BFI-10 & Rescind Discussion

 

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This survey is taken from a LinkedIn HR group discussion with regard to a candidate that lied about employment status and has been done through Survey Monkey as BFI-10 & Recind

Pardon the horrible formatting, but that is what you get when pairing MS-Word up with HTML.

The following section is an adaptation of the BFI-10 Personality Profile instrument

PAGE: FACTORS

1. I see myself as Someone Who …
		Disagree strongly		Disagree a little		Neither disagree nor agree	Agree a little	Agree strongly	Rating Average	Response Count
Has an active imagination		0.0% (0)		4.8% (3)		8.1% (5)	41.9% (26)	45.2% (28)	4.27	62
Does NOT have many artistic interests		29.0% (18)		43.5% (27)		14.5% (9)	12.9% (8)	0.0% (0)	2.11	62
Does a thorough job		1.6% (1)		0.0% (0)		0.0% (0)	35.5% (22)	62.9% (39)	4.58	62
Tends to be lazy		48.4% (30)		21.0% (13)		14.5% (9)	12.9% (8)	3.2% (2)	2.02	62
Is generally trusting		0.0% (0)		0.0% (0)		12.9% (8)	35.5% (22)	51.6% (32)	4.39	62
Tends to find fault with others		17.7% (11)		32.3% (20)		24.2% (15)	21.0% (13)	4.8% (3)	2.63	62
Is relaxed, handles stress well		3.2% (2)		11.3% (7)		14.5% (9)	37.1% (23)	33.9% (21)	3.87	62
Gets nervous easily		40.3% (25)		25.8% (16)		22.6% (14)	8.1% (5)	3.2% (2)	2.08	62
Is outgoing, sociable		0.0% (0)		11.3% (7)		14.5% (9)	38.7% (24)	35.5% (22)	3.98	62
Is reserved		19.4% (12)		30.6% (19)		16.1% (10)	25.8% (16)	8.1% (5)	2.73	62

 

Interpretation

The Big Five personality traits on a -4 to +4 scale averaged across the group of respondents are as follows:

Openness: +2.16

Conscientiousness: +2.56

Agreeableness: +1.76

Stability: +1.79

Extroversion: +1.25

Just for interest sake, here are the average scores for just the self-identified HR people from the earlier analysis:

Openness: +2.18

Conscientiousness: +2.54

Agreeableness: +2.00

Stability: +2.39

Extroversion: +1.36

 

Non-HR people in the that sample looked like this:

Openness: +2.38

Conscientiousness: +2.92

Agreeableness: +1.15

Stability: +1.92

Extroversion: +0.92

 

PAGE: SCENARIO

1. A candidate to whom you just sent an offer letter is subsequently found to have lied when she said she was still employed with her previous employer. She was in fact not employed at the time in question and she has admitted this subsequently and has mentioned that she was the sole bread winner for the family with three small children at home.   She has actually been unemployed for seven months. She reports that her previous supervisor agreed to portray her as employed and agreed to state so during the reference call. He did just that, but then changed his story when asked if his supervisor was available to confirm the last day of employment. Her references are good. All the other dates and credentials check out as valid. And the reason for the separation had nothing to do with poor performance. She says she’s sorry, but she just didn’t want her unemployed status to be a factor in the decision making process. 3 references were checked, came back glowing, and didn’t say she was no longer employed. These are the only facts known to you With regards to the scenario described above, please state your position on the following items using the scale provided
									Disagree strongly	Disagree a little	Neither disagree nor agree	Agree a little	Agree strongly	Rating Average	Response Count
In my view the offer should be rescinded									36.2% (21)	20.7% (12)	13.8% (8)	12.1% (7)	17.2% (10)	2.53	58
I am personally in favor of a policy to rescind in this situation									34.6% (9)	19.2% (5)	23.1% (6)	11.5% (3)	11.5% (3)	2.46	26
Once a liar, always a liar									44.8% (26)	25.9% (15)	15.5% (9)	10.3% (6)	3.4% (2)	2.02	58
This lie suggests poor ability to execute her job and be a good employee									55.2% (32)	24.1% (14)	10.3% (6)	8.6% (5)	1.7% (1)	1.78	58
Hiring her is too risky									32.8% (19)	22.4% (13)	24.1% (14)	15.5% (9)	5.2% (3)	2.38	58
2. Is there anything that she could do to make herself a suitable hire in your eyes? 1. I think she did it, explained her rationale for doing so in a credible way. All other references check out. She was qualified on all levels. 2. She is already suitable to hire. She did not lie. I do not see any lie mentioned previously. 3. Explain the disparity, and lets move on. 4. She needs to understand that this was not okay. 5. Make a consistent effort to be a suitable hire by becoming a valued employee and team contributor based on her performance. 6. Falsification of application is grounds for immediate termination. We would not hire anyone or retain anyone who was found to falsify documentation. 7. Her ability to prove that nothing will stop her from being successful, whilst showing that this was a very bad misjudgment on her side, not part of her character or traits.This would require an additional re-qualification where in depth analysis of her previous record will be re-analysed. And only after that ‘ordeal’ if she can prove her motivation for the job still very high. If a candidate is willing to go to such lengths to get a job, the chances are that there are more reasons than just being ‘desperate’, she could turn out to be a formidable asset to the organisation. This case took the cohesion of several people. 8. Stop lying…it’s that simple. 9. explain why she would have lied. Also, did I ask any questions that she gave false answers in the actual interview about her current employment 10. She coudl have stated up fron that she was unemployed, but this has serious consequences for applicants these days. Many companies won’t hire people who are unemployed, so she was caught in a catch 22 situation. 11. No 12. No. My trust has already been broken 13. Character & performance are not the same. So she could be a liar and still perform well. Still, character does affect performance and so lying in the application phase could lead to later lying — unless she has a personal experience that leads her to renounce all lying in all its forms. 14. When did she tell you she was still employed on the resume that is acceptable or did she keep up the pretense in the interview if so then that IS a factor to not hire her. At the same time she must have been a good employee for her boss to lie for her. Consider other factors, is her personality going to fit into the new department? How valuable is her skills. I have loads of people now who are so desperate for a job they are willing to change themselves and their beliefs to get employed. Look on linkedin and find a connection of hers that worked in the same dpt then send them a note see if you get the same perfect response, if so she might be worth taking the chance. There is nothing she can say now to fix her omission. 15. No, unfortunately she chose to lie about information that should have been disclosed during an initial interview and has falsified her application. Her offer should be rescinded based upon falsification of application. (as should all applicants who like on their applications and this is discovered during a background check) 16. No – too many others in same boat who are not lying about it. Plus wasn’t necessary in today’s economy. 17. No, she is suitable. 18. To clear out this thing BEFORE the final offer 19. Explain her position. 20. In my eyes she has already proven she is a suitable hire… 21. well she had the trust and support from previous employers who all played the game, didn’t they? 22. Talk to me more about the situation so I can get a better feel for her motives/values/character 23. No. If this same scenario happened 10 years or so ago my opinion would probably be different. But given the state of the economy and looming unemployment statistics of today, I think special situations sometimes require special consideration.

3. What is your career specialization?
				Response Percent	Response Count
HR/Recruitment				53.4%	31
Sales				5.2%	3
Finance & Payroll				5.2%	3
Marketing, PR, Communications				5.2%	3
IT				1.7%	1
Customer/Product Support				1.7%	1
Knowledge Management, Training/Learning				10.3%	6
Administrative Service				1.7%	1
Other				16.3%	7

 

Comments

1.	bottom line, any of those responding to this;Are you perfect or just put on a face of perfection for work? I have seen much of that in this email string over the past month.
2.	discretion, client centered approach…along with our training as HR professionals, hopefully we also have the ability to analyze and make decisions-from what I have seen most of these people should be working in a team setting so that: 1. Some of these scary people aren’t making decisions and most importantly…2. potential is not wasted
3.	Can we shut down the thread after this survey is complete? It won’t die!
4.	Not enough knowlege on why person was not employed. It appears that even her supervisior lied for her. Will they be dismissed also.
5.	Sad that we must debate this. Lying is lying. If caught in a lie, we pay the price. Isn’t that how things use to be?
6.	Tough decision, but I would come down to support honesty in the recruitment process. Engaging otherss in the lie also does not speak well.
7.	Good luck this is the a tight rope walk.
8.	I believe investigation will bring out the truth, never assume.
9.	She lied out of fear. She owned up to it which is good. However, as an employer it really depends on many factors of your company’s particular needs on whether or not to rescind the offer. If she has the best qualifications and references for the position and you desperately need it filled, you may hire her. Depending on what state your business is in you can fire her at will if she doesn’t seem trustworthy. Trust is a very important component in the employer/employee relationship. This particular situation is more related to her being afraid of not being able to support her family, yet it is not the best way to get your foot in the door but understandable. Family should always come first and since supporting them is her biggest concern, the small white lie doesn’t lessen her as a potential good employee.
10.	I understand why she did it. That does not mean that I can hide the truth even though I know she may not get the job. You have to be truthful in business because it will come back to bite you. I am a strong believer in the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law. Unfortunately there is a stigma associated to people that are unemployed- even during this recession! That’s really the shame in all of this- that people that would not normally lie are reduced to doing so

11. The recruiter made a mistake by not offering her the position contingent on reference checks and whatever else they screen. His mistake!

12. Thank you for doing this – very interesting!!

13. Always conduct checking reference before offering to avoid this situation.

14. Thanks for taking the time to create this.

15. Let he who has no sin cast the first stone!!

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