How to Conduct Employee Reference Checks
Conducting effective employee reference checks is a critical part of the hiring process. One of the best indicators of future performance is past performance. By understanding how to use the reference check to elicit insights into your candidate's abilities, you can greatly improve the quality of your hires.
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Instructions
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Conduct job reference checks yourself if you're the hiring manager. This is not the task to delegate to the human resources representative. You will gain valuable information about the candidate by taking the time to do the checks yourself.
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Perform reference checks at the end of the job interviewing process. This step should take place after the final interviews. There's no need to waste your time, and your colleagues that you will be talking to.
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Speak to the candidate's previous direct supervisor. Many times candidate's will list co-workers as a job reference. It's fine to speak with them but you will need to get a more objective point of view of their performance.
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Ask open-ended questions that give the previous employer plenty of opportunity to share insightful, pertinent information about your candidate. Sample questions are "What skills does he need the most improvement in?" or "What is his greatest area of strength?"
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Describe the position and job responsibilities to the previous employer and ask how they think the candidate would perform. This portion of the employee reference check will most likely yield decision-making information on your candidate.
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Tips & Warnings
Take good notes while conducting the reference check, don't rely on your memory to capture all the details.
Ask for clarification on how the candidate was compensated to validate information provided by the applicant.
Some companies refuse to allow staff members to serve as references. The company can at least list the dates of employment.
