How to Respond to a Reference Check
Recently, a client company received a reference request for a former employee who had not done well in her most recent job. Yet, in earlier roles with the company, she had apparently performed well. This sparked the question about how to respond to a request for a reference. After typing about a five paragraph response, it dawned on me that I needed to make this question into an article since I covered the topic of reference checking nowhere else on my site.
I trust you'll find my suggestions about reference checking helpful. I'd really like you to share your thoughts about reference checking in "comments" below. Am I on target with my recommendations?
Responding to a reference check request can be tricky. Fear of reprisal and lawsuits keeps many employers from responding at all. These reference check recommendations will help you respond reasonably to reference checking requests while protecting the legitimate interests of your company and your current employees.
More Reference Checking Resources
- Prep Your References for a Reference Check.
- Reference Checking Format and Recommended Questions.
- More Management and Work Relationship Tips.
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Comments
HR responds to all references and uses the past evaluations for response.
HR confirms dates and position, no pay info without written release. Can call dept. directly for performance info – I am sure it is all positive, no one leaves!
Several comments .
1 Size of employer – what you write may be fine for a large employer, but wouldn’t necessarily work for a small or medium (SME).
In my own case, we have less than 20 employees – so, the HR v Management role dilemma just doesn’t apply.
2 Sector – My employer is in ChildCare (in Scotland)
If a Ref Request is received for an employee wanting to go to another ChildCare employment, we have to be very honest – for the same types of reasons as in your paragraph about potentially violent employees. If there is any known, or suspected, problem, this has got to be advised otherwise the backlash is on you and not the “new” employer.
3 For an employee leaving Childcare to work in a totally different field – there still has to be very careful attention to information and wording.
4 I take on board your idea of an employee having to sign the Reference Request – this should help to validate it for the potential referee.
I will be discussing this with my manager on Thursday, when I see her.
There are a few changes we want to make to our Reference Request Form, so this could be incorporated at the same time.
5 How much importance do other employers attach as to whether the potential referee has actually been asked permission to be used for a reference request?
I find this a very interesting thought – and this is one of the new items I wish to include in our revised Reference Request Form.
6 Do you (or any other employers) have anything to say about giving a reference when a request comes out of nowhere?
I’ve just had one, and have discussed it with my manager today. So I’ll have to try to formulate some sort of reply to send off tomorrow.
7 Have you, or any other employers, got any formal procedures not only about reference requests, but about providing a reference either as an employer reference or as a character reference?
We require at least one of each.
It would be interesting to hear from anyone else in this respect.
I would really appreciate some feed back – as, no doubt, will everyone else with comments.
My final comment –
in this day and age, where HR seems to be the be all and end all – of everything – where are we, the SME, supposed to go.
Many of the HR expectations amongst employees or management within larger employments seem to me to be very ?blinkered?
Sort of: “I dont know about this – send it to HR?!”
Many discussion groups and sites would appear, to me, to have the same sort of attitude.
But for a small employer, this luxury does not exist – everything is much more immediate (because there are no departments to have to, or to be able to, go through).
Obviously what you send out has to be geared to a common denominator. Just – sometimes – it would be nice to read something geared to the small rather than the large.
Thank you for this opportunity. I really look forward to your reply, and to any other input.
Chrisitne
Scotland
We are a small employer and this is the process we use.
We have the departing employee sign a simple document that lists entry and exit salary and title, dates of service and reason for leaving. The employee can add comments that, if true, we will also share. The employee gets a copy and knows that is what we’ll give out for a reference check.
We’re considering adding a signature line and text to our exit interviews authorizing us to provide specific information on the exiting employee and informing them of what we will release. Any suggestions?
I think it is positively ridiculous for a company to recind an offer because the candidate’s former employer won’t speak with them. Either there was another reason for recinding the offer or the bank’s policies are archaic and in dire need of updating. Many employers (as your poll results indicate so far) give very little information due to fear of libel and slander claims. Not only that, subjective references are just that: subjective. One manager may have thought the former employee was average, another may have thought they were top notch. Who’s performance review do you go by? It’s easier to just stick with dates, title and sometimes salary (I only verify it, I don’t volunteer it). The way I get around our policy is as follows: Bob leaves but was a fantastic employee. Potential employer calls about Bob. I say “Oh Bob! How is he? Tell him Sally in HR says hello. Ok it looks like Bob was with us from January 1, 2002 until March 3rd 2006. He was our Customer Service Manager.” No policy violated but the potential employer gets the message: Bob is a great candidate. Of course when it comes to a not so great former employee I just do the “Bob was here from this date to that date as a Customer Service Manager”.
I believe it is appropriate that past employers only give out dates of employment, and clearly state that is their policy in order to dissuade an implication of negative past performance that that they are unwilling to talk about.
Here are some reasons for my thinking:
1) Growing legal exposure, some of it justified.
2) Who is to say a person’s performance in one company culture will predict their performance in another? This is not true.
3) Many negative evaluations end up being a conflict between a Manager and their Employee. Will the company then negatively affect the person’s chance at another job because they couldn’t get along with their boss?
I believe it’s very dangerous, especially in large corporations where HR departments have the opportunity to say leading statements about people they don’t know, to say anything more than the minimum.
Many famous people who got fired went on to have great careers. Why would any company pretend they have very much ‘useful’ subjective information to pass on at all. I would suggest it’s better to just keep quiet. You may be getting ready to badmouth your next owner, or on the other hand, make it harder for someone to stay in their house.