High quality behavioural reference checking is arguably the most important step in the recruitment process. Candidates may present well during the interview phase however this may not necessarily be reflective of their overall performance while in a previous position.

It’s important to complete high quality verbal reference checks because most candidates will have excellent written references from previous supervisors and/or co-workers. Candidates that overplay their skills can often be exposed during this process—whether through background checks or a reference check. It’s not uncommon to be given the run-around from candidates when trying to conduct a reference check and we have actually caught candidates giving false references! If the candidate is as strong as they say they are, providing 3 references , preferably from previous direct managers, should not be an issue.

What should you look for and ask when conducting a reference check? First, make sure the company, dates of employment, and position match up to what the candidate specified on their application or resume. Next, ask the referred person open-ended performance and ability questions that will allow him/her to elaborate. For example, Tell me about your working relation with John Doe? Please describe his job duties. How was his performance in comparison to other associates in the same department? The more information extracted, the better your understanding of the candidate’s role and contribution to the company as a whole. You’d be surprised at how much information can be obtained if you just ask.

Many companies may have policies against giving out references, aside from work dates, salary, and eligibility for rehire; former Supervisors currently with the company have to uphold this policy as well. However, like I mentioned earlier, if a candidate performed well on-the-job, a supervisor will often go out of their way to help serve as a reference. It just reinforces the strong working relation the candidate had with their manager.

Once you have all the acceptable referee details it is important not to be clouded by the initial presentation of the candidate during the interview phase. It isn’t uncommon during the reference checking stage of the recruitment process for the hiring managers to be susceptible to 7 common bias:

Halo effect: Where one positive attribute of a candidate is generalised to other attributes, distorting the recruiters assessment of the candidate's competence. For instance, research shows that tall and good-looking people are often assumed to be good leaders.

Pitchfork effect: This is the opposite of the ‘Halo effect’ where one unrelated attribute relates to an overall perceived negative assumption of the candidate.

Similarity: People have a strong propensity to judge other people who look or are in some way similar to themselves favourably.

Confirmation: It is extremely difficult to change an opinion of someone past the initial impression, making it easy to ignore new evidence.

Harshness: Some people don’t like marking candidates harshly and some are overly critical. It’s good to be aware of your own tendencies and other peoples, a high score to you may not be a high score to someone else.

Attribution Error: This arises from the belief that the world is ‘fair’ and people get what they deserve, causing us to attribute bad things to completely unrelated characteristics in people.

Knowledge Curse: Occurs when we assume people have a better knowledge of what’s in our head than they actually do—often seen in candidates who assume we know the in’s and out’s of their industry and vice versa.

Don’t forget that outside of an objective reference check there are other important screening options that should be used in conjunction with the above such as employment history checking, criminal record checking and credit history checking. Utilising these services together will enable you to have the most accurate complete picture of your potential employee.