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It's no surprise that exaggeration, storytelling, and
outright deceit are commonplace in the interviewing
process. A study published in the Journal of Basic
and Applied Social Psychology found that 60 percent
of people lied at least once during a 10-minute
conversation and told an average of two to three lies.
This truth about lies probably doesn't
come as a
shock. What does come as a surprise is the
number
of organizations who acknowledge the importance of
checking references but
feel they've gotten no real value from it so they don't do
it at all. The most common
reasons companies bypass this important step are a
lack of time, belief that the references were coached,
fear of bad news, or
perceived liability due to defamation of character
claims.
Despite the fact that in reality
only a
small number of defamation suits are brought against
employers each year (fewer still are successful),
this "don't ask -
don't
tell" mentality has become a sad reality in US
businesses today.
In fact, most hiring
managers
would be surprised to know that each year there are
twice as many legal actions brought against
employers for negligent hiring because an
employer has neglected to perform due diligence in
researching someone's references to assess if they
are a risk to the work environment.
Sadly, employers have lost 72% of these
negligent hiring cases with an average settlement of
more than $1.6 million, according to AAA
Interactive
Search Technologies. A clear statement the courts
believe the majority of cases were preventable with
the proper screening procedures in place.
Aside from the serious legal implications of not
checking
references, consider the other costs of an incomplete
selection process. According to
Leadership IQ, 46% of all new US hires fail in the first
18 months on the job--- because of bad hiring
decisions.
Fact is, reference
checking is
interviewing. It is not a task but rather a
learned
skill that
requires focus, practice, and a few good
insider how-to's. Let's review some
best practice tips for effective reference checking:
- Always check education references. They
are easy to check now that most everything is
automated or online. It is also one of the most
common subjects candidates lie about.
- Request that you are given a reference of
a former supervisor (and/or co-worker) who no longer
works with the company.
- Ask for a reference from a reference. Let
the reference know that you are very interested in
learning more about the candidate and ask them if
they know of anyone else whom you could speak to.
By getting in touch with a reference that hasn’t been
hand picked or
coached by the candidate directly, you might be
surprised at the candid details you can unearth.
- Place the burden on the candidate. Make
the candidate responsible for getting people to call
you back. If they want the job bad enough and have
nothing to hide, they will be motivated to find a way to
get you in touch with their references or them in touch
with you.
- Use the Behavior Based Interviewing technique
when you check references. Keep in mind, checking
references is a form of interviewing. Probe for specific
details regarding past behavior and events. For
example, if you ask the reference about the
candidate's 3 greatest
strengths/weaknesses follow that up by asking them
to recall a time when they demonstrated each of those
behaviors.
- Always prepare a list of questions in advance by
reviewing
your interview notes and choosing
situations and information you want to verify or want
another perspective on. Use these targeted
questions to help confirm or deny exactly what the
person told you in the interview.
- Use probing questions to dig for details. For
example, if the candidate describes an important
accomplishment or project, probe for
specifics to get the whole picture. What was the
scope
of the project? What was the candidate's role? Who
else was involved? What was the outcome? What
specific impact did this candidate have on the project
results?
You get the idea.
- Consider using the services of a reference
checking company. Digging deep is their
specialty.
Effective reference checking doesn't just uncover
the
truth about lies or protect your team from danger, it
also helps you learn more about someone's
talents, training needs, goals, and personality to help
you know how to grow and motivate them once they're
on board.
Is your candidate a diamond
or a
CZ? Time to find out.
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