How do you hire? Have you asked yourself that question lately? Are you having difficulty with turnover costing your company thousands of dollars?
The answer is simple: Take a long look at how you are hiring!
REFERENCES – SIGNPOSTS ON ROAD TO HIRING THE BEST
The truth is a defense against a charge of defamation. An honest, specific evaluation of an employee’s work history and an accurate appraisal of his or her ability can be easily defended.
References are a critical part of the hiring process. If you receive job employment references, you are severely limited in your ability to identify top performers.
Yet statistics consistently show employers check references of about one-forth, or less, of the job candidates. Of those who check references, they generally check only one or two. If you don’t believe this statistic, think about the number of people who have left your company and how often you receive a call to check references.
Considering the lack of performance verification, is there any wonder applicants claim skills and experiences they don’t have? It should be no surprise if an employer discovers a new employee has the same type of problem at this job as he or she had with a previous job.
It takes little time to do a thorough job checking references, and it can prevent hiring an employee who will be a time-consuming management problem, a drain on profits, or even a liability. Past job performance is usually the best indication of future job performance.
Many companies don’t give references because of the fear of litigation. If they do, they tend to only give dates of employment and job title, which I call the name, rank, and serial number approach. But even this minimalist approach may pose risks: If the same employer later gives someone else a glowing reference, a person who got only a bare-bones reference could claim discrimination.
Nor is the no-reference approach entirely safe. In a landmark case, an insurance company employee with an excellent work history was terminated in a dispute over payment of legitimate business expenses. Her supervisor asked her to resubmit her expense report with reduced expenses to correspond to the expense budget. She refused and the supervisor fired her for gross insubordination. The company decided not to give her any type of job reference.
As you can imagine, without a reference she had difficulty finding work in the insurance industry. As a result, she sued her former employer and collected for defamation and lost wages. The court found that “no reference could be construed as a negative reference.”
Since it is important to be able to provide and obtain references, businesses must find ways to give references without exposing themselves to litigation. To stay out of the trouble, businesses should follow several principles. Tell the truth. The truth is a defense against a charge of defamation. An honest, specific evaluation of an employee’s work history and an accurate appraisal of his or her ability can be easily defended. However, this puts a burden on the employer to keep accurate performance data. Ensure the information is given to only those with a need to know.
When giving a reference, stick to factual statements about the former employee’s actual job performance. Avoid generalities and subjective judgments. Limit comments to the specific skills or attitudes that are job related. Don’t allow references to be colored by personal feelings.
Be sure to apply all policies concerning references consistently. Don’t favor one group or position over another. Employers who act in good faith, in most states, have a “qualified privilege” to communicate an accurate appraisal of performance even if it otherwise might be considered defamatory. Remember the truth, objective and documented, is permissible.
Getting references requires just as much care as giving references. There are specific techniques and skills for getting the knowledgeable people to give information about past job performance of the candidate.
First, obtain permission from the candidate to check his or her references. It is best if permission is written or included with the job application. Be sure to ask for a number of names so you can avoid “hand-picked” references, such as close friends or former co-workers.
I like to ask for references of at least three former bosses, three former coworkers, and, if the candidate’s job involved supervision, three former subordinates. That way I can easily find someone who will give accurate, detailed information. Seek out people who observed the actual job performance of the candidate. If the job involved customer contact, you can ask for a list of customers and permission to contact them.
To check the references of a current employer, you can ask for names of those who are no longer employed with the company or would speak confidentially. In today’s business environment there most likely will be individuals who have left the company and who are familiar with his or her performance.
If a prospective employee cannot provide names of people who know his or her work history, this should be a cause for concern. Generally, top performing individuals not only know who can describe their work performance, but also are very willing to assist you in locating them. Remember, no reference, or a lukewarm reference, is a “red flag” and should be clarified before hiring.
Those you hire today are your future performers. Hire those who will be top performers.
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Wayne Outlaw is President of the Outlaw Group Inc., Mt. Pleasant, S.C. He is author of Smart Staffing: How to Hire, Reward and Keep Top Employees for Your Growing Company. He can be reached at 800.347.9361.
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