace the person you just lost?

Ethical standards do not, sadly, exist in my industry.

I do wish they did. The professional association in which we actively participate, the International Association for Corporate & Professional Recruitment (see www.iacpr.org), publishes guidelines for its members. Each member, however, has to make their own decisions on how they conduct their business.

Business development is indeed part of running a business and has to be handled in an ethical manner. A sales call should not simply be asking, “do you need a search?” We are a relationship-based industry. Experience certainly matters as does a successful track record. Either way, ethics in how this is done should be key.

Ask questions!

As with my other posts relating to ethics, questions about business practices are rarely discussed. Simply put, ask questions directly to your search partner about everything related to their business. If they are going to be your partner in helping you find a person that should significantly impact your business, you deserve to know how they do their work – in all areas.

The only bad question is the one NOT asked!

It used to be the final line on all resumes. (Does that mean references would NOT be available if that line wasn’t there?) Most candidates, regardless of their current work situation, have a general idea of the people they would like called as employment references. More and more candidates, if they have a LinkedIn account, are adding references to their LinkedIn page. On February 25,under the Blog topic Social Networking, I talked about never encountering a negative LinkedIn reference. The reasons are obvious.

Get a signed release form

We have all candidates that are going to be interviewed by our firm sign a Consent for Release form. The language is simple but important and includes the following:

• We may contact those persons whom you have identified to us as potential references. In addition, we may contact other friends, business associates or acquaintances.

The release goes on to assure that the candidate has read AND fully understands the release language. It then requires their signature.

Comprehensive reference checking

One of our Blog readers recommended this topic because of the many ethical nuances that exist in this area. A search firm wants the placement to move along quickly. There is also the guarantee – that if a candidate leaves their new employment (for virtually any reason) within a set period of time, the search has to be completed again.

We want the truth

Make sure your search firm is performing in the following areas – through up-front discussion with them before starting an assignment:

• Getting a signed release of liability from all presented candidates
• Verifying educational credentials (we still see a 10% to 15% falsification rate on degrees – even after the release is signed)
• Checking references – and making sure client-specific questions are addressed
• Going beyond what is provided (allowed through the release)

One word of caution here – there are only a few degrees of separation between people – especially in the twin cities community. Make sure to draw the line between comprehensive reference checking and potential (current) career damage because of checking.

(A special thank you to Steven Snyder, Ph.D. of Snyder Leadership Group for his question/e-mail on this topic.)

It’s about the client!

Dual or Parallel Processing – terms in the search industry which do not mean much to most people. Should they? And should you be reacting ‘positively’ or ‘negatively’ to the terms? The answer . . . . . it depends on who you are. Thus the title: It’s about the client!

You ARE the client!

You are conducting a search for a Director of Sales. You are considering four candidates from your retained search firm. You are very serious about two of them. There are two others that are on the ‘back burner.’

The search firm is offered a second search for a Director of Sales from another client in another industry. One of the candidates you are considering from this search firm has a background in your industry as well as the other industry. Can the search firm present the candidate (even a ‘back burner’ candidate) on the other search as well? The answer, if yes, is called Dual or Parallel Processing (of a candidate).

Do you want this to happen? As a client, the answer is likely NO. If you are the search firm, you need to decide what your stance is. Having a candidate in two places at once can be good and bad. As a candidate, you are likely thrilled.

We’re back to:

It’s about the Client!

While rare with small firms, Dual or Parallel Processing may be a more common practice with national or international firms. They are likely to be conducting more than one search in the same functional area at any given time (across multiple offices in some cases). Contingent firms do this all the time – it is part of a very common business model.

The Answer:

The key – bring it up! What is the practice at the firm you are considering for your search? Are you in agreement? As with most ethical questions, there is no one ‘best’ answer that fits everyone.

Make sure to have the discussion with your retained search partner!

We all have a story!

It’s hard to pick up the paper today without seeing another article on Petters, Madoff, or any number of individuals or companies that have not behaved ‘ethically.’ Ethics issues are all around us.

But . . . . ethics in the search field?

What are the ‘issues’ that need discussing?

• Off-Limits
  • Time
  • Reach
  • Incoming Calls
  • Placed Candidates
• Dual or Parallel Processing
• Conflicting Searches
• Confidentiality
• Sourcing Under False Pretenses
• Discrimination

Let’s start with Off-Limits

Simply put, an Off-Limits policy is an agreement that a search firm can NOT recruit from your company and/or any of your subsidiaries for a pre-agreed period of time. There is sadly no standard for this area in the industry. It is up to each firm and their individual client organization to create this Off-Limits policy for their work together.

Off-Limits discussions need to take place – and in four distinct areas.

1. How long should a client be off-limits – and when does the clock start?
2. Is it the entire company – or just a single location, department or function?
3. Should there be a policy in place for potential candidates from a client company that call into the search firm because of a search they are aware of at a different company?
4. And, last and certainly not least, what about the candidate that the search firm places? Should they have a separate policy/agreement?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer. The correct answer is having the discussion. While not a scientific poll, I can say that this topic rarely surfaces in client discussions. We as a firm need to bring it up more often; clients need to for their protection and understanding.

Send your thoughts – and stay tuned for additional Ethics-related discussion points!