Good to Great author and management guru, Jim Collins, says, "Look, I don't really know where we should take this bus. But I know this much: If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats... then we'll figure out how to take it someplace great." You can't get the right people on the bus, if you don't check them out properly. That's why a thorough professional background due diligence review should be a critical part of the hiring process. Wall Street Journal statistics show that 42% of résumés have at least one inaccuracy and 12.6 % have 2 or more factual errors. It might surprise you to learn that results from a study in 2004 revealed that 23% of executive résumés had fabricated information. During the summer months of 2006, I conducted professional background due diligence reviews on several high potential (management / executive level) candidates who had either misrepresented their academic and professional credentials and / or who had criminal rap sheets as long as my arm. Much to my surprise, several of these candidates were hired anyway. Shocking but true! It is important to get detailed feedback from colleagues of the candidate who are working (or have worked recently) with that person. These people should be familiar with the candidate's professional experience such that they can opine as to how the person will handle the prospective hiring criteria; and, indeed,	how the person might fit with the new organizational culture. That's why the list of referees should not include the candidate's former brother-in-law, favorite neighbour from childhood days, kissing cousin or anyone else whom the candidate knows personally and not professionally. A colleague from more than 5 years ago is also not terribly useful because their perspective is dated. Rather, a good list of referees includes superiors, peers, subordinates and any other person who has had significant professional contact with the candidate within 3 - 5 years. The professional background due diligence review coupled with personal background checking will give you much more insight into who you are hiring. A signed candidate consent statement is imperative for a legally compliant process. This is required in order to talk to referees. It is also necessary for the purposes of personal background checking i.e. criminal and credit checking, driver abstracts and academic and professional designation verification. Objective questions based on hiring criteria will save on potential lawsuits as well. The cost of replacing an executive ranges between $500,000 and $3 Million. Put another way, the cost of replacing a high potential person is 1 - 4 times the annual compensation. The financial and non-financial implications of hiring people who under perform or, worse, who are not who they say they are, can be devastating and very embarrassing for the organization. Therefore, hiring managers need to get the 'straight goods' on people being considered for important roles within their companies. After all, their career success may depend on it.
Trish Langmuir Taylor is an expert in providing professional background due diligence reviews to companies hiring high potential people. Please call Trish directly at (416) 231-1819 X221 or e-mail ttaylor@selectionprotection.com for any selection advice you may require. You can also visit www.selectionprotection.com for more information about her practice.
Selection Protection ® Services Smart hiring decisions, no surprises, no regrets Trish Langmuir Taylor (416) 231-1819 x 221 ttaylor@selectionprotection.com SelectionProtection.com

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