You have found the perfect candidate! Their job experience is a perfect match, the culture fit is perfect and everyone who met them through the interviewing process thinks they are an awesome hire! So, when can they start?? Hold on a minute, make sure you don’t miss an important part of the recruitment process – Reference Checking!

It amazes me how many businesses skip reference checking and then wonder why their perfect new person, all of a sudden turns out to be a total dud. Additionally, during my experience in agency recruitment where gaining references is a compulsory part of the process, I’ve seen many recruiters who view reference checking as a burden and even delegate the task to an administrator. I’ve also seen people who only spend a couple of minutes completing a reference check, when a proper reference checks takes anywhere between 15-30minutes to adequately check and gain further information about a candidate.

Reference Checking, when done correctly, is a wonderful tool to help you recruit the best employees and includes some of the following advantages:

DECIDING BETWEEN TWO CANDIDATES

If you have two great candidates and can’t decide, reference checking is a great tool to assist in your decision making process to ensure you choose the best person for the job.

GAINING EVIDENCE OF SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Gaining further evidence that the candidate has the correct skills and experience to do your job. The best way to do this is to ask the referee open ended questions around the candidate’s previous experience and work.

UNCOVERING THE TRUTH

Reference checking can also clear up any ‘hazy areas’ on a candidate’s resume, including gaps in their resume and also the reason they left certain jobs. Statistics show that more than 50% pf people lie on their resume. (Here’s an interesting article on that topic – Resume Lies).  If I was employing someone who was comfortable lying to me from the outset, I wouldn’t be confident in having them working for me and representing my business. Again, by asking open ended questions, you can use your reference check to uncover the accuracy of information the candidate has provided you.

ONBOARDING SUCCESS

Reference Checking can provide great information to enable you to onboard your new employee more effectively. Ask the referee questions around the best way to manage them and how they interact with other colleagues.

ALWAYS ASK – “WOULD YOU REHIRE?”

A question I always ask at the end of every reference check is – “if given the opportunity, would you rehire this person in a similar position?”. If you get a strong, positive response such as “Absolutely – In a heartbeat!”, then that’s great. If you get any kind of hesitation in the response, then you need to ask further questions. 

QUALIFYING THAT A REFEREE IS GENUINE

Something to be aware of when reference checking is that it’s not uncommon for candidates to put down false references. The easy way to ensure a referee is legitimate is to make sure you call the landline of a business to check that the referee works at that company, rather than just calling a mobile number. Also, make sure you have them tell you the dates the candidate was employed by them and have them run through the exact duties that the candidate did under their employment. You can also search the referee on LinkedIn to make sure they exist and even send them a message to thank them for their time providing you a reference. If they message you back saying that they never spoke with you or provided a reference, well, then that’s a bit of a concern!

ENJOY REFERENCE CHECKING YOUR FUTURE STAR EMPLOYEE

I have recently recruited several amazing Medical Receptionists in Victoria and Queensland and have thoroughly enjoyed the process of completing their reference checks. It has given me greater insight and depth into each person and where their strengths are and has made me feel just so proud to have helped such wonderful people find great new jobs where I know they will shine. In addition to helping make sure you don’t hire a dud, reference checking good candidates is a real buzz and a part of the recruitment process that is most enjoyable.

REFRERENCE CHECK TEMPLATE

To ensure you are equipped to reference check your next superstar, here is a standard reference check template provided by Fair Work Australia.

Happy Reference Checking!