Checking references should be a crucial part of your assessment and screening strategy when evaluating candidates for a new hire. In fact, there are few things as important as being able to validate that your potential employee was a top achiever. Although there are, of course, exceptions to this point, much research holds that one of the best predictors of future behavior is past behavior. To that point, being able to check a candidate’s reference before hiring them to verify what kind of employee they were is sure helpful in the hiring process. We mentioned earlier the possibility of the candidate’s BFF Charles also being his direct supervisor. While this isn’t often the case, a candidate’s direct supervisor is the #1 ideal person to contact when conducting an employment reference check. It might seem equally beneficial to gather references from your candidates from their colleagues and other co-workers who can speak to specific traits, values, or how they worked with the team and their clients, but none are as telling and beneficial to your decision-making process as a reference from a previous, direct supervisor or manager. Personal references are typically less objective, anyway, and don’t offer the same insight as one from a direct supervisor. Why You need to do Reference Checks Perhaps the biggest source of friction is the time and effort required to do a reference check. A company looking to hire a candidate will need to make calls and send emails to former employers and other reference providers and wait for the follow-up. The long cycle of calling, leaving voicemails, and following up takes a toll on both the hiring company but also the companies providing references. Reference providers in particular have little incentive to act quickly, since helping former employees provides no benefit, and due to the common fears described above, they may actually perceive possible harm from providing negative information in response to reference check questions. Additionally, modern background checks involve online research to verify claims made by the candidate. Increasingly, the answers to many personal reference check questions (including off-limits questions) can be found through social media searches. Employers who perform social media searches have to avoid the appearance of bias when using this readily available information. At the most basic level, a simple set of reference check questions can be used to confirm a candidate’s honesty. If the candidate believes with certainty that their future employer will actually be speaking with their references the candidate will be significantly more truthful during the interview process. In a competitive job market, pressure is higher than ever to exaggerate or completely fabricate details on resumes, job applications, and interviews. Because candidates know that the probability of a full professional reference check is low, there is little risk if candidates stretch details in their work history, even if the most cursory reference check questions would quickly reveal this dishonesty. A small detail such as changing a job title or changing the start and end date of a job would likely go unnoticed, but a 5-minute call to the HR department of a candidate’s previous employer would quickly confirm or refute it. Establishing a pattern of honesty or dishonesty at this stage of the process serves as a reliable indicator of future patterns of honesty once employed. An employee willing to lie on a resume or job application will likely be willing to lie to customers or superiors after hire. Selecting the right personal reference check questions will also help you confirm that a potential employee has the right qualifications for the job. Although it is not an exact science, employment verification at least confirms that candidates actually performed work in roles comparable to the current job opening. Confirming an applicant worked in a particular position at another company for a significant period of time gives you the confidence they were more likely to be a competent contributor at that company, therefore he or she can be reasonably expected to be competent at your company. In addition to confirming employment start and end dates and positions, it is possible, though not guaranteed, to get salary information. Base salary, bonus, and benefits information supplied by a former employer are invaluable when entering negotiations when an offer is made. Keep in mind that some states such as California prohibit you from asking about past salary history or basing salary offers on past salary information. In the absence of objectively verified information from a neutral third party, employers are forced to rely on the word of candidates, who are motivated to present themselves in the most positive light.