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You’ve conducted both rounds of interviews, narrowed the field to a single candidate and made a hiring offer; contingent, of course, on a reference and background check. Now it’s time to get on the phone and check the references they’ve given you. Right? WRONG!
Timing is Everything
According to Yves Lermusi, CEO of online reference check service Checkster, it is best for hiring managers to conduct reference checks on candidates before the second round of interviews.
Rather than viewing reference checks as an administrative detail that only very rarely disqualifies a candidate who has already been selected, Lermusi recommends making them an integral part of the decision-making process. He says:
“Do not make the common mistake of confusing the reference check with the employment verification process. Reference checking is not about confirming, for instance, that your candidate, who claims to have reported directly to the CEO and worked for that company for two years, has done just that. Instead, reference checks serve to obtain information about a candidate’s performance, as reviewed by their managers and peers. Performing the reference check at the end of the process … is a waste of time.”
Reference-Checking Online, the Checkster Way
Conducting reference checks earlier in the process, on more individuals, allows the results to become an integral part of the decision making process.
According to Lermusi, Checkster can save you time and money, and make better hires.
“Despite tremendous technical advances, detecting true talent has remained one of the biggest challenges of today’s organizations,” Lermusi says in a white paper about Checkster’s service.
He says the Checkster “best process” for reference checks takes hiring managers a fraction of the time of the traditional method, and costs an estimated 61% less.
How It Works
Rather than making several calls to references, the hiring manager invites candidates to log on to the service and do a “reference checkup” — that is, provide a list of current and former supervisors, co-workers, subordinates, and friends.
These people receive an email and complete the survey, rating the individual in question on everything from dependability to energy level.
Once the references have responded, the hiring manager is able to print out a report from Checkster that not only rates the responses, but categorizes the references by how long and how closely they have worked with the candidate.
Benefits
According to Lermusi, the entire process can take less than 10 minutes of the hiring manager’s time — as opposed to an hour or more using the traditional phone check-up method.
Additional benefits are an improved likelihood of accurate and truthful responses; and more respondents per applicant, providing for a more complete picture.
The result is a form of peer rating, which has been proven one of the most effective predictors of success, far better than years of experience and education.
Employers can learn more about Checkster here, and view a summary of how it works here.
Note: This is not paid advertising for Checkster. I had the honor of serving on a webinar panel with Yves Lermusi recently, and simply found the Checkster service to be exciting, innovative, and worth sharing with readers of this blog.
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I’ve recently switched to web-based reference checking and can’t say enough about it. It DEFINITELY saves time and consistently provides a level of feedback that you just can’t get when you’re calling references by phone.
Chris B.
Executive Recruiter
BSI