Often referencing is treated as a tick box part of the recruitment process and yet if not handled correctly can lead to mistakes that can cost your business dearly.
The pitfalls
The common mistake in conducting references is speaking to the wrong people. You should only speak to the manager that the candidate actually reported to and if there were dual reporting lines then you should speak with both managers independent of each other.
Often candidates will provide the names of referees who were colleagues or managers that they didn’t report to and this is a red light. There have been cases where candidates have supplied contact details of friends who they have worded up even in some cases supplying them with a script of what to say.
You should ensure that if the candidate supplies contact details of a referee with only a mobile number as the contact number, and they aren’t known to you personally, then when you make the call go through the company switch board and ask for the person’s title when you are putting you through.
The reference questionnaire
When conducting reference checking it is critical that you invest time in putting together a comprehensive reference checking questionnaire that covers off the following:
- The dates of the candidate’s employment as it is not unknown for candidates to ‘smooth’ dates to cover periods of unemployment or employment with a company that ended with the candidate’s termination
- The nature and scope of the role and if the candidate has stated that they have had team responsibility confirm this along with the composition of the team and whether they reported directly to the candidate or whether it was on a dotted line
- The nature of the role and whether it was as described by the candidate. Sometimes candidates will embellish on the scope and responsibilities of a role
- Achievements and whether those as stated by the candidate measure up to what was actually achieved. It is advisable for questions to be asked about targets set year on year and what was achieved against target. Candidates have a wide variety of reasons they didn’t make target and while some are valid you need to test this with the candidate’s manager
- Academic qualifications. While it is advisable to go directly to the educational institution to conduct an academic records check, internal company courses can be checked with the manager. It is not unheard of for a candidate to enhance course content or while the course itself maybe as described by the candidate but they may not have been participants
- There are a range of behavioural/attitudinal questions that can be asked around work attitude including task application, team leadership/management and cultural fit. Often you learn more about the candidate by asking these types of questions than any other and the responses should also provide you comfort around the responses to behavioural questions that you asked the candidate.
Reading between the lines
It is important that when you speak to a referee you can read between the lines when they provide you with a beige answer to your questions. Rather than provide a poor reference it is common for people to subtly tell you they were not impressed with the candidate without explicitly saying so.
A good question to ask towards the end of a reference is ‘if the opportunity arose would you rehire the candidate?’ and if the response is no then you should ask ‘why not?’
I can recall a number of times when I had spent quite some time attempting to get a clear understanding as the candidate performance in a previously held role and although nothing was said of a negative nature I wasn’t convinced the manager was being forthcoming in their opinion. Once I asked this question nine in ten times I left the conversation with a clear understanding as to where the manager stood.
Any recruitment process incurs a cost on your business in the time you have to invest in identifying, interviewing and referencing candidates so it is important that you get the decision right. Taking the time to put together a reference questionnaire is an investment in getting your decision right when making the final decision about the candidate.
When in doubt seek professional advice
If you feel that you could do with assistance with putting together a reference questionnaire that is specifically tailored to the position that you are recruiting for then it is advisable that you seek assistance from a HR/recruitment consultant who has the experience that you are after.