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PROFESSIONAL PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS
ASSIST IN PUBLIC SECTOR EXECUTIVE SEARCH
By KAREN M. HENRIKSON
Public Relations Coordinator for the City of Des Plaines
Today's public sector managers should be concerned about the integrity of their executive level personnel. Hiring personnel who cannot or will not perform their job responsibilities in an honest, competent
manner, or who have a previous history of this type of
behavior, could ultimately impact on the integrity of
the agency. The value of pre-employment background
investigations becomes an important tool, not only for
entry level positions, but also for executive level personnel.
Resumes and interviews are successful screening
devices only to the extent that the applicant is both
truthful and candid. Recognizing the value of knowing
fundamental facts in an applicant's background that
may play a role in the agency's future, public agencies
are turning to assessment centers, intergovernmental
testing conferences and professional consulting services outside the agency. An objective third party who
has the ability to conduct a thorough background investigation and who possesses required licensing, could
make the difference as to whether a creditable individual is hired or someone less desirable.
A professional background investigation could include valuable information pertaining to a candidate's
financial status, driving record, employment history,
education verification, criminal/civil suit history, etc.
Established for the purpose of determining the
character of a potential employee, a complete professional background investigation should involve interviews with references and others outside the scope of
the individual's employment.
While personnel and human resource departments
frequently try to accomplish these types of inquiries on
their own, an objective outside agency with expertise in
this type of investigation and the ability to devote time
strictly to this operation without the worry of carrying
out other office routines, processing benefits, and/or
answering telephone inquiries offers an unbiased view
of the candidate's character.
Background investigations, while important for all
public management positions, may prove extremely
beneficial in selecting the most suitable candidate for
police or fire chief.
The Village of Gurnee is one example of a community who consulted an outside private investigative
agency in their recent search for a police chief candidate. "For the first time we had the opportunity to
utilize the services of a professional private investigative agency. During our decision-making process we
recognized the need for an outside objective background investigation to ensure the quality of our police
chief candidate. The independent agency had access to
information that went beyond the scope of our ability."
Village Administrator James Hayner said.
A dilemma occurs when a government agency is
faced with filling an executive level position. Deciding
who will do the background investigation on the candidates for city manager or a police chief, for example,
may post several concerns. The Human Resources person who screens a city manager could ultimately be
screening his/her boss. Likewise, the same is true of a
detective screening the police chief applicants. He/she
will be performing background investigations on the
very person he/she will be working for. Confidentiality
could and should be a concern when conducting the
screening process. A professional private investigative
agency should be able to guarantee this, protecting
candidates as well as the agency.
When the "hands on" screening is left to an elected
municipal board or council, a problem may occur as to
the procedural means of information gathering. These
individuals may not be privy to social security background information; federal and civil lawsuit records;
and data related to judgments, tax liens, and bankruptcy.
Selecting the wrong candidate for an executive level
position could end up costing a municipality more than
just money. The damage resulting from a bad hiring
decision could harm an agency's image — and this
could be worse than a financial loss.
March 1995 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 21
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