Integrity: Can We Really Evaluate It?
23 April 2013
Read by 2646 persons
Integrity is a key virtue sought by Human Resources. What business leader hasn't experienced unpleasant surprises with theft, lies, corruption, embezzlement, or customer misappropriation...? This does not only concern employees but also business partners. Can it be avoided?
What is integrity?
While integrity is about being consistent with oneself, it refers to a code of honor, conscious or not, linked to culture and education. Integrity cannot be separated from the social context. Playing video games during working hours may be considered acceptable or even commonplace in some environments, but unacceptable in others, even if everyone will tend to interpret things in a self-serving way. Ultimately, there is a wide continuum between "borrowing" a company pen and outright fraud, but we must consider the culture and perception of what is acceptable or not.
Tools specialized in integrity
During recruitment, the ideal solution would be a situation where the candidate finds a small 20-euro bill on the floor, in order to observe their reaction! As ultimately only actions count, similar situations sometimes occur after hiring, for example to test the integrity of cashiers or salespeople, but they are difficult to implement.
In this quest for truth, the lie detector (polygraph) was invented, but it has long been banned due to doubts about its scientific reliability and its misuse.
What about tests? Today, there are integrity tests that offer a stream of questions worthy of police interrogations. While these tests show some validity, their implementation faces legal and ethical questions, as they are intrusive and refer to private life without any obvious link to job skills.
Some tests assess values and ethics, such as the Hartman Value Profile, but they do not evaluate the person's integrity itself, because just because someone is aware of ethics doesn't mean they will actually apply it.
Other specialized tests focus on personality, such as those inspired by the "Hexaco" model, itself based on the revised Big Five model, with a 6th dimension called "honesty-humility." This approach highlights certain dimensions of personality linked to integrity, including altruism, agreeableness (or tolerance), and conscientiousness (respect for rules).
A combination of clues
While the Hexaco model is particularly interesting, the main personality tests will also provide clues to be used in an overall assessment.
We cannot directly link personality traits to integrity, but we can talk about a "favorable ground." Thus, with reference to the personality tests Profil Pro-R and CTPI-R, the factors we have identified as potentially unfavorable to integrity are individualism (opposite of altruism), persuasiveness (opposite of the need for objectivity), ambition (opposite of modesty), lack of commitment, the tendency to neglect processes and structure, vigilance (opposite of trust) and disregard for rules. Indicators of social desirability, included in some tests, also give an idea of the tendency to cheat and the "chameleon" behavior of candidates.
However, personality assessment cannot be considered sufficient to gauge integrity, as just because a person likes to persuade doesn't mean they are necessarily dishonest. In the interview context, the consistency of speech and the quality of references are also essential. Ultimately, there is no magic bullet, but we can talk about a combination of clues to assess potential and skills.
Let's not be angelic!
Paradoxically, no company would want an excessively upright person, as they would be inflexible and difficult to manage! There is indeed a natural and social basis for lack of integrity. For example, lying is a socially useful behavior. We all learn to lie, out of obligation and empathy, so as not to hurt the other.
Since its origin, Man has striven to develop strategies to defeat his enemies, develop his wealth and dominate the world. It is therefore quite natural that he may be led to use cunning for his personal ends, alone or in a group. It is his personal conscience, his morals, and the will to respect and serve others that will preserve him! And it is up to the company and its leaders to set a good example!
Patrick Leguide, CEO Central Test
Posted online April 23, 2013
www.centraltest.fr
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