Rich, Insightful Reference Interviews

If you’re not conducting high-quality, high-touch reference interviews, you are leaving enormous value on the table—on multiple fronts! Having rich interactions with the key individuals from your candidate’s professional past is not just “good hygiene,” it can add considerable value to your entire hiring and onboarding process.

Here are the “Big 4” reasons why references are so important:

1. They verify the information you’ve gathered in interviews. It doesn’t happen often, but candidates can and do share misleading information at times. Reference checks provide a critical backstop.
2. They can reveal blind spots, positive or negative. Even the best interviewer in the world can’t unlock information that the candidate is fundamentally unaware of. Sometimes you need a third party’s perspective to see the whole picture.
3. They enrich your onboarding process. Every candidate is going to come with some risks and development areas, and there's no better time to discuss those issues with new hires than during onboarding. Sharing insights from references (in a sufficiently supportive and confidential manner) is more powerful than simply playing back what the candidate told you in interviews.
4. They keep future candidates honest. Word gets out! If you have a reputation for doing high quality, thorough references, candidates will know it. They are more likely to share their stories honestly when they know there will be follow-ups.

Guess what? It’s possible to conduct references, and STILL fail to capture all of these sources of value.

Here are the most common mistakes we see companies make:

• They take the candidate’s list at face value. Even marginal performers can usually find a handful former coworkers to vouch for them. Be skeptical of reference lists that don’t include recent supervisory figures. Better yet, let the candidate know who YOU want to speak with, and let them put you in touch!
• They let third parties (e.g. recruiters) conduct the conversations. If you are paying someone to source candidates, that person (or firm) has an understandable incentive to get the seat filled. This can compromise the depth/rigor of references. These interactions are some of the most important ones in your process. Take it personally!
• The conversations are skin deep. References are sometimes wary of sharing their concerns or reservations about a candidate, because they may perceive the downside risk to be greater than the upside. If you ask for both sides of the equation, in an engaging, high-rapport manner, you are far more likely to get insightful, balanced information.
• They lead the witness. Many hiring managers barge straight into the conversation broadcasting their perspective on the candidate (usually the positives), and then asking the reference for validation. This can skew the reference’s response and lead to confirmation bias. Instead, keep the discussion open-ended, and ask the more leading questions (e.g. key points of verification) only towards the end of the conversation.

We will provide additional tips and insights on references in future Talgo Talent Tuesday posts. Stay tuned!