Reference Checks

Reference Checks are mandatory in Australia. As well, references known as “back door” references which are better explained as being references the professional has not approved of or those that are not consented too are illegal.

As a Recruiter or as a Head-Hunter you must collect at least two professional references. For a Recruiter this is a great opportunity to expand that realm of influence and to expand your network either with other likeminded professionals that are potentially looking for work, or even to develop new business contacts. It’s also a golden opportunity to further gather industry information and knowledge.

To the end client though the Reference Check itself is integral to the process of hiring a new employee and when we come to the reference itself, it is only as effective as the person who's taking the reference.

As a Recruiter/Head-Hunter you’ll often walk into a firm and be given a standardised “Reference Check” form. The limitation of this approach is its lack of specificity. It comes down to questions and the line or approach which you as the person taking the reference take. If you have a 10 questions sheet which you use on every single reference I would probably have a look at what you’re doing. You're conducting a reference based upon that persons professional involvement with a particular company - why not structure your reference questions to reflect this.

Also, although it's common to stick with the referees as provided by the professional without question; why not steer this process?  Ask the professional for references that "you" think are applicable for the job at hand i.e. Leadership, ask for somebody that has reported into them, speak to their manager (though that's pretty standard), Business Development ... ask to speak to a client, manage subcontractors ... ask to speak to a subcontractor.

If at “ABC” company the professional had been involved in or led “X” project and this is listed on the professionals resume why not structure your questions around this; think leadership and supervisory skill, technical competence, even how they dealt with pressure as pertaining to that actual working environment.

The questions that you can ask are ongoing and will depend on your industry and the specific role but I’m sure that you’re starting to see the big picture that with a little creativity not only are references a great marketing and business development tools but they’re also incredibly valuable when further qualifying professionals during the hiring process.

Don't be afraid to get creative on a reference, exploring to a new level what is stated by the professional in their resume and the referees that they provide but also challenge yourself as a professional. The end client and probably the referee will appreciate you taking the time to be thorough.

Staff Retention

I will venture that a proactive approach is always better then the reactive approach. Take for instance the assumption that when someone leaves that they’re just looking for a bigger pay cheque. More often than not companies will go straight to the purse with their counter offers and to be honest that’s to be expected; especially when you look at your capabilities and resourcing only to find that you’re going to come up short, or that it will effectively take months to replace that professional.

The cost to the firm though of paying attention to details such as working culture and environment, employee satisfaction and happiness in the workplace; is minimal when compared to hiring replacement staff and taking into account the costs attributed in both money and man-hours in getting the replacement to the same level of the recently departed professional.

Having a workplace and culture where staff will not to leave and by making your firm such a choice employer of repute that your staff are recommending their friends, former colleagues and peers is the ideal scenario. They the employees are then ambassadors of your firm, they’re proud of their workplace.

There are companies out there like this; I’ve encountered them. It’s not a pipedream, a holy grail or some form of utopia. I’m a head hunter and not too bad at it; so often I’ll be ringing through reception desks and talking directly to professionals at their desks. One or two companies that I know of, their staff are so well looked after that it’s a call which is often met with a polite “thanks but no thanks”. So it can be done, it just takes a bit of time and patience to find and appoint the right people to key positions within your business, then watch your business grow with high calibre staff walking through your doors, or wanting to be apart of this little clique that you’ve seemingly developed.

Some key areas to address with professionals and their retention would be: recognition, responsibility and autonomy, encouraging a challenging and supportive workplace, as well as rewarding and recognizing innovation.

Also, be real and focus on a work & life balance if that’s what you promote, often it’s treated as a catch phrase but really there’s little substance behind it; some family orientated professionals will also respond well to more flexible hours, picking up the kids or dropping them off. Most importantly I think is to ensure that people feel they are a part of something big - namely being your business.

Certainly money is an important factor and it’s probably the easiest way for an employee to gauge how they’re valued within the business and industry at large, so many sites now have salary calculators; industry affiliated associations, recruitment sites. It’s well worth keeping abreast of changes within the industry and what’s being offered for various levels of staff.

An exit interview is highly recommended but oddly it’s not as often done as you would think, or the people involved are not the people that can take the feedback back to the business to promote change should that be required. If you’re losing staff it’s important to know why? If you’re losing a valued professional it’s also important to understand why? Some things are for whatever reason out of your control, so don’t take it personally if someone walks out of your door … and yes, this is common too; especially in smaller firms. We’ll go further into exit interviews in a separate post in the very near future, as it is a very important tool when considering your staff retention.

Until then though I’ll leave you with this. Good staff are worth fighting for; so what if they’ve signed an offer letter with your competitor it’s not done and dusted until they’re sitting in a seat at the desk on the other side of town … dig your heels in a bit, roll up your sleeves and prepare to get your hands dirty.