How to Hire Toolkit 5. Reference Check Questions

Transcription

1 PURPOSE Reference checks is an interview of someone who worked with the candidate to validate information in the candidates application It is also important to uncover opportunities or challenges that would be worth considering when making the hiring decision Reference checks should be conducted with a previous Manager that the candidate directly reported to as part of their job Ideally, the reference check is conducted with their current/last Manager, a recent Manager or a Manager the they reported to while performing a similar role to the one that they are applying for Best practice is to complete two reference checks for each candidate application to one role Reference checks should be completed after an interview and prior to making an offer to the candidate You need to consider the time of the referee to respond to the most critical questions (which have been bolded, just in case their time is limited, you can cover the essential ones) As with any tool, add, modify or remove questions as required and also probe for further details if necessary Make sure you check with local labour laws to ensure that you do not discriminate or ask inappropriate questions REFERENCE CHECK QUESTIONS Candidate Name: Role Applying For: Reference Check Date: Reference Name: Reference Role: Reference Company: Contact Phone Number: Candidate Role At This Company: Start & End Date Provided by Candidate: Page 1 of Balancing Australia Pty Ltd

2 INTRODUCTION Introduce yourself - your name, position and the company that you re calling from and that Candidate Name provided you with your contact details to be a reference for the role of Role that they have applied for. Ask them if they have about minutes available that you can ask them a few questions. Is now a good time? o Yes continue o No schedule a time to speak later QUESTIONS What was your professional relationship with the candidate? Manager/Supervisor Other -. If he/she directly reported to you, how long did they report to you for? Can you confirm the start and end date of their employment with the company? Start Date -.. End Date -.. What was the position that he/she had within the organisation? What were the main duties and responsibilities of this position? Page 2 of Balancing Australia Pty Ltd

3 How well did he/she meet the expectations of the position? How would you describe their attitude to work? How does he/she work under pressure/stress? How would you describe their level of technical skills and knowledge? How would you describe his/her interpersonal skills? Page 3 of Balancing Australia Pty Ltd

4 How would you describe his/her ability to work independently or in a team? How would you describe his/her time management and organisational skills? What is the best way to motivate and manage him/her? (e.g. micro manage, give autonomy etc.) What was his/her major strengths? What was some areas of improvement for him/her? Page 4 of Balancing Australia Pty Ltd

5 Why did he/she leave the company (or why are they considering leaving)? Would you consider rehiring them if you had the opportunity? Why/why not? (This is the most important question for you to ask) Yes No Are there any other comments that you would like to add? CLOSING Thank the referee for their time and valuable input into your recruitment process. You will be providing feedback to candidate shortly. POST REFERENCE CHECK After the reference check, you need to consider: If the referee validated the information that was provided by the candidate Whether you need to confirm anything else prior to progressing the successful candidate onto the next stage Page 5 of Balancing Australia Pty Ltd

6 of the recruitment process/offer stage If there were any major concerns that would prompt you to question whether you should hire the candidate or not Page 6 of Balancing Australia Pty Ltd