Human resource organization behavior and leadership

Human Resource Organization Behavior and Leadership

As the hiring component of a business, HR has a responsibility to represent the best interests of that business while also representing the values and commitment to society that the organization promotes in its organizational culture. Businesses must respect all stakeholders and work to please each and every one -- including shareholders, employees, customers, clients, and members of the community. When it comes to hiring the right individuals for the right job, HR must assess each applicant individually on a case by case basis to see if his or her personality and skill level aligns with the position. In order to reduce the rate of job turnover, which can be costly for businesses, HR must address the issue of "negligent hiring" while at the same time complying with EEOC (2017) rules and regulations regarding discrimination against applicants who have a criminal past. This paper will discuss the approaches that HR can take towards properly and effectively addressing this issue and ensuring the best steps in hiring are taken for both the organization and the community.

When considering possible hires, HR must place emphasis on looking for the candidate who will help the organization best. Part of this focus depends upon proper risk management. In order to mitigate the risk of hiring a candidate who may not be trustworthy, who may steal from the company, or who may injure the company's reputation, HR has a responsibility to avoid negligent hire situation: HR will consider the upsides of not hiring people with criminal or other challenged backgrounds (Zeidner, 2014).

However, a business also owes a responsibility to the community, and if society has judged that an individual has paid his or her dues so to speak, then the business should also be willing to give people a "second chance." Thus, HR also has a duty to the community, to uphold its interests, promote its values, and help individuals to redeem themselves. Therefore, a prior record should not end one's career chances.

The stress involved in these two contradictory positions on hiring can lead to a state of cognitive dissonance for HR -- yet, if it is considered that stress can actually be beneficial, a new outlook emerges that can help HR reduce the dissonance and restore a sense of proportionality, propriety and beneficence. The key in reducing stress is to change one's outlook, change the facts, or change one's actions. For HR, it is important to be realistic, so changing the facts and the outlook can lead to problems related to disillusionment further down the road. What HR could do, though, is to change actions and seek a balanced approach (Waldo, 2012). To this end, HR could work with organizational administrators to establish a program that works directly with applicants who have a criminal background -- a program designed to get them working again so that they can, in fact, show society, their community, and their employers that they can be trusted to perform. This type of solution addresses both the issue of supporting the ideals of the community and looking out for the interests of the organization.

Such a solution also helps the organization to address complicated issues that could stem from legal actions undertaken by applicants who feel discriminated against -- turned away because of their background. Even simply giving applicants the impression that they will not be considered because of their criminal or challenged background could leave an organization open and vulnerable to accusations of discrimination, which could in turn harm the company's profile and reputation -- especially if it promotes engagement with all aspects of the community as part of its strategic corporate social responsibility program. Lawsuits are not something that businesses want to be burden by and the disparate impact of refusing to work with applicants who have a less than stellar background because of whatever indiscretions or bad decisions were made in one's earlier life could come back to harm the company in more ways than one. Thus, the risk of rejecting such applicants outright could outweigh the risk of providing them the opportunity to succeed (Sondik, 2016). If the solution stated above were properly implemented, the company could protect its interests at the same time that it promotes second chances for individuals with a criminal background, and it could avoid scrutiny from organizations like the EEOC. Communicating a sense of fairness and openness is crucial for a company in today's digital era, wherein all things are monitored closely are reported instantly across social media. Communication skills for professionals should include the role that social media plays in today's world and they should approach all persons sensibly and sensitively as a result -- otherwise, the professional is vulnerable to social media attack.