Keep Intact Brand Image Through Leadership Screening

By Author: Naman Vohra
Total Articles: 42

Reputation is an important component of an organisation’s value. A good reputation of an organisation matters for a multitude of reasons. Consumers prefer to deal with a reputed company they trust and employees prefer to work at a company they are proud of. Investors also believe that trustworthy, ethical companies with a good reputation are a safer place to put their money. Ethical behaviour, integrity and compliance can play a vital role in sustaining an organisation's reputation.

As senior leaders are ambassadors and face of an organisation, it is very necessary to have a person with integrity and good reputation in such positions. The risk is even higher in some organisations where the senior leaders may regularly represent the company in front of media. In addition to these, leaders are very important to the organisational success. Leaders in an organisation are the one who make strategies for the success of the company, oversee the execution and guide and maintain the other resources including employees towards corporate growth. Since these leaders are positioned in an authoritative place, they need to deal with confidential information and are in the know of whatever goes on in the company. Under such circumstances, a senior leader should be subject to additional scrutiny. It is critical to not only be certain of experience and qualifications, but to ascertain that the individual can enhance the image of the organisation.

Companies which have ignored the leadership screening have suffered heavy damages later. Many reputed companies have been victimised by honchos not only in financial terms but also in terms of brand image. The CV lie of Scott Thompson, the ex-CEO of Yahoo Inc. is the best example of how ignoring leadership screening can trigger serious results to the organisation.

Advance background check for prospective leaders is the best tool which can verify the details stated by a candidate for leadership position. In leadership screening, apart from basic checks like employment, education, criminal record check, reference check and address check, an employer looks into other aspects like regulatory database check, compliance record check, overseas checks, credit risks checks etc. Such checks are capable of bringing out facts about the person’s history as well as about his behaviour and conduct because checks like reference verification involve talking to various professional as well as personal references in order to know the honcho’s character better.
Thus, with the company having all such information, they would be in a better position to take informed hiring decision that will save company's brand image to a large extent.