Six Simple Steps to a Successful Reference

Verbal references can be extremely helpful, particularly if you follow Six Simple Steps.  But first, please ask the candidate’s permission – it can cause a lot of problems if you ‘phone a friend’ who doesn’t know the candidate is considering a new role.  Recruiters can sometimes work around this to get some outline views, but the best source of information will be the current or a recent line manager. A recent line manager is a good way of getting a real feel for the candidate in the workplace without them revealing that they are thinking of leaving. And if you can do this before the final round you can check out any negative comments with other referees and with the candidate and you have a slightly easier get out if the references are not as good as you had hoped.  Post offer referencing can then focus on fact checking and not opinion.

The Six Simple Steps
1.  Timing – take informal verbal references before the last round of interviews
2.  Ask the candidate’s permission to speak to a current or recent line manager 
3.  Describe the job the candidate will be doing for you and the skills needed to be successful
4.  Seek the referee’s opinion on the candidate’s abilities for that job
5.  Discuss the candidate’s strengths
6.  Explore the areas where the candidate would benefit from further development or training

And the reference provides so much more than comfort on whether to make an offer of employment. It can also provide some great pointers on how to manage the new recruit in order to get the best out of them. For example, I recently took a reference on a junior candidate where the referee said the candidate had sound opinions but was sometimes reticent to voice them. Their new manager will now have this in mind and can work to build the candidate’s confidence.

But what about when the reference isn’t as glowing as it might be?   And this is where the timing of the reference taking can really help.  You and the referee are in a potentially tricky position if you have already offered the candidate and they have already resigned or told their current company they are leaving.   Do you tell them you are rescinding the offer because you received a poor reference?  If this is something factual, for example they have misled you about their employment or academic achievements, then your reasons are easy to justify. But if a referee has given an opinion that you don’t like the sound of, what are your options?  The candidate will want to know what was said and by whom, particularly if they have already resigned from their role. Do you tell them?  Do you withdraw the offer with no reason?  You can’t do this if you have already offered the role to them subject to references.  You are about to have some uncomfortable conversations, and we haven’t even started talking about the legal problems related to the giving and taking of references.

Everything is easier if you get the references before offer stage. First of all, you are less time pressured, if you receive some poor comments then you can take more references and check these out – triangulate them with others. You can focus on the areas of concern in your later stage meetings and use probing questions to enable you to make your own judgement on the issue. And if you decide to say no, you are still in your interview rounds so are under no pressure to reveal the details surrounding your decision.

So they maybe Six Simple Steps – but getting the first one right is the key to success.