No matter how long you’ve been in the business of hiring and onboarding new employees, sometimes a candidate leaves such a great impression that you’re tempted to offer them the job on the spot. Then again, you may have been overly optimistic in the past, and that led to disappointment.
No matter where your instinct leads, the next step in the hunt for a great employee – reference checks – is critical. What you learn by contacting people your candidate lists as references may make or break your hiring decision.
Here’s what you need to know to get the best insights when you reach out to people on your job candidate’s references, which may include former supervisors, mentors, coworkers or clients.
The benefits:
● Verify information the candidate has provided.
● Provide additional information on a candidate’s skills, performance, knowledge, and work history from a source other than the candidate themselves.
● Help you assess the candidate’s potential for success in the position – as past performance is a good predictor of future success.
● Help you rank candidates and move to a final selection.
● Protect your company from claims of negligent hiring.
The cons:
- Reference checks can be time-consuming, and some organizations may not have the resources to conduct them for every candidate.
- The reference check process tells a limited story and, depending on the source, may not be objective.
Best Practices for Conducting Reference Checks
Get consent
Before starting the process, get written consent from the candidate. This ensures transparency and respect for the candidate’s privacy.
Stick to job-related questions
Focus your queries on the candidate’s job performance, skills, and work-related habits. This ensures that you gather pertinent information without infringing on personal or protected information. Ask open-ended questions, rather than yes/no questions.
Avoided protected information
Forms of discrimination that apply to interviewing and hiring also apply to reference checking. Be sure to avoid questions that involve race, age, disabilities, national origin, religion, or marital status.
Document everything
Make a record of all communications and responses during reference checks. This will help you compare and contrast different references and could be vital if any issues arise at a later date.
Get multiple references
To get a balanced view of the candidate, ask for multiple references. Three is the magic number. This can help you counterbalance any potential bias from a single reference.
Avoid Personal References
Avoid family, friends, and peer references. In most cases, such references may not be able to speak definitively and objectively. Ideal references include the candidates’ supervisors or even a customer.
Use a consistent process
To ensure fairness and avoid discrimination, use a consistent set of questions and processes for all candidates.
Consider using a third-party provider
A third-party provider can offer better consistency and compliance, reducing the risk of bias and discrimination.
Stick to the Script
Beyond verifying information provided in employment applications, resumes and interviews (such as confirming dates of employment, positions held, reasons for leaving and eligibility for rehire), use the job description to compose more specific questions related to the specific open position.
Adapt a standardized reference check process that ensures all candidates’ references are asked the same questions and that their answers are recorded fully and accurately. This should identify the factors that are most critical for successful performance of the job (i.e., meeting deadlines, good interpersonal and communication skills, flexibility, decision-making skills, accuracy, etc.) and gear your questions to these areas.
Know what could go wrong
Without a structured process, you may miss crucial candidate information. It could also lead to more risk of bias or discrimination entering into your final decision.
Don’t overvalue reference checks
Be cautious of references that are extremely positive or negative. An extremely flattering review may be given by the current employer in an effort to ensure that a problem employee will be hired by another agency. Extremely negative ratings may result from a desire to retaliate against the person for attempting to leave the job or for personal reasons. You should evaluate these relative to all references received on the applicant and assign the appropriate weight.
Use your own judgment
While it is important to consider any negative comments carefully, they should not immediately disqualify the candidate from further consideration. If this situation arises, ask for specific examples to support negative comments and then check additional references. Furthermore, be sure to speak with the candidate about these concerns in a follow-up interview.