Fraud, embezzlement, and theft are serious threats in veterinary medicine for a majority of practices. The 2016 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, states that roughly 5% of revenues are lost annually due to fraud for the average company. In your practice, this is a result of theft of products/services, counter-productive behaviors such as time theft, and embezzlement of cash from the practice. These are all perpetrated by people and more specifically, people we hire. It stands to reason that to reduce the instance of fraud within our practices, we must hire the best candidates. Candidates that not only can do their jobs and fit in with your team, but candidates that have integrity.
Integrity testing, when used properly, may be able to assess prospective employee’s capacity for honesty and conscientiousness. Research supports that candidates who don’t score well on the test may be unsuitable and dishonest, whereas, candidates who score well are more likely to perform well. These tests can also send a powerful message to potential candidates that the company takes ethics and integrity very seriously. A message that the company is specifically looking for ethical employees and if they don’t fit the bill, they may not fit in (Collins, 2009).
The validity of integrity tests is likely the most important aspect to review when thinking about adding this hiring component. Some tests are specifically used to assess for general honesty, counter-productive behaviors, falsified credentials, or theft (Furnham, 2015.) Anyone can do a quick internet search and find multiple online integrity tests; however, they are not reputable sources. The only effective tests are validated and specific to the criteria you want to assess.
Unfortunately, when used improperly, testing is a costly waste of time and resources. One clear criticism is that valid integrity tests carry a high price tag for a small business and there are more cost-effective additions to your hiring process that may yield similar results. For example, verifying all candidate’s credentials through third party sources usually doesn’t cost anything but time. These verifications would include degree and certification plus dates and titles at previous jobs. A candidate who may exaggerate these details may have less than stellar integrity.
Another criticism is that integrity testing may be faked by potential candidates. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management says that overt tests may allow candidates to guess the obvious correct answer. If the candidate can guess the answers, what is the point then?
Despite criticisms, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management utilizes integrity testing in their hiring process as well as numerous other companies especially in corporate America. Integrity testing offers an additional component to the hiring process that can help weed out potential problems before they start. It isn’t the best option for every practice, so it should be thoroughly researched and verified by a labor attorney before testing any candidates.
(2016). Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. 2016 ACFE Report to the Nations. Retrieved October 10, 2017, from http://www.acfe.com/rttn2016/about/executive-summary.aspx
(2017). OPM.gov. Integrity/Honesty Tests. Retrieved October 25, 2017, from http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/assessment-and-selection/other-assessment-methods/integrityhonesty-tests/
Collins, D. (2009). Determining a Job Candidate’s Ethics Profile. Ethics in Practice Series: Doing Well AND Good: The Human Face of the New Capitalism. Retrieved October 2, 2017, from http://dcollins.faculty.edgewood.edu/pdfdocuments/Hiring%20Article.SUBMITd9.pdf
Furnham, A. (2015, August 11). Fortune. Can you really test someone for integrity? Retrieved October 3, 2017, from http://fortune.com/2015/08/11/hiring-integrity-test/