Should Hiring Managers Check References?

There are so many levels to the process of hiring new employees. One often tedious aspect of hiring involves checking for prospective references.

Many business owners and hiring managers tend to wonder: Should I be reference checking my applicants? Is it worth the time and energy? Should I reference them earlier in the hiring process or later?

Let’s dive into everything you should consider when checking for references, along with some excellent solutions available to streamline the hiring process.

Why Employers Request Employment References

Reference checking is simply the act of contacting references listed by a prospective employee on their resume, either by phone or email. Typically, an applicant will include 3-5 references on their resumes, most of which were previous managers, supervisors, colleagues, professors, or peers.

Reference checking potential employees allow hiring managers to verify all of the information listed on an applicant’s resume or CV. Reference checks can help verify a number of things, including:

• Dates of employment
• Actual job Titles
• Pay Rates
• The type of tasks the prospect performed at their previous position
• Work habits such as team-friendliness, conscientiousness, ability to demonstrate responsibility, behavior, etc.
• Whether or not the previous employer would hire him again.

This really says a lot about an employee. If a falsity or outright lie is found on an application that is verified by one or more references, that could be a serious bullet dodged for your business.

More often than not, though, prospects rarely lie on their applications if they also provided  references to verify that information. Regardless, some reckless applicants may try and lie about vital things on their resume.

Should I Reference Check My Applicants?

The short answer is a resounding “yes.” No matter what industry your business is involved in, it is imperative to make sure your employees have verifiable history and previous employers to back up their skills.

While it does take a lot of time and energy, reference checking is a part of the hiring processthat should not be overlooked.

Should I Reference Check My Applicants Early or Later in the Hiring Process?

This is more or less up to you as a hiring manager. However, it is often a smart move to check in with references at the beginning of the hiring process. This is a good idea because a lot of the time references will not answer their phones or emails right away. Getting this done first provides some time for references to check back with you. In the meantime, hiring managers can work on other aspects of the hiring process, such as background checks, conducting interviews, etc.

Like we mentioned before, reference checking is very tedious – but it is absolutely necessary for the integrity of your team and overall business. And there are options out there to make the process less difficult.

Hiringcue for Excellent Reference Checks

Traditional reference checking is often very time-consuming and offers rather minimal insight.

Plus, reference checking can also be fraught with risk. Luckily, there is a fantastic solution for hiring managers through Hiringcue.

Hiringcue.com is an automated solution platform interviewers and employers can use to streamline the reference checking process for new employees. Hiringcue’s solution aims to bring about an automated experience to the tedious and very time-consuming task of checking references for potential hires.

It takes less than sixty seconds to check references with Hiringcue, which is a welcome reprieve from the traditional method of spending hours on the phone trying to make contact with referees. After the reference check is complete, users will receive a full reference report that condenses all essential information for ease of use.

The Hiringcue platform creates a less time consuming and much more cost-effective experience for all companies looking to hire new staff.

In addition to reference checking, Hiringcue also has a number of excellent features, including:

• Pre-interview Questionnaires
• Interview debriefs
• Passive candidate database
• Competitive pricing
• Extremely speedy processes

Hiringcue brings speed, value, and security to the hiring process. The platform’s automated  method of reference checking delivers data-driven candidate insights, allowing your organization to make a fast, smart, and confident hiring decision. The days of traditional reference checking are long over!

Ready to take the plunge? Check out Hiringcue’s affordable pricing today!

Paulo Nunes

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