Reference Checking – Why Bother?

The validity of traditional reference checks as a predictor of on the job performance has been rated to be approximately 10% - so with this rating so low, why bother? Why take up precious time when you could be preparing the letter of offer and moving on to recruit your next position? Has any candidate ever given out the name of a referee who is going to give them a bad reference? It happens, but rarely. Often referees are primed and readied by the candidate to supplement efforts throughout the interview phase by providing key additional points of data to round out their candidature – “the role requires extensive collaboration, so can you please discuss the time…” So do you bother to reference check? You do, and you should, but not because you want to shoot for a 10% predictive validity, but because there is more to a reference check than meets the eye.

Recruitment in part is the art of reducing risk – sure it’s also about locating the best candidate, engaging them in an opportunity (ie. Via a well crafted ad or a direct targeted approach) and managing them through the process to offer, onboarding and success. But at every single stage of a recruitment process, the recruiter’s job is to minimise the risk to the organisation. And with the tools, technology and processes available to recruiters the extent to which this risk is minimised differentiates the average recruiters from the best.

Integrating reference checking into your process will provide you with critical information

Reference checking, like all other elements of a recruitment process, is only effective when it is an embedded, integrated part of the process. Integrating reference checking into your process will provide you with critical information that is not particularly useful in isolation, but when properly aggregated with all the other data obtained throughout the process, reference checking provides valuable additional insights that assist in minimising the risk of making the incorrect appointment.

So, to maximise the impact of your reference checks consider these points:

• Create a tailored reference check aligned to the role profile, competencies and experience required for the specific position.
• Consider a 360 degree reference check approach – talk to the candidate’s direct manager/s, two up managers, peers, sub-ordinates, customers &/or suppliers. Tailor the reference for each referee to extract the key information and reduce the general chatter.
• Use a competency based style of questioning – extract detailed examples of the candidate’s performance and request the referee use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) approach when providing you with examples.
• Consider only outsourcing the quantitative aspects of your reference checking – use outsourced suppliers only to verify dates of employment, qualifications, police checks etc but leave the assessment of skills, competencies and fit to the one recruiter who conducts the end to end recruitment process.
• Reference checking is by nature subjective, so ensure you obtain as much objective information from the referee – i.e. Performance against sales targets, performance against peers, state of the market and therefore ease/difficulty in achieving goals.
• Use the reference check as a key opportunity to learn from the manager’s experiences managing the candidate – openly discuss development opportunities, onboarding tips, preferred management style etc. This information can be key to assisting a structured, powerful onboarding process, maximise time to efficiency and reduce turnover risk.
• Pay careful attention to the tone of the referee – not only what they say, but how they say it is important. And if you have any doubt about the meaning of what they are saying, ask for clarification.

Even in today’s information age, the power of conversation will ensure that reference checking continues to be a critical aspect of a recruitment process that technology can’t replace. By integrating reference checks with the overall process and keeping in mind the key points discussed above, you will find that the value you deliver to your business or your clients will ensure that reference checks continue as a critical component of your recruitment process.