Maximize Your Reference Checks

I got a reference phone call yesterday by a temporary staffing firm who was inquiring about someone who worked for a previous company I was involved in.  I’m not sure why I got this call, nor was I expecting it.  The poor woman on the phone sounded exhausted and defeated even before she asked me the first question.  I found myself wondering, “What box on a piece of paper is she trying to simply check off to say she’s completed this task?”

Two weeks ago I tweeted (are you following me?  I’m @HireBetterCEO) about how significant we’ve found Reference Checks to be in our evaluation process for prospective employees both for the Hire Better Team and for roles within our Clients’ companies.  The statement I made was that we typically can glean about 20% of what we learn about someone through the reference process.  I got a lot of questions about this statistic.  I wish I could take credit but it was actually Geoff Smart who was the first person who helped me figure out that references are a lot more than just asking about dates of employment and whether or not someone is rehire-able.

Here are some examples of what we’re seeking during a reference call (and don’t be shy – we ask for permission but don’t apologize for wanting these calls to take up to 30 minutes):

• Why did you hire him?
• What were the top 2 or 3 biggest Outcomes that the Previous Manager hired John Doe to achieve?
• Did he achieve them?
• How much direction did he need at the beginning and during their tenure to be successful?  (a GREAT question for both micro-managers & hands-off managers)
• What things did you witness that frustrated John?
• How did he mature during his time with you?
• What advice would you have for me, as his new manager, for on-boarding him effectively and getting him productive quickly?
• Likewise, what advice would you have for the people that will report to him to maximize their relationship with him?

If you’ve ever asked a previous manager, “What were John Doe’s weaknesses?” and gotten the answer of, “You know, I can’t think of any…” it’s because you’re not asking correctly.  Everyone has weaknesses and if you’re not validating them in the reference process you’re going to significantly slow down your on-boarding process.  A better technique: document the self-admitted weaknesses of a candidate during their interview and then re-position the question that you pose to the previous manager to sound more like this, “Mr. Manager, John shared with me that he felt like his biggest shortfall while working with you was that he struggled to prioritize his time and that it resulted in him missing some pretty key deadlines.  Would you agree?”.  By showing that previous manager that you’ve established enough rapport to have acquired this kind of information from the candidate, you’ll find that the previous manager is much more willing to talk not only about that stated shortfall but also about other areas of weakness and, if you’re really good, follow-up by asking, “How did you see John address this weakness while he worked for you?”

And one last tip: during your interview with a prospective employee, ask them who their previous managers were.  Write down those names & titles and then, when you’re ready to move to the next step of evaluation with that candidate ask them to make an introduction that former manager on your behalf.  We found it’s even better if the candidate CC’s you on the email to that previous manager.  Brad Smart (Geoff’s Dad and Author of Topgrading) calls this process “Truth Serum“.  I couldn’t agree more!

Finally, a parting shot meant as a challenge: because you’re now empowered to get so much more information out of the reference process, are you comfortable telling a prospective candidate who says, “My previous employer has a policy of not providing references” that YOUR company has a policy of not hiring people who can’t introduce you to their previous manager as a reference?  In all the years I’ve been doing this, I’ve NEVER seen a situation where an A-Player hasn’t maintained a great relationship with their managers of the prior 10 years.

Tags: @hirebetterceo, A-Player, A-Players, Brad Smart, conduct reference checks with past managers, gepff smart, hire better, hiring, Interview, Reference Check, smarttopgrading, threat of reference checks, Topgrading, TORC, tweets, Twitter, who the book