Do Reference Checks Still Matter?

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“References Available Upon Request”

This sentence is placed smack dab at the bottom of almost every resume and CV you’ll collect. Employers like references. Applicants hate asking for them and do not like to bother their friends and coworkers. So what you get is a compromise – the acknowledgement that if you want references, you can have them, but only if you remember to ask.

How Much Do References Matter?

Reference checks have been an important part of the recruitment process for decades. But how much do they really matter? The original purpose of a reference was to get any other information you could about an employee that they didn’t share on their resume. But with the internet, and the legal protections that applicants have preventing negative information, enough information is already online that that’s become less useful. So what are the benefits of reference checks?

Benefits of Reference Checks

Reference checks still can hold a lot of information, and are a great tool for recruiters. Benefits of reference checks include:

  • Verifying Claims – One of the remaining benefits of reference checks is the ability to verify claims that the applicant made on their resume. For example, if an employee claims “I created the company website,” you can talk to a reference and ask “who created the company website?” in an effort to verify the accuracy of that statement. That can be very valuable for those that are hiring someone based on specific experiences or achievements.
  • Showing Preparation – It’s not always the quality of the reference check that matters. Sometimes it’s “did they prepare their references, and are their references prepared to vouch for them?” Applicants that ask their references, prepare the numbers and contact information, let them know you’re calling, etc., are the ones that are going to be better employees, no matter what the references say.
  • Genuine Praise – This can be hard for most people to hear on the phone, but those that are very good at figuring out what is genuine and what is not will often find that genuine praise has a greater impact on their hiring decisions than fake praise. If you call someone’s boss, and they sound like they truly valued that employee, that’s a good sign.

Each of these would not be possible without the benefit of a reference check.

How to Get the Most From Your Reference Checks

Reference checks haven’t lost their value. The problem is that most people do not use reference checks correctly. They ask only a few vague questions and aren’t listening for the intricacies of the answer. Reference checks can be invaluable, as long as you know what to ask and how to manage them correctly.

For your recruitment and branding concerns you can contact Employment Office at info@employmentoffice.com.

Justifying the Cost of Candidate Background Checks

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In 2010, the Chief Executive Officer for ITL, a leading medical technology firm, approached his recently hired Accountant, Sonya Dollman, to discuss a troubling discovery. It had recently come to his attention that Sonya may have falsified information on her resume to obtain the position, namely by omitting her tenure as Payroll Manager with failed whitegoods retailer, Clive Peeters.

While it may come as no surprise that a candidate had falsified information on their application in order to secure employment, the case of Sonya Dollman, known to Clive Peeters as well as the Victorian Supreme Court as Sonya Causer, should send chills down the spine of every hiring manager who has ever on-boarded a candidate without conducting a Criminal Background Check.

During Causer’s two year stint with Clive Peeters, she manipulated the company’s financial accounts in order to embezzle nearly $20,000,000 from the main bank account. The embezzlement began as a way to feed Causer’s Beanie Baby obsession but quickly escalated to larger purchases including 44 different properties, multiple vehicles and jewellery.

Dollman/Causer was hired by ITL while awaiting trial for the embezzlement. She has since pled guilty and will be spending a considerable amount of time in a Victorian correctional centre.

The vast majority of Australian businesses don’t have the capital to survive the loss of nearly 20 million dollars. Clive Peeters certainly didn’t. While the company was able to secure the return of all but 3.3 million dollars, the embezzlement was the final nail in Clive Peeters’ coffin. The business went into voluntary administration in May of 2010, never able to fully recover from the damage inflicted by Causer’s actions. At the time of the fraud’s discovery, Clive Peeters had 1300 employees and 44 stores across Australia.

Upon discovering that Sonya Dollman was indeed Sonya Causer, ITL immediately terminated her employment. Fortunately, the business was able to emerge from the bad hiring decision relatively unscathed. From a financial perspective, Causer didn’t defraud the business or embezzle any money but, from a public relations perspective, ITL’s hiring processes were thrust into the spotlight and widely ridiculed in the Australian public sphere.

The embarrassing public exposure associated with the hiring of Sonya Causer could have been easily avoided with a simple Criminal History Background Check. The organisation would have immediately found discrepancies in Causer’s report and would have been able to move on the next preferred candidate.

Employment Office’s team of Shortlisting Specialist’s recommend background checks are completed before any hiring decision has been made. We offer a wide range of competitively priced Background Checking options including National Police History Checks, Employment Verifications, Professional Qualification Verifications, Bankruptcy Checks, Financial Regulatory Checks and Credit Default Checks.

If you’d like to learn more, please don’t hesitate to contact your Account Manager on 1300 366 573.

5 Reasons You Are Unable to Fill Open Positions

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Recruitment is expensive. Every day you go without a new employee is a day that you are losing money, because that employee’s productivity is suffering and you are still trying to get the employee hired.

Hiring can be difficult. But there are millions of people looking for work and millions more that would be willing to work for you if they thought you’d be a great change of pace. So why is it that you’re not able to hire? The following are five of the most common reasons that your company may not easily hire new people for open roles.

Common Reasons for Hiring Struggles

  1. You Have No Branding
    Your company needs to have some type of “employer brand” – a way that potential applicants see you so that they are attracted to your business. Without that brand, you’re asking applicants to take time to apply to a company they don’t know, for pay and perks that are a mystery to them. Many won’t.
    You’ll want to take time to develop your employer brand. Market yourself online, offer incentives and perks that make you attractive to the applicant (and show you care about them), and create a presence that will attract far more applicants.
  2. You’re Starting From Scratch
    Companies without a hiring process already in place are putting themselves in a worse position for hiring than those that do not. You should make sure that you have a process for hiring. Some companies go out there and attract talent before a position is even opened, so that they’ never have to start from scratch. At the very least, you should have some type of process in place so that you’re not starting from scratch each time.
  3. Your Job Description Isn’t Attractive
    Your job advertisement is extremely important. It’s a form of branding (which we noted earlier is crucial), and it shows applicants who you’re truly looking for. Chances are you’re getting applications but not from the people you want to hire. Maybe the problem is that your application isn’t attracting the right people. Consider changing it to improve the quality of your applicants.
  4. You’re Not Advertising Where Your Employees Are
    Imagine you are hiring for a new employee to move to your office in Sydney, and you want someone local. You would not put your job advertisements on US or Canadian job boards. That would be nonsensical.But it’s not just as simple as location. If you’re looking for executives, you wouldn’t use a job board that appeals to blue collar workers, and vice versa. You need to make sure you’re advertising your job on places that potential employees can see it.
  5. Your Pay Stinks
    Of course, the elephant in the room is compensation. Are you offering benefits? Good money? Perks? Are you valuing the employee correctly? Your ideal employee is going to be highly valued by your competitors. If you’re not paying them their fair share or offering them reason to start working for you, you’re not going to get their application.
    Improve Your Hiring Success

There are countless issues that can stand in the way of finding a great new hire. But there are also plenty of ways you can overcome them. Learn how to target your ideal employee better and prove to them that you’re a great place to work, and you’ll have new people working for your company in no time.