Here is a great article Too familiar to question a flaw in recruiting corporate leadership from Dina Medland I found on Forbes this week. Dina looks at reputational risk and in particular the lack of appropriate due diligence and screening at top levels in UK boardrooms.
Dina found that out of 140 HR directors in some of the UK’s biggest companies, some two-thirds (66%) of businesses do not consistently verify the background of new members of the C-suite. Almost half (45%) of HR leaders say they know of organisations where CEOs go through fewer interviews and tests than graduates and a third (37%) – many in financial services – admit this is the case in their own company. One in three CEOs (31%) do not undergo any form of due diligence during their appointment.
HireRight’s research reveals that the overwhelming majority of HR leaders (93%) believe they carry out an adequate amount of due diligence on new board members. But 49% admit they simply assume candidates applying for senior positions have not lied on their CV or application, with connections winning half (49%) of all high level positions in UK organisations. It says that when checks are carried out, they have exposed a leadership lie in one in three (36%) of companies.
Do these finding surprise you? This article from Dina Medland is well worth a read. If you have any questions or would like to know more about effective recruiting please contact me paul@paulgreening.com
