Recruitment – Ready to reference check?

If you’re going through a recruitment process you may have interviewed your candidates for your latest post and have a couple of stand outs.

Now it’s time to do the recruitment reference checking. You know there are some people who perform extremely well at interview but are really disappointing in the role.

Here are my top tips for the next stage of recruitment – reference checking:

1. Prepare a reference check form in advance of any recruitment. Don’t just ring and have a chat to a referee.  That is the quickest way to not get the information you need.  Think about the competencies you require and ask questions around those competencies. For example, if initiative is an important requirement (as it is with almost every role) you might ask “Can you give me an example of when _ _ _ showed initiative?”
2. You decide who you want to speak to from their previous employers. If they say I would rather you didn’t speak to that manager but you can talk to a colleague, politely say you need to speak to the manager.  Make sure you speak to the right people, the people you want to speak to and not those that have been carefully chosen. If they won’t agree then its best to bow out now.
3. Avoid asking closed questions. For example, was she a good employee? Was she reliable? Instead ask open questions. How would you describe her?  What were her best attributes? Where could she have improved her performance?
4. Ask how they would compare the person to others they have employed in a similar role. If the manager has unrealistic expectations they might have said some negative things but say she was still the best.  Alternatively, the manager may say some very positive things about your candidate but then rate them well down in comparison to others.
5. Their previous manager is only human too and sometimes the chemistry or environment didn’t work for your candidate. So take that into account. Is your environment a better fit? I’ve seen mediocre candidates become stars in a new environment.
6. Finally, always ask would you reemploy? Listen carefully to the response. And if so, into what role? This gives a good indication into the potential of your candidate
7. Conduct at least two verbal reference checks as part of your recruitment process and more if necessary, especially if you are getting conflicting information.
8. Avoid indicating that you will be making a job offer pending reference checking. It puts you in a difficult position if the reference checking turns out to put you off employing and the candidate is then aware that their referee was to blame. After all, reference checking is meant to be confidential and not to be related back to the candidate.