Please Don't Skip Step 6

Whether you are hiring an entry level accounting clerk or a CEO, there is a step that is too vital to neglect. The reference check.

It is “Step 6” in my workshop “The 7 Must-do Steps in the Hiring Process” and the step that I find many companies overlook.

In my retained search practice, this step gets my undivided attention. I have found that all too often though, especially when the fit seems to be perfect, companies skip this step or rush through it because they don’t have the resources or think it is not important.

I know it is tempting to skip or rush through this step when you have an empty chair and are anxious to get the new hire on board. But ultimately, this step is too vital to be considered a “nice to have.” In my workshop, I urge clients to remember the old adage, “marry in haste, repent in leisure.” That applies to hiring as well.

Why check references? First, the reference check is where you verify the information that you gleamed during the interview. When done correctly, the reference should enable you to confirm not only that the person did what they said they did, but as important, it should help you to understand how they did it. Understanding that last piece will help you to be more successful in matching the candidate to your culture.

To verify every aspect of what you discussed with the candidate during the interviews, you should get as much of a 360 degree view of that person as you can—talk to peers, former managers and, if applicable, former direct reports.

What are you looking for in those conversations beyond what and how the candidate did the job? You are looking for consistency. Did the candidate make a similar impression? Did the candidate have a consistent temperament and style? Does each reference explain the same event in a similar way? Consistency is a sign of accuracy.

Recognizing both the importance of the reference checks and the obstacles that keep companies from completing these checks in-house, I began to offer reference checking for companies as part of my "unbundled services" . The very first set of references that I conducted for a non-profit organization involved checking the references for three closely-ranked finalists for the position of Executive Director of the non-profit. The Board had not done reference checks in the past due to limited resources, but they really wanted to get this one right and they realized the step was essential.

Two of the three candidates submitted references that I knew would provide a 360 degree view. One of the candidates provided a list that I considered suspect since it failed to include people to whom the candidate had reported. I went back to the candidate and obtained more pertinent references (clue: the list that the candidate provides is the beginning of the “check”).

I completed three calls to references provided by that third candidate and uncovered some discrepancies during those calls. I then conducted some research on my own and I identified another person who would have known that candidate (but not someone provided in the original list from the candidate). That call uncovered a serious issue----and explained why there were inconsistencies from the other references. The candidate was eliminated and a potentially costly error was avoided.

The situation that I described above doesn’t happen often, but if you are the one doing the hiring, you know that once is too often. So I encourage you to take the time to complete “Step 6” and conduct a thorough reference check for every hire.