3 Essential Steps to Doing a Thorough Reference Check In my experience, one of the most critical steps when hiring is making sure there is significant time spent on reference checking. At Greylock, we like to say that the ultimate determinant of fit between an executive and a company should be based heavily on reference checking. Interviewing and spending time with a candidate are, of course, vitally important. But, conducting a thorough reference-checking process is the best predictor of success/failure when looking at a candidate. Because reference checking often takes place near the end of what can be a lengthy interview process for a much-needed hire, companies often do cursory checks – hoping that “good enough” will suffice. In fact, a thorough reference check can be the difference between a successful hire, a bust or even a missed opportunity. While there are many nuances to doing a thorough reference check (too long to discuss in this post), there are three that stand out to me as the most underused – and which I would argue are the most essential: •Asking the right questions, especially to the references your candidate supplies. •Sourcing your own independent references from people you trust. •Tempering your reaction to the information you receive so you avoid jumping to conclusions based on any one person’s comments. Asking References the Right Questions You can still get important and candid information about a candidate from the references they provide – you just have to ask the right questions. That goes for references from other industry sources as well (more on that below). First, you should have a game plan going into the reference discussion. What are the areas you want to focus on? What are the specific questions you want to ask? You are looking for weaknesses as well as positives so make sure you have a plan to find them! Questions should focus on the most important areas of concern: relevant knowledge needed to do the job, their management, leadership and interpersonal skills, and their overall personality and behavior. Ask open-ended questions and get specific examples (e.g., “How would you describe the person’s leadership skills?”), not yes or no questions. Most importantly, don’t settle for vague answers such as “He/she is an experienced leader.” If you get an answer like that, ask the reference for an example of the candidate’s leadership skills in a specific situation. If the reference can’t think of one, then you should seriously question the relevancy of the reference. As much as possible, always seek specific information about the candidate’s work and actions rather than generalities. Leveraging Your Network to Find Independent References Don’t just rely on the references supplied by the candidate. Use your social networks, especially LinkedIn, to see whom you know in common with the candidate, and reach out to them for their insights. In addition, broaden the pool of reference checkers to include other senior members of your team and your Board so you can leverage their networks as well. People you know and trust are more likely to provide candid answers. Tempering Your Reaction to the Information You Receive It’s hard to predict anyone’s failure or success in a given role, but I’ve found that references tend to be overly kind during a reference call. Roughly speaking, if you downplay positive feedback by 30% and amplify negative feedback by the same amount, it should give you a pretty good picture of the candidate. A complete reference check using both the names provided by the candidate and others in the industry will give you a much clearer picture of the person – both their strengths and their weaknesses. It is not enough to only do 3-4 close checks. You may weigh certain references more heavily than others, but talking to an appropriate number of bosses, peers, and direct reports will enable you to get a comprehensive view of an individual. This will help you decide whether to make the hire, and if you do, it will provide you with useful information to help you manage and support the individual. Reference checking is complex and while there are many other factors to think about, incorporating these 3 steps will help you and your team be more successful in your hiring process.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 17:19:39 +0000
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