Should Political Views be Reason Not to Hire with Bianca Lager of Social Intelligence Corp

It is very possible to share the same core values, yet differ in our religious or political views. This, we must understand when hiring new people.

Now you might be thinking something like “we have a really harmonious team and we don't want someone who will be bringing their strong political, religious or social agenda”. Then build the practice into your corporate values and let it blossom throughout the company.  

After all, we are all servants to the “business”. And what is good for the business is innovation, diversity and growth.  All of which are fueled by proper value alignment.

Our guest today: Bianca Lager, President of Social Intelligence Corp.

By driving the vision for Social Intelligence to provide productive, ethical and innovative solutions, she has spent her time working closely with Fortune 500 companies and non-profits alike to create safe and discrimination-free workplaces. 

Bianca obtained an MBA from Pepperdine University with a concentration in Dispute Resolution and is a LinkedIn Learning Instructor. She is an expert in consumer reporting, focused on online risk for human resources. 

Today we discuss:

• Valid reasons not to hire based on a person’s social profile
• How to properly use a social media background check to limit your company liability

What are the challenges with conducting a social media background check

• Violating privacy rights by doing it yourself
• Fed and state laws regarding politics in the workplace 
• Whose standards are you using
• Is it related to business outcomes
• Is it fair to the person or the company
• Context is key

Why is this important to the company?

• Disqualification based on personal views does not lead to better business outcomes and could be discriminatory
• Culture fit -
  • Diverse teams
  • Or single mindset
  • Business suffers
• Code of conduct standards 
• Avoid someone who is disruptive to the business
• Limits the success of the company

• Who are we or What are we not?
• What is hate speech - how do we define and document that? 

Rick’s Nuggets

• Difference in opinion among people who can communicate (agree to disagree) produce magical results
• unintended consequences 

How do we implement a proper social media check? Do NOW!

• Review laws in your jurisdiction/jurisdiction of your employees 
• Create a policy
  • Risk - what is actionable 
  • Definition of what is acceptable code of conduct 
  • Stay away from protected class information
    • Age, race, sex, religion, political affiliation 
• 3rd party solution - defines content and behavior appropriately and consistently 
  • Violence: 
  • Intolerance: 
  • Criminal activity (drugs / stealing):
  • Sexually explicit: 
• Well documented and legally vetted business related behavior 
  • Fbi, Anti-Def, SPLC
• Actionable
  • Legally defensible position

Rick’s Nuggets

• Preparation is key for everyone that you invite into your organization. 

• • Let your Values policy be known to everyone
  • Crystal clarity from the minute they are engaged in the interview process
  • Hire for value alignment first

Key Takeaways -Value:

• Formalize your social media screening approach
• Create a simple, 2-3 sentence social media policy based on a basic code of conduct
• Document and stay consistent (Documentation + consistency + policy = Actionable)

Links:

SI Podcast Offer - receive a free sample report along with discounted pricing offer

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/biancacalhounlager/

Websites: https://www.socialintel.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/socialintelligencecorp/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/socialintelco

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BiancaLager

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialintelco/

 

This show is proudly sponsored by Criteria Crop: https://www.criteriacorp.com/