Reference checking has long been accepted as a go-to method for verifying a prospective candidate’s employment. But what about identifying candidate strengths, weaknesses, and overall productivity? Besides using pre-employment assessments, structured interviews, and reviewing resumes, which, according to the LACCD Guide to Reference Checking, are falsified on one-third of all job applications, how do we know what makes a candidate successful on the job without someone who can attest to their abilities and skills?
Collecting and checking candidate references helps hiring managers make more informed hiring decisions, but there has been a lot of controversy around providing a quality reference. Fear of litigation by legal counsel, or because it’s just downright intimidating and awkward, prevents former employers from wanting to get involved in this process, even if it would greatly help out the new hiring company.
New tools, such as automated reference checking software, like ReferenceHunter, allow a hiring manager to automatically and confidentially check a candidate’s references without really putting in any manual time of their own. The confidentiality of the process also allows for more candid, honest, and relevant information provided to the hiring manager from a reference. There is no fear or repercussions for being transparent because the process is fully automated, so any comments provided by a reference are hidden to the candidate and kept confidential within a PDF exchanged amongst the candidate’s reference and the hiring company.
Here’s how it works:
- You request a candidate’s references, which they provide to you through the tool
- You use a questionnaire or create a custom template with questions for the reference
- ReferenceHunter contacts the reference through phone, email, and text in an attempt to contact
- The reference provides their feedback and a confidential PDF report is sent back to you
- You’re notified when the feedback is ready
This tool provides hiring managers with the ability to make more informed and thorough hiring decisions, which ultimately results in better hires, improves retention of employees, and provides a better candidate experience since it also speeds up the screening process.
Interested in trying out our automated ReferenceHunter tool? See how easy it is to use. Get signed up today and receive 3 reference checks absolutely free.
Content
