Sunday, April 30, 2017

How much do you disclose being someone's reference?



Is it your obligation to let someone for whom you're serving as a reference know what is said during a conversation with his or her prospective new employer? 

Several weeks ago, B.B., a reader who is a college instructor, agreed to serve as a job reference for a former student. It's the kind of task he regularly takes on, particularly in the spring as commencement draws near. B.B. had no hesitation in agreeing to serve as a reference for this student.

Prior to the call from the prospective employer, the student filled B.B. in on the organization he'd applied to work for and provided some details about the job for which he was being considered.

The telephone conversation between B.B. and the prospective employer went well. They discussed the student, the organization, and how the student might fit with the organization in terms of job responsibilities and organizational culture.

Late on in the conversation, the prospective employer said, "One of his other instructors tells us that he's great when he shows up in class, but that he only shows up when he has a paper or presentation due."

B.B. was taken aback since this wasn't his experience with the student in the classes he had had him in. Still, B.B. didn't want to let the negative observation lie. "That's not been my experience with him," B.B. told the prospective employer. "He was always in class and always prepared."

The prospective employer seems pleased with B.B.'s response, B.B. says, and they moved on to other questions about the student and his potential for the open position. All in all, except for that one observation about his behavior in someone else's class, it was a positive conversation.

But now that he's given the reference, B.B. wonders if he has an ethical responsibility to let his student know about the comment made about his behavior in someone else's class.

"Wouldn't it be helpful for him to know that he'd chosen someone as a reference who wasn't being entirely positive about him?" asks B.B. "Am I obligated to tell him?"

B.B. has no obligation to tell the student what was said during the discussion with his prospective employer. B.B. doesn't know how many other former teachers the student listed as references, so he might be placing them all under suspicion of having commented on the student's attendance. The student knew his behavior in each of his other classes and should have had the good judgment to know that if he didn't show up to class regularly then asking the teacher of that class to serve as a reference was likely not a great idea.

While he has no obligation, unless he agreed to keep the conversation confidential, B.B. is free to tell his student whatever he wants about the reference call.

Once he agreed to be a reference, the right thing is for B.B. to be honest and forthcoming about his former student with his prospective employer. The right thing for the employer is to gather as much information about the student as possible. And the right thing for the student is to choose his references wisely, and to recognize the importance of meeting his obligations by showing up. 

Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of The Simple Art of Business Etiquette: How to Rise to the Top by Playing Nice, is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at Harvard's Kennedy School. He is also the administrator of www.jeffreyseglin.com, a blog focused on ethical issues. 

Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net. 

Follow him on Twitter: @jseglin 

(c) 2017 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

How much do I need to tell my neighbor?



The real estate market in Boston is booming. One city neighborhood after another is finding its housing stock being purchased, renovated, and sold to new owners. It's not unusual to drive down a neighborhood street and see three or four houses being gutted and readied for new lives.

Long-time residents are finding themselves subjected to truck noise, construction debris, and more traffic in their neighborhoods than typical. While the end result might be to raise the value of all neighboring properties, that's little solace to the hard-working folks who would like some peace and quiet when they happen to have a week day off from work.

L.W. lives in an old Boston neighborhood in a house that his family has owned for six decades. Down the street to the left of his house, an old house is being gutted while the empty lot next to it is being prepared for concrete foundation to be poured so a new house can be built. Right next door to L.W.'s house is a three-family house, once owner-occupied, that is being gutted and transformed into three luxury condominiums. 

While L.W.'s house is on a corner and on one street, the house next door is technically on another street. Yet, the houses share the same street number. Over the years, food deliveries, party guests, mail, and other stuff has found its way to the wrong house. It's been easy enough to re-direct items as long as the neighbors took the time to do so. 

But now, L.W.'s neighbor is a contractor who is renovating the house next door. No one is living next door, so errant food deliveries and party goers no longer appear on his doorstep. But a week or so ago, L.W. writes that he received a letter from the city informing him that he owed $35 in fines for improper disposal of trash. 

When L.W. took a closer look at the letter, he saw that while it was addressed to him, the photo that accompanied the letter was of loose trash piled up against the house next door. The city officials had mistaken the same-numbered house next door for his, even though the photo clearly showed that they were in error. 

In the past, L.W. says that when he received mail meant for his neighbor he would simply walk next door and put it in her mail box. But he's not sure what the right thing is to do with this notice. 

"I could get in touch with the contractor and let him know," writes L.W. "But if he ignores the notice, the city might think it was me who ignored it. Am I obligated to let the contractor know about this notice? Wouldn't that be the neighborly thing to do?" 

No, L.W. has no obligation to let the contractor know about the errant notice. The right thing for him to do is to call, email, or write the city agency that sent him the notice, let it know that the photo of the trash is not at his house but the house next door, give the correct address, and leave it to the city to notify the correct owner. And the right thing for the contractor to do is to do a better job of cleaning up his site. 

Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of The Simple Art of Business Etiquette: How to Rise to the Top by Playing Nice, is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at Harvard's Kennedy School. He is also the administrator of www.jeffreyseglin.com, a blog focused on ethical issues. 

Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net. 

Follow him on Twitter: @jseglin 

(c) 2017 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.