Gathering recommendations about a candidate: algorithm and pitfalls

There is a lot of discussion about collecting references for a candidate. Is it necessary or a waste of time? Let's try to understand the article with the help of an expert - Ivanna Bondarchuk, Co-owner and Idea Generator of CleverLand, Creative HR Solutions.

Searching for and selecting personnel for every company is a complex and responsible process. Imagine that you hired the wrong person for a senior position. What are the consequences for the company? How high is the cost of a mistake? What is the responsibility of the recruiter? Here is a partial list of possible risks:

• Demotivation of the team.
• Dismissal of important employees who decided to respond during this period to the day-to-day job offers on LinkedIn from recruiters.
• Financial and time costs of hiring a new professional.
• Loss of training time for new hires who have left during this time, and the introduction of a new professional.
• Reputational risks: both for the HR brand and the company as a whole.
• Failure to meet project deadlines.
• Customer dissatisfaction.
• A drop in the company's financial performance due to missed deadlines and poor performance of a demotivated team.

And this is not all the consequences.

Accordingly, the practice of collecting references from former employers is very common when making a decision on a candidate, especially for a managerial position.

The benefits of collecting recommendations: 3 important points

1. With the right approach to this process, sometimes quite interesting facts from the candidates' lives come to light: theft, inappropriate behavior, negligence, or, for example, the fact that a person held a different position than the one indicated in the resume. Think of a joke: "I successfully managed a team of six people until our manager noticed."

2. You can verify your opinion or suspicion: whether you have studied the candidate well, whether he or she has been honest with you.

3. The recommender can tell you more about what you were unable to find out or what the candidate did not say. For example, he forgot to mention that he initiated an educational program in the company that was successfully implemented by his colleagues. Did not consider it necessary, significant, forgot, or lacked time during the interview.

Key risks

Subjectivity. You can't please everyone. There is also a bias towards a person due to competition, envy, for example. And vice versa: a good person is not a profession. We all know colleagues who spend half of their working hours talking, drinking coffee, and organizing joint after-work gatherings. And it is unlikely that anyone would say anything bad about them - they are good people!

People change, both for the better and for the worse. A year ago, a person could have been peaceful and hardworking, and then, due to overwork or other factors, he or she "snapped," for example, started stealing or occasionally skipping work. Or vice versa: a person could have been irresponsible under the influence of youthful maximalism, but became sensible, matured, and became someone to look up to. Time changes a lot.

People behave differently in different companies, departments, and teams. In one team, a person feels like a black sheep, while in another, he or she is a leader. I can give you an example of how I once interviewed a girl who, blushing when asked about the reason for her dismissal, admitted that everyone in the company preached one of the religions/sects (the information was verified through two sources). And she is an atheist, and "curing a fallen soul" was not part of her plans. If she hadn't mentioned it, if she had been ashamed, calling the company, we would hardly have heard that she was a team player.

It is rare for someone to give truly truthful information. The human factor is at work, you don't want to speak negatively about your subordinates or colleagues, and it's not nice to "speak badly behind your back," you want to give yourself a chance to realize yourself elsewhere. Especially if the person has put you on their list of recommendations.

How and from whom to take advice?

The main rule of a recruiter that I want to emphasize is that you should never think for a person. Ask again if you understood the recommender's words correctly. Take recommendations not only from managers, taking into account the information, but also from colleagues. Try not to ask questions that contain an answer.

It is advisable to prepare questions in advance based on what you want to know. In fact, you are only interviewing the recommender about their vision of your candidate. Accordingly, try to build a dialog from the following blocks, known to every recruiter who uses competency-based interviews in their practice:

STAR: Situation - Task - Action - Result.

PARLA: Problem - Action - Result - Learned - Applied.

Also, remember that each person is individual, so the perception of even words and their meanings is unique for everyone. We may understand the essence of one competency differently and evaluate it differently. Try not to forget that communication should be logical and smooth, "in a funnel". Don't be afraid to ask clarifying questions. If it is not convenient for your recommender to devote time to answering, ask when you can call back later.

A list of questions that will be useful:

• Please tell us about the structure of the division/department/team in which Ivan Petrov (let's call him that) worked.
• What position did Ivan Petrov hold in your company?
• What tasks/goals did he have?
• How did he/she cope with the tasks/achieve the goal?
• What indicators were used to evaluate his work?
• Who set the tasks for him? For the top positions, did Ivan set the task himself or did the head office?
• What qualities would you recommend Ivan develop and strengthen? (Answers about his weaknesses in the style of "workaholism" no longer work).
• What qualities do all your employees have in common? Do you think Ivan met them?
• How would you describe Ivan's management/colleagues? How would you describe Ivan's management/colleagues?
• Please give us an example of a successful project, contribution, or achievement of Ivan in your company.
• Was Ivan often absent from work?
• When do you think Ivan is more productive at work: in a team or working independently?
• Please give an example of how Ivan acted in stressful situations. Did he escalate the problem if he could not cope with it on his own?
• Was it planned or possible for him to grow or move within your company?
• Why do you think he left the company?

Now here is an example of communication with a recommender using STAR: Situation - Task - Action - Result.

For example, about the candidate's behavior in stressful situations.

• Give an example of how Ivan acted in stressful situations.
• Why did this situation arise?
• What were his tasks?
• What did he do? Did he escalate the problem if he couldn't handle it on his own?
• How was the situation resolved in the end?

Or we think that the candidate is not a team player. Let's define the indicators and levels of the "ability to work in a team" competency. After all, each vacancy requires a different level. And then we build a dialog based on the indicators that we have prescribed for ourselves, taking into account the required level of development of this competency:

• What qualities do all your employees have in common? Do you think Ivan meets them? (We need to check whether it is possible to be a team player in this company.)
• Could you give us an example of when Ivan acted as an organizer of events aimed at team building? (If so, please provide Action - Result).
• Please give an example of how Ivan combined the command? (Hereinafter - Action - Result).

Feel free to ask additional questions. How did Ivan set the task? Was he someone you could turn to for help? Did he easily establish contact with his subordinates?

PS: important points to keep in mind

1. I strongly discourage taking references without the employee's knowledge. This is a violation of human rights, and we, recruitment specialists, must work professionally.

2. Connect the security service by notifying the candidate of the verification.

3. Ask the candidate to search for additional sources on their own.

4. It is advisable to take the time to find out if the candidate has given the correct contact number. Sometimes they may give the correct name, but the phone number is that of a friend, having previously agreed with him or her.

High-quality employees are still the key to your company's success.