In the previous issue we established why we take references, who to talk to at organisations for the references and how to establish if the former employer would have the candidate back if the former employer isn't willing or able to confirm any more than the dates worked by the candidate.
In this issue we look at the questions to ask in order to obtain a comprehensive reference.
How To Ensure A Thorough And Detailed Reference Can Be Taken:
When a person provides a referee they are expecting that you will be given a good reference. Usually this expectation is justified because the candidate has impressed the former/current employer or colleague, but you need to be sure.
The person providing the reference on a former employee or colleague may have reservations about the candidate but will be concerned about the potential implications of giving a poor reference. Litigation and potential confidentiality concerns are real and you need to be able to make the referee confident that any information they impart will be handled with care and discretion.
Having introduced yourself to the referee and explained the reason for the call, I suggest making a statement along the following lines:
“This reference will be treated confidentially between you and I only. I would really appreciate your candour and honest appraisal of X so that I can make the right decision with the appointment. If there are areas that are negative about X and result in me deciding not to make the appointment, I will advise X that we have hired a candidate who was a better match and leave it at that, so that our conversation remains confidential.”
The aim of this statement is to put the referee at ease and allow you to receive the answers that will help you establish whether you should be making the appointment or not. Even if you obtain a poor reference you must still comply with the assurance you made to the referee.
The Reference:
I use a generic reference form when talking to referees as I find that helps me structure the conversation and achieve the results I need.
The form can be downloaded here.
The questions I use are designed to provide me with a broad overview of the candidate and their expertise. Additional questions regarding the specific activities and behaviours that you are looking for in your candidate can be added to the ones I've suggested, so that you obtain the detailed answers you are looking for.
How To Obtain Detailed Information When Taking The Reference:
It is important to realise that the questions I use when taking references and any additional questions that you ask should each be mini-conversations. You want to avoid asking the question, receiving a one word answer or a small statement and moving onto the next question.
Try to use 'open' questions so that “yes” or “no” are not suitable answers. Ideally, in response to your questions a statement will be made and if you then ask a follow-up question about the statement the referee will be providing the detail you require.
(This works in much the same way as the probing during the interview, discussed earlier, where you continue to probe until you are confident that you are not making assumptions about the candidate.)
Framing questions as 'closed' questions can provide a misleading reference. For instance, asking “Did X have any weaknesses?” makes it very easy for the referee to say "no" and to not provide the additional information you require, despite you setting up the conversation correctly at the outset.
That said, if you have specific behavioural questions then these can be 'closed' questions requiring "yes" or "no" answers. For instance: “Did the candidate carry out the (specified) task?”
"Yes" or "no" is the answer you want. If the answer is "yes" then you can probe about the candidate’s particular role in the activity and how they performed it. If the answer is "no", then establish why it is a "no" if the interview provided information which led you to believe it should be a "yes".
Pauses:
Quite often you will ask a question and will be met with silence. It is important not to interject until the referee says something. For instance, “What were X’s weaknesses?”
often generates a silence, but this pause is thinking time and means that the referee is engaged in helping you with the reference.
Generally there are two types of answer that you will receive, either "Sorry, I can’t think of any weaknesses", or some specific concerns will be revealed. Interrupting the pause could produce an answer of "there are no weaknesses" and you won't have obtained a true opinion about your candidate, again despite having set up the conversation properly at the start.
Additional Questions:
If you are taking the reference, it is likely that you are positive about the candidate and are looking to make the appointment subject to good references. If the referee has provided a good reference then ask additional questions along the lines of:
”What was the most effective way of managing X for you?”, orThese additional questions can provide great insight in to how to engage well with the candidate when they start with you and how to get the most out of them.
“If you wanted (name the task) carried out, how would you manage X to achieve the result?”
How Long Does It Take To Take A Good Reference?
Normally a good conversation about the candidate will last a minimum of 10 minutes and by the end of the conversation you will have detailed answers about the tasks and behaviours. If the referee is talkative then the conversation can last for 20 minutes and will usually end with you being very comfortable with the candidate and having no further questions.
Finishing The Reference:
Needless to say, once you've asked all your questions, be gracious and thank the referee for being so forthcoming and let them know that you will tell the candidate that they provided an excellent reference if they did; or that if you choose not to make the hire that no reference to this conversation will be made.
Next Time:
Making the job offer.
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