Let's go back to my philosophy on making hiring decisions. Your goal is to gather as much data as possible. Anything that adds quality data to the pot, I am in favor of. Reference checking, although controversial, definitely adds data to the pot.
Here are the major questions about reference checking and I will address each in order.
1. As I said, you should definitely go through the exercise of talking to references. They are a good source of information and give you the opportunity to verify and validate the information you got during the interview. View the reference check as one more opportunity to put data in the pot. Remember, the more data you have, the better your chance of making a good hiring decision.
2. You should talk to references who can provide data about the quality and quantity of the person's work. In an ideal world, you want to speak to at least one manager, one peer and one subordinate in the case of a management job. Stay away from personal references (a rabbi, minister, friend, etc) as they generally cannot provide information about the person's work history. You should speak to at least two references but three or four never hurts.
3. You should get the references from the candidate. Tell them you need a number of people who are familiar with the quality of their work. Have the candidate provide you with contact information and go one step further. Have the candidate call the references to alert them to your call. This will save you a tremendous amount of time and effort when you call and they are expecting your call. I have the candidate do as much of the work as possible.
4. To prepare for the reference check you should review your interview notes. Choose the information and situations you want to verify. Next, prepare effective questions that confirm or deny the information you have. For example, if the candidate told you they closed the ABC deal for $1MM dollars, here is the sequence of questions I would ask the reference. What was Barry's role in the ABC deal? How long did he work on the deal? Who else was involved in the deal? How big was the deal? This sequence should help confirm or deny exactly what the person told you in the interview.
5. Probably the question I get asked the most is, "What should I do if the reference will not speak to me or refers me to HR?" This is a very easy problem to solve. It is the candidate's responsibility to find people who can speak to the quantity and quality of their work. If the people they have provided will not speak with you, it is the candidate's responsibility to find someone that will. Don't accept this roadblock as your problem. A candidate always seems to find references to discuss their background when they are interested in the job.
Occasionally you will run across the situation where a person has been with their existing employer for a long time and they don't want you to speak with anyone at the company. A solution to this problem is to have them provide you the name of someone who has left the company that is familiar with their work. This usually works.
6. "How do I remove the bias from the reference?" is another question that I receive frequently. Once again, there is a simple solution. Let's start by assuming the candidate has not given you people who dislike them as a reference. The reference is desperate to tell you all the good stuff about the person. The key then is to not give the person the opportunity to say anything nice. NEVER ASK FOR AN OPINION OR A JUDGEMENT! If you say, "Is Barry a good salesman?" my references are going to go on and on about how great I am. But you didn't get any data.
They key in removing the bias is to ask closed-ended, data oriented questions. Ask questions that require the reference to provide a piece of data or describe something the person did. For that sales candidate, here is a sample of the types of questions you should ask; How many deals did Barry close last quarter? What was the biggest deal he closed? Who did he work with to close the ABC deal? Who was the most senior executive he met with on the ABC deal? These types of questions extract data not opinions.
7. There is a lot of misinformation when it comes to references. It is legal to check references. The key to staying on safe ground is to only ask data oriented questions. You get into trouble when you start asking for opinions. Stay away from the person's personal life and stick to the What, Where, When and How. If you have any concern about your reference checking policy, I highly recommend you discuss it with your attorney for guidance.
Question of the Month
"What should I do if a candidate refuses to provide references?" D Sallow Sacramento CA
There is a real nasty trend that has emerged in the last year. Because of the hot labor market, candidates will not provide references. This is a very dangerous trend. As an employer, you have a right and I believe an obligation to check references. It should be a standard part of your due diligence. So what should you do if the candidate refuses to provide this information? I wish there was a simple answer. You will have to apply some common sense and judgment to make a decision. How badly do you want the candidate? How much other information do you have to make the decision? These are some of the things you need to consider. As an observation, the really good candidates I have dealt with are usually happy to provide references.
Commentary
There has been a real change in the way candidates approach the job search process. Today's candidate understands that they have choices and they are exercising the power that comes with that knowledge. This is a real change from times past. Get used to it! This is not going to change anytime soon.
In the end I believe this a change for the better. Any employment situation is a relationship that must have two winners. If there is a winner and a loser, both parties will end up losing. So, try to work deals (hires) that make sense for both parties. If the candidate wants to dictate terms that don't work for you, DON'T DO THE DEAL.
Once again, it has been my experience that good candidates are reasonable. If the person is going to hold a gun to your head for more money, they will probably leave at the first hint of more money elsewhere. This is probably not a win-win deal to start. Look for candidates that want to be part of a win-win relationship. They are out there!
Have a great month recruiting!
Barry Shamis
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