Bosses Must Perform Better Reference Checks

In the wake of the corporate scandals of the past few years, there has been a renewed emphasis on corporate ethics, resulting in more transparent accounting practices and more accountable boards of directors. The focus has been on re-examining processes and ensuring that checks and balances are in place. Not much is being said about the checking of the references of those who occupy leadership positions in organizations. This was made very apparent to me when I met an individual. I’ll call him Harry Jones. His resume and cover letter requested the opportunity to meet with me about any potential opportunities that would match his qualifications. Harry’s background was impressive: undergraduate degree from Oxford, Harvard MBA, a long stint at a prestigious strategy-consulting firm. I arranged a meeting, reasoning that his European background and education, coupled with his North American work experience, were a good fit for the project needs of clients. The meeting went well. We had some common acquaintances. Harry was very knowledgeable about the issues related to the available projects. Back at my office, I checked our firm’s database for any previous contacts with Harry. I discovered that a colleague had interviewed Harry previously. However, that Harry Jones was Australian, residing in the U. S. and still working for the prestigious strategy-consulting firm. This seemed odd to me because the person I met was definitely European, which he had confirmed at the meeting. I decided to contact the strategy-consulting firm that Harry had listed as a former employer. To my surprise, I was connected to Harry Jones — the real Harry Jones, that is, who was obviously still employed at the consulting firm. My Harry was an impostor. The ‘real’ Harry confirmed that he and the mystery man had been acquaintances. The latter had ‘borrowed’ parts of Harry’s resume; he had also had fake business cards printed that listed an address in an empty office building. After more phone calls, I was able to confirm that almost all of the information on the resume of the fake Harry was false. A little more digging revealed that he had managed to fool at least one large consulting firm into hiring him for a brief period before his lies were exposed. With an increased emphasis placed on corporate responsibility and ethics, those who hire must be sure that the candidate they offer up is who they say they are. Checking references is the first step toward ensuring candidates really have the credentials they claim. Reference-checking is one of the most neglected elements in candidate selection. Too often, the excitement of hiring a new executive overwhelms the desire to look closely at the individual's past. As a result, references are either poorly checked or not checked at all. There are two types of references — informal and formal. Informal references usually arise when the interviewer and candidate identify people they both know. Informal references are invaluable to obtain an initial perspective on the candidate, their capabilities and potential issues that might preclude hiring. However, the hiring decision must be based on more than informal information. When the recruitment process is at the advanced stage and an offer of employment is imminent, a formal check of references is essential. This involves detailed discussions about the candidate’s performance at previous jobs, both with references provided by the candidate and with others. The candidate’s references will likely provide positive comments. More reliable references will come from others in the organization who are trustworthy, know the candidate well and have an eye for talent. A good interviewer will identify such additional references and inform the candidate of the desire to contact them. It is important the candidate be able to give those references a ‘heads-up’ that the interviewer will be calling. Who should check references? If no prior relationship exists, then the person who has met and interviewed the candidate should contact the reference. An alternative to internal reference checking is to hire a third party. Although this may save time and possible frustration, it may not always be the most successful alternative. If the person conducting the reference check has not met the candidate and does not have interview results available, valuable information may be missed. Questions should be closely related to the challenges that the successful candidate may face in their new employment situation. An open-ended question always elicits the best answers; particularly if followed by closed-ended and focused questions. Questions should relate back to any information gleaned from the interview with the candidate. For example, if the new role may involve some significant stress, ask the reference for examples of how the candidate dealt with stressful situations in the past. Responses to other questions, whether positive or negative, should be consistent from different sources of references. Until a common thread or consistent responses are apparent, more references should be sought. When information is obtained from one reference it should also be tested with others. For instance, if work ethic is identified by one reference, it should then be cross-referenced with another to eliminate the possible influence of a personality clash. This is important to manage when using references not provided by the candidate. It’s important to know that negative reference information doesn’t necessarily mean the candidate is a bad fit for the position. On the contrary, negative candidate reactions or attributes in one situation may be a positive aspect for their future role. For example, the candidate may not do well in a highly structured work situation. However, if the person is being considered for a position without much structure, then the otherwise negative information might be considered a positive. The challenge is to determine the candidate's strengths and weaknesses. Identified weaknesses needn’t be an obstacle to hiring. They can be shared with the candidate; a post-hiring development plan can be arranged with a view to correcting the concern. Doing your homework after the interview can make the difference between finding a successful leader or ending up with a Harry Jones.

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