Recruiting and Managing Trustworthy Talent
Posted in Other, Security on May 16th, 2013 by Jill Martin – Be the first to commentTo ensure companies extend an offer to the right candidate, as opposed to merely a candidate, HR professionals must first construct a more comprehensive perspective through improved background screening procedures. Then, recruiters can collaborate with their IT department colleagues to define appropriate levels of access and control afforded to new hires as they gradually assimilate into the organization and take on additional responsibilities.
The Value of Thorough Screening
Although background screening has been perceived as somewhat of a formality in the hiring process, businesses should be looking for factors well beyond a candidate’s most recent work experience. From a purely financial perspective, CFOs will tell you that it is much more expensive to acquire talent than it is to retain it. As such, HR managers will want to know that the resources committed are actually cultivating a productive new employee. Conversely, there’s no telling how much money they might spend in the long run covering up the mistakes and dealing with the fallout of a new hire that turns out to be a functional—and possibly legal—liability.
Background screening can also be considered an insurance policy, as the story painted by the candidate, his or her resume, and any third-party staffing agency utilized may not be entirely objective. While the candidate may list a litany of professional qualifications that barely fit on the page, a deeper investigation may reveal that they took some liberties in describing past experiences. Finally, recruitment managers should also be cognizant of the potential legal ramifications that can come from negligent hiring practices that compromise the integrity of working environments.
Allocating Trust Accordingly
Diligent recruitment practices are certainly the start of successful talent management, but even the most outstanding candidates cannot be given the keys to the kingdom on Day 1. Business managers need no reminding as to the value and sensitivity of their IT assets—nor how quickly simple human error can create disastrous security and/or compliance liabilities. So they must ensure the proper policies and technologies are in place to limit employee privileges solely to essential, role-based job functions.
These principles are not restricted to the onboarding process, of course, as all employees are initially hired to fulfill a vision of long-term growth. Whether a worker has been on the payroll for 15 days or 15 years, intelligent access control and activity monitoring measures must be employed to guard the company’s collective success against individual abuses and incidental errors. In this way, companies can feel confident that employee trust is not simply given, but earned.
If you would like to learn more about tools that can help you manage specific levels of access once you have determined your policies, take a look at PowerTech Authority Broker. And if you would like to know more about IBM i security and risk analysis and reduction, send an email to robin.tatam@powertech.com.









The Federal Reserve has been breached!
As the most-watched TV sporting event of the year, last weekend’s Super Bowl between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers went from being totally one-sided to a pretty close call. Fans might cheer (or rant) that the 30-minute loss of power in half of the stadium—or the distraction of Beyonce’s sexy half-time show—was the only thing that allowed the 49ers to dig out of the hole they’d fallen into during the first half of the game, almost to pull an upset. Of course, many viewers watched only for the (over?) hyped TV commercials that cost close to $4 million for each 30-second spot during halftime. I won’t even start on the number of pizzas, hot wings, and beers consumed across the country. I’m no expert, but I’d say it probably wasn’t a good day of sales for Weight Watchers!
As some of you know, I spent my formative years in the UK. The closest things we had to energy drinks back then were “Irn Bru” and “Lucozade.” I have no idea if there was a medical-based correlation, but the only time my mom “splurged” for a bottle of the latter was when I was sick.
Robin Tatam is the Director of Security Technologies for
Jill Martin