Without Integrity Nothing Else Matters

“Trust me!” If ever a statement has the opposite effect of its intended meaning, it’s this one.

Being able to rely upon the integrity of those you work with or for, and the organizations that you do business with, nay even your own spouse or children is critical. Without trust and trustworthiness everything falls apart.

The Reddit AITA (Am I The *sshole) group overflows with stories of cheating spouses, girlfriends/boyfriends, dishonest bosses and companies, and betrayals by brides/grooms-to-be, parents, in-laws, siblings, and more. Despite the fact that life’s basics like ‘play fair’ and ‘don’t take things that aren’t yours’ were taught to all of us in kindergarten, adult life is filled with liars, cheats, scam-artists, the disingenuous, and those who are morally corrupt. They’re in our politics, our institutions, workplaces, and even our personal relationships. They’re everywhere.

The National Retail Federation has been producing its annual “The State of National Retail Security And Organized Retail Crime” report for over 30 years. In 2023 it reported that “the average shrink rate (theft) in 2022 rose 1.6% from 1.4% in 2021. That equates to $112.1 billion in losses, up from $93.9 billion in 2021. While retail shrink encompasses many types of loss, it is primarily driven by theft, including organized retail crime (ORC). Theft – both internal and external – accounts for nearly two-thirds (65%) of retailers’ shrink.”

29% of the losses were internal thefts by retailers’ own employees.

Unfortunately, none of this is new. One need look no further than the stories behind whistleblowers like Frank Serpico or Karen Silkwood from the 1960s and 1970s. More recent examples include dishonesty and abuse of trust in a now-famous case litigated by Erin Brockovich (1993), and crimes by the likes of Mary Kay Latourneau (1997), Bernie Madoff (2009), Elizabeth Wettlaufer (2016) and Sean (P. Diddy) Combs (2024). These are, of course, extreme examples of dishonesty but note that they encompass policing, industry, education, healthcare, investing, and the music industry. Dishonesty can and does occur everywhere.

Just last month (Dec. 2024) it was reported that individual sheriffs, captains, lieutenants, chiefs of police and even mayors across 23 States, and members of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, have been actively involved in buying and illegally selling firearms, even weapons of war. A nationwide review of government audits and court records over the last 20 years uncovered at least 50 cases of police illegally selling their weapons online, through dealers, out of their homes or the back of their cars. Some were sold, along with tactical gear, to Mexican drug cartels!

A statement by one of the convicted exemplifies the general attitude of the dishonest. He said, “If I’m guilty of this, every cop in the nation’s going to jail.” His words imply that he believes that ‘everybody does it’. Thankfully, not everybody does it or our society would collapse into chaos, however, it’s a fact that we’re surrounded by people with broken moral compasses all the time, and most of them see nothing wrong with it or simply justify their behaviour.

It certainly seems like dishonesty is on the rise in our societies. Whether that’s quantifiable or true is another conversation, but people could be excused for having that perception given what fills our news feeds these days. However, as Canadian author Farley Mowat was famously wont to say, “never let the facts interfere with the truth.” The truth is that there’s a lot of dishonesty out there and the damage and disruption that dishonest people leave in their wake is undeniable.

As I’ve said, none of this is new. My father and I have both been writing articles about ethics and honesty in the workplace since the 1980s. [i] [ii] [iii] [iv] [v] [vi] [vii] [viii] [ix] [x] [xi] [xii] [xiii] [xiv] [xv] [xvi] [xvii] [xviii] [xix] [xx] [xxi]

Surprisingly, despite this ever-present and widespread reality, honesty and integrity tests are the two things that our clients ask us for the very least. Our clients include employment agencies, manufacturers, universities, police agencies, aerospace, transportation, forestry, schools, retail, restaurateurs, utility providers, agriculture, insurance, church organizations, paramedics, ambulance services, grocery giants, healthcare, mining, banking, golf clubs, resorts, hotel chains, telecommunications, brewers and distillers, municipal transit, mental health providers, beverage producers, government agencies, correctional institutions, the military, innumerable municipalities, and a mushroom farm, in nearly every State and Province, and across 30 countries. Hardly any of them have ever approached us seeking integrity or honesty tests specifically, but that’s not to say that we don’t sell any either.

COD has administered well over a million assessments in recent decades. Of that number less than one percent of those purchased have been specifically designed to screen for honesty or theft-related behaviour. Most of the assessments that clients adopted simply happened to contain an honesty scale alongside other things that they were more interested in.

Personally, I’m amazed that this is the case; not only because this is an all-pervasive problem as illustrated by the examples above, but also because there are many ways to screen applicants for honesty, integrity, dependability, and reliability.

So, why on earth aren’t more organizations using them?

I don’t know all the reasons for that but what I do know is that honesty tests work. They can identify people who have integrity, emotional maturity, a record of past honesty, good moral reasoning skills, are trustworthy, aren’t aggressive, and who follow rules. Honesty tests aren’t a panacea and won’t prevent dishonesty from occurring, but thefts and embezzlements are a lot less likely if you don’t hire someone who’s dishonest in the first place – and use a test to identify who they are.

All of the following tests target honesty and ethical behaviours:

Dozens of other assessments include measures of integrity and/or dependability as part of their overall measurement scales.

Just one bad apple can destroy morale, your reputation, result in lawsuits, crippling financial losses, or even collapse the entire organization. Why on earth would any employer risk the consequences of hiring a potential problem, especially when there are so many ways to screen them out of your applicant pool legally and reliably?

If you’re not screening your applicants for honesty, ethics, and dependability, you’re leaving yourself wide open and dishonest people will surely take advantage of your oversight.

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David Towler is President of Creative Organizational Design, a firm offering nearly 50 years of expertise specializing in employee assessments and has over 5000 different tests available. Creative Organizational Design has assessments designed to help employers screen out other people’s rejects, assess skills, aptitudes, attitudes, and ‘fit’ within an organization. For more information about the many options available and to obtain expert help in selecting the best tools for your needs please contact us because no matter what personnel challenges you’re facing – there’s a test for that! Please send comments about this article to dtowler@creativeorgdesign.com.

[i] Stop Thief! The High Cost of Workplace Dishonesty.

[ii] What Do You Do About Time Theft?

[iii] Honesty Tests Work! So Why Don’t More Companies Use Them?

[iv] Please Hire Me – So That I Can Rob You Blind

[v] Ethics & Character Are Critical Competencies That Employers Can’t Afford To Overlook

[vi] You’re Dishonest (And So Is Everyone Else)

[vii] Thieves Are Everywhere! (And You’ve Probably Already Hired One)

[viii] We Don’t Hire Child Molesters! (We Think)

[ix] Are Your Employees ‘Really’ Honest? Do You ‘Really’ Know For Sure?

[x] Is Your Camp Ready For A Lawsuit?

[xi] We know our employees steal, but who cares?

[xii] Avoiding Employees who are Dishonest or Drug Users