IAM006 – A Strategic Approach to Hiring Internal Auditors

This episode is an adaption of a session I did for the MISTI IT Audit Management Summit earlier this year. #InternalAudit #Audit #hiring

That presentation related to IT Auditors, but the approach I outline is applicable to any employee hire.

I’ve refined my hiring process over the years mostly as a function of necessity. My current employer’s headquarters is in a small town (population 18K) in a remote part of Arkansas. Finding a candidate and getting them to move can be challenging.

Why Good Hiring is Critical

• A bad hire increases turnover
  • The cost of turnover can exceed 200% of the employee’s salary
    • Lower productivity
    • Training costs
    • Recruiting and interviewing costs
  • A bad hire adds unnecessary overload/stress on your existing staff
  • A bad hire reflects poorly on the whole department
  • A bad hire doesn’t know they’re a bad hire.

View Hiring as a Strategic Imperative

• Hiring is a great way to obtain resources necessary to meet your internal audit strategy (training takes longer)
• Aligning resources to strategy allows you to know where your gaps are:
  • The IIA’s Global Internal Audit Competency Framework https://na.theiia.org/about-us/Public%20Documents/The%20IIA%20Global%20Internal%20Audit%20Competency%20Framework.pdf
  • Focus less on the high level knowledge and more on the types of engagements/experience they’ve had
  • Skills overlap is good provided you’re getting the key skills you’re missing

Winning Against Human Resources

• The key role of Human Resources is to keep people costs, particularly G&A staff as low as possible
• Understand how job title and job description affect salary range
  • When tied to strategy, it is easier to sell higher title/salary
  • Maximize the key skills you need to acquire
  • Easer to hire at a higher salary than to give salary increases later
• Help Human Resources get the types of candidates you need
  • Understand where they are getting candidates
  • Activate other resources
    • LinkedIn
    • Local IIA/ISACA chapters
    • Your peers at the company
    • Recruiters
  • Follow the rules until there is a good reason to break them. Involve HR in the decision to break the rule.

Screening

• There are typically four layers of screening in the hiring process
  • Resume/CV
  • Phone screens
  • Office interviews (one or more)
  • References/background checks/drug test
• Screening – Resume
  • The resume makes it easier to exclude than to include candidates
    • Attention to detail
    • Screening for key words as determined in the job description
  • Top Ten Lies on Resumes (source Marquet International)
    • Stretching dates of employment
    • Inflating past accomplishments and skills
    • Enhancing titles and responsibilities
    • Exaggerating education and fabricating degrees
    • Unexplained gaps and periods of “self employment”
    • Omitting past employment
    • Faking credentials
    • Providing fraudulent references
    • Falsifying reasons for leaving prior employment
    • Misrepresenting a military record
  • Screening – Phone Screen
    • Use the phone screen as a way to draw out things the resume may be missing (or embellishing)
      • “Please tell me about a specific thing you are proud of that might not be fully reflected in your resume.”
      • Does the candidate’s pride match your job?
      • Listen for words such as I, we, they and us.
      • Do the details align with the understanding from someone who did the work?
    • Screening – Office Visit
      • The office visit should be more about personality fit than skills
      • Limit the number of candidates you bring into the office (3 – 5)
      • Get a good interview team together
        • Co-workers
        • Clients
        • Others
      • Capture the “Airport Test”
    • Screening – References/Background Check/Drug Test
      • References are the final way to differentiate candidates
      • Even if you have a favorite, it is worth contacting references
      • I view my hires as future leaders of the company, so I require background checks and drug tests
      • The background check may identify resume lies
      • You should also look at other resources
        • Google
        • LinkedIn
        • Facebook
        • Twitter

The Five Job Values

• Compensation
• Job location
• Opportunity to do cool things
• Opportunity to get promoted
• 360 Trust Relationship

Making an Offer

• Working with HR to develop a compelling offer
• Focus on the job values that matter to the candidate
• Types of offers
  • Verbal (contingent) offer
  • Written offer
• Negotiation

Plan B – What should you do if you lose your best candidate?

• Does your second candidate meet your key skills and fit your organization?
• If not, don’t settle (strategic approach)
  • Outsource for key skills
  • Resubmit for additional candidates

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