The Ethical Dilemmas of Providing or Not Providing References

A very common dilemma, which most managers experience at one time or another in their career, occurs when they get a call from someone representing another company's HR department, or perhaps a hiring manager, who is calling to ask for a reference about one of our old employees or work colleagues. It is very likely that our company policy states that we can only confirm to the caller the name of the past employee, their former title and their dates of employment, and nothing more, or refer the caller to the HR department so that they can confirm the same information (Trevino and Nelson, 2005, p. 75).

After complying with the company policy by only providing this information, it isn't uncommon for the caller to ask if we couldn't pleas provide a little bit more information about the individual which would help them make their decision on whether or not to hire the individual. This may seem harmless, especially if we happen to know the worker was excellent and indeed you feel you could provide a good reference. Or, we may be tempted to raise the "red flag" and warn them to avoid the mistake and the headache that you dealt with! However, it is important to remember that "whenever you identify yourself as an employee of your company, people can infer that you are speaking on behalf of it, which is why.." (p.75) you must remember that whatever you tell the individual you are actually not speaking for yourself, but the company. "Most companies prohibit their personnel from officially supplying this type of information because of lawsuits that have resulted from employer-supplied recommendations (p. 75).

The same is true when the ex-employee asks you personally if you can provide a recommendation. If you use corporate letterhead or refer to your position in the company, then you are also representing the company and it can be interpreted that you are speaking on behalf of the company. While you may want to provide the favor, you should decline, unless you have permission from your employer. If you provide a reference as an individual and not as a representative of the company, then you must not use your title, company letterhead, your business card, or anything else that would refer to your working relationship within the company (p. 75).

Another dilemma we may face as managers is whether or not to blow the whistle on an individual within our organizations. This becomes an ethical dilemma since we must decide whether or not we are ethically bound to report information which have regarding unethical behavior of others within the company or do nothing, which may seem safer from our personal perspective. However, it is important to remember that as managers, once we have received any information regarding any unethical behavior within the organization; it is our ethical and corporate responsibility to make an effort to notify others within the corporation who may be able to take appropriate action (p. 79). If we do not, then we become partly responsible for any damages since we had information but did not act.

Several years ago, while leading a sales team, I was notified by one of our sales representatives that another of our representatives had on several occasions drank excessively dinners we sponsored for our clients. He stated that he did not want to cause problems for the individual; he felt that he had to let me know that while drinking the other representative said and did things that were not appropriate and reflected poorly on the company. Once I received the call, I found myself in a dilemma. I in fact had witnessed the other representative become loud when he drank at our business meetings. While I personally did not feel he was drinking more than others in the team, I know that if I did not do something, that I may be risking relationships with our customers, the good faith of our company, or even worse, the safety of one of my employees and or others who may be at danger because of excessive drinking. I notified our local HR representative and notified her of the situation and asked her for advice. With her support and the support of our employee assistance program we were able to address the situation in a way that was confidential to the individual concerned and in a way that protected the company and the individual.

References:

Trevino, L., and Nelson, K., (2005). Corporate social responsibility and managerial ethics. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

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