Be honest – how often do you take up a prospective employee’s job references?
And if you do, how much use are they really?
It’s true that a job reference can prove useful for verifying that a candidate was employed for a specified period, in the role they have quoted at the employer they stated. That’s great for proving they were telling the truth – but to be honest if you doubted them then they really aren’t the right employee for you.
On the other hand, what you are unlikely to get is any kind of insider knowledge on what the candidate was like as an employee – their sickness record, their performance, their attitude. In short, all the things you would be most interested in knowing as their prospective employer.
This is made further complicated by the Data Protection employment practices code which governs tightly what information an employer can supply by way of a reference. As an aside you must get agreement from the candidate before contacting previous employers, if you do decide to obtain references.
In truth a robust recruitment process will sort the men from the boys, as the saying goes, and your reference checking will become redundant.
So how does your recruitment process stack up?