After a nail-biting match, the 2023 Webb Ellis Trophy came home to South African soil. The victory is greatly attributed to SA Rugby Team Captain Siya Kolisi’s leadership. in the realms of Rugby or Recruitment, Kolisi exemplifies how being ethical ensures long-term success.
South Africans continue to beam with pride after the SA Rugby Teams’ triumph having won this year’s World Cup trophy. Team Captain Siya Kolisi has been lauded for being an ethical leader who genuinely cares about his country’s people. The battle on the rugby field is refereed by strict rules of the game. If you opt to play dirty it can be costly (sorry All Blacks). Our national Rugby team tried to maintain fair play. And this display of sticking to the rules, plus their mad Rugby skills of course, proved that being ethical ensures long-term success and victory.
When people are your business, you deal with the element of unpredictability. Practicing ethical recruitment helps avoid bulldozing tactics. It also presents a show of understanding. Particularly during the recruitment process when candidates or clients’ circumstances change at the drop of a hat.
Here at Datafin we pride ourselves in the practice of Ethical Recruitment. We draw from our expertise of nearly 25 years in the trade of finding people jobs. Ethical Recruitment remains one of the key ingredients to achieving longevity in a rewarding but tough industry to navigate. In recruitment, just like in Rugby or any other sporting code, you deal with the human element. A candidate could change their mind about a role they initially were keen on. A client is sometimes torn choosing between two great Devs or Data Engineers in the running for one position. Interviews get cancelled for varying reasons. Sometimes it’s things like car trouble. Or someone falls ill with a bad case of this pesky flu that takes weeks to shake. Sometimes a digital gremlin decides to invade your MS Teams or Google Meet at the most inopportune moment.
When humans are your core business, it requires a mix of humanity and ethics.
AI technology like ChatGPT can aid us. But complexities and anomalies often play out when people are the core focus of your business model. These human fluctuations require a good dose of humanity and a strong show of ethics. Our Recruitment Consultants provide honest engagement because we understand the challenges people face. Especially the added stress or pressures when trying to make a huge change in your career. We try to accommodate and work around rather than force someone into taking a job.
Nobody’s perfect but trying to do the right thing builds trust.
Now, we as Recruiters are not perfect by any means. Human fallibility is a part of everyone’s DNA. Recruiters have their days where they make mistakes and get it wrong. But along with our recruitment expertise we often tap into our human intuition. That “sixth sense” or hunch you get of a right or wrong feel regarding a specific situation. Like gauging whether a candidate might not be a good culture fit. We can establish the personality a client is seeking. Or we return to a client presenting an offer that may not be completely fair. Or an offer not deserving of a potential candidate’s professional worth or skill set.
And when you build trust, it pays off in the long run.
Doing right by a candidate or client is what they value above trying to do a hard sell. Particularly when you can clearly see a candidate and client are not a match. Being ethical can pay off in the long run as it can guarantee repeat business. Or simply result in the spread of a good word of a reputable brand you can trust.
So, when embarking on your next job search, here are 3 tips from our personal Recruitment Handbook. We use these to maintain ethical recruitment practice. And they may be useful to keep in mind when dealing with the Recruitment process –
Transparency “aka” being honest –
If you have a DUI from yesteryear or a bad credit record, be upfront about it. Some employers are not the ruthless bosses we often assume. People understand people go through different stages in their lives. Everyone appreciates good ol’ honesty. And despite past mistakes, if you’re truthful it could still see you bag the job of your dreams.
Own your mistakes –
If you simply forgot about an interview, then please contact the Recruitment Consultant ASAP. Admit it slipped your mind. Let them know the real reason why you couldn’t make it. (Not the dog ate your homework type excuse, remember we’ve heard it all😉).
Manage expectations with an open mind –
We deal with hundreds of candidates and clients each year. We know a thing or two about what a market-related salary looks like. Or if your level of experience would set you up for imminent failure. This could be owing to the fact you may not be as technically ready for that jump to seniority.
When finding you a job, we want you to succeed. Same goes for finding suitable staff for our clients. When a Recruiter provides advice, it is sound, and with you in mind. Seeing you succeed is equally inclusive of that goal. Many prior candidates we have placed have moved into management. Some have even become clients of ours who we now recruit employees for. We are here to build teams and career dreams. Being ethical ensures long-term success because you create mutually beneficial relationships. It also ensures we don’t give you a raw deal.
