REFERENCE CHECKS
Companies have been doing reference checking for decades. Who'd have thought, all this time - there's a better way!
Online Reference Checks
You know the routine. You go through it almost every day! You're down to the top five candidates for a position, and you begin to call their references. On those rare occasions when you're not playing "telephone tag," but rather get through to the reference quickly, you nearly always get a glowing review.
It's called the "halo effect," and simply put: candidate references don't like to offer tough criticism in direct conversation with a recruiter. By the time you're through checking three references each, on five finalists, you're wondering how much of this feedback you can trust. Have you just wasted half a day chasing down references that haven't brought much useful information to your decision-making process? There just has to be a better way! There is.
Online reference checks take the risk and uncertainty out of hiring decisions by providing accurate, candid and relevant information about job candidates, gathered from the ultimate source: the people who have worked most closely with the candidate in the past. Using a web-enabled process, recruiters are able to increase their productivity on a daily basis by eliminating the need to make reference check phone calls, which can consume at least 30 to 60 minutes per candidate, while raising the quality of information received from references.
A web-based process makes it easy for references to respond quickly and candidly to specific, skills-based questions about a candidate's job performance and behaviors. Then the data is analyzed and a comprehensive report is delivered that makes it easy for you to make the right hiring decision and improve your quality of hire.
How does online reference checking compare to traditional telephone-based referencing? Consider:
Online Reference Checks |
Via Phone |
|
Consistent Process |
Yes |
? |
Fully Documented Process |
Yes |
? |
Targeted Skills-based Questions |
Yes |
? |
Candid, Aggregated Process |
Yes |
? |
Average Turnaround |
1 to 2 days |
3 to 7 days |
Total Recruiter Time per Candidate |
5 minutes |
30 – 60 minutes |
References Contacted |
4 to 7 |
2 or 3 |
Information Value to Hiring Decisions |
High |
Low |
24/7 Availability |
Yes |
No |
Cost |
<$50 |
$50-$200 |
Telephone Reference Checks
Not ready to automate your reference checks? We can simplify your employment reference check process by performing telephone reference interviews.
Our script of standard questions provides relevant information about a candidate's job performance and areas for improvement. We adhere to strict callback guidelines so references are never called once and forgotten. Custom questions can be developed to meet your specific employment reference check needs.
Once the phone calls have been completed, detailed reference responses are available to you in an easy-to-read report which you retrieve online anytime.
