Ethics in the Talent Acquisition function

Today the HR industry was on the front page of newspapers but for a not-so-nice reason 

TCS banned six employees and six business associates or subcontractors, following investigations into whistleblower complaints. The company has apparently discovered within its ranks a multi-crore recruitment scam A whistleblower, in a communication to TCS’ CEO and COO, had alleged that a senior executive at the company’s resource management group was accepting bribes from staffing firms for years

In hushed tones, you will find this conversation often when it comes to the recruitment industry – that certain firms are being favoured and given business, in exchange for a cut. 

Sometimes, the temptation for us at CAJobPortal.com has been so huge. We ask ourselves – “Should we also make exceptions to ethics in cases where such practices are very much on the face?” 

Some possible feelers are: 

–  your CVs being rejected for flimsy reasons, to the extent that after a couple of cycles, you are forced to give up. Often happened when Anurag used to apply some high level connections and get to the TA lead. So because it was via someone important, these 2 cycles become obligatory for each party – but the writing was on the wall – you won’t be allowed to do business here

–  vendor empanelment stuck saying that we have existing vendors who are serving us well – while our friends  the finance team telling us that the HR keeps sending irrelevant CVs from a particular consultant

We have stuck to our firm belief that we don’t want to become rich by crossing the line – 

Many , however, may have no such inhibitions 

The larger question is what can the industry members do to ensure that the profession’s image emerges unblemished after this

Is the answer stricter vigilance and audits? Is it a regular rotation of the TA team? Is it to stop using agencies?

Thanks & Regards!!

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