The New Normal of Reference Checks

As we navigate the shift to working from home in the midst of COVID-19, everything about the recruiting process has changed. We’re getting creative with video interviews (more on video-driven interviews here) and reevaluating both the interviewing process and the candidate experience. The new reality is that if companies are expected to make decisions on candidates without having spent many hours together in live meetings, we also need to change the way we view and conduct references — references will hold more weight than ever before.

There are generally two categories of references, formal and informal.

Formal references are provided by a finalist candidate and are typically contacted towards the end of a hiring process. Historically, formal references have been seen as one important but small piece of the overall process. In fact, many companies extend offers that are contingent on the completion of strong references. Of course, formal references are critical. But these references are by definition “pre-screened” and it’s rare that decisions change based on their outcome unless the feedback is clearly different from what you expected.

Informal references are references not provided directly by the candidate. Ideally there is a strong shared connection between someone on the hiring committee and the informal reference, since there’s no better way to learn about a candidate’s skills than from a trusted/vetted source. We know that interviews and a resume are not enough, and informal references have always been a part of a good hiring process.

References are a sensitive topic for obvious reasons — no one wants a reference call to kick off a string of unintended consequences. That said, deep references are the only way to augment and support opinions gleaned from interviews, especially when those interviews cannot be in person.

We all need to view deep references as a positive and necessary step towards successful team building. As a hiring team, remember that no one is perfect, and you should assume that deeper, more diligent references will turn up more weaknesses/areas of improvement. As a candidate, know that proper reference checking will help a company get comfortable with who you are, not just what you say you’ve done. As a reference, understand that you are giving your time to help others during a tough, unprecedented time.

The New Normal — Tips for Digging Deeper

We’ve collected some best practices to consider incorporating into your existing reference checking process. Here’s how to dig deeper.

• Consider checking more references than you previously would

For executive searches, we’ve always suggested connecting with six formal references (two reports, two peers, two bosses). Now you may want to talk to eight or ten. All should have worked with the candidate closely, come from recent and relevant employers, and be able to speak to different skill-sets of the candidate. If you need more POVs, you can ask the references you speak with if there are others who have a good perspective on the candidate.

• Tell candidates that references are going to be a key part of the process and will be done early on — not just towards the end

Encourage the candidate to prepare potential sources. Speaking with references earlier will be easier with a candidate who is not currently employed. For currently employed candidates, it’s important that we work with them to find confidential sources.

• Change your questions

You’ll want to use references to help you learn things you usually glean from in person meetings like work style, personality, executive presence, energy, rapport, coachability, and ability to coach and work with others.

• Keep your questions consistent across all references

Consistent questions will let you see themes emerge, and you will have a fair benchmark when comparing multiple people. You’ll know you have a full picture of a person when you are getting consistent feedback, hearing the same strengths and weaknesses, and even hearing the same words used to describe a candidate. Obviously, if the feedback is inconsistent, that is equally valuable and can help you determine next steps.

• Set yourself up to get honest answers to candidate weaknesses

Start with the strengths and then move to weaknesses. Replacements for the word “weakness” include areas for growth, advice you’d offer them, things they could have done differently etc. If a reference won’t reply with a meaningful area of improvement, it’s not a fair reference.

• Ask the hard questions

General questions will get you general answers. We like to include “stack ranking” questions as a way to dig deeper. For instance, “Of all of the Sales leaders you have worked for, where would you stack rank this person, and why?”

• Don’t outsource references

This is always important, even more critical now. The person who the candidate is reporting to should be the one to call the references directly. You can also get more team members involved in this step by sharing reference call notes or recordings. Pay close attention to tone and consider doing reference checks over video so you can pick up on visual clues that may be useful. Is this genuine, unfiltered praise, or is it guarded?