Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2011 | Page 95
notation that you’ll be calling to discuss
the information. When the reference
sees you have provided the applicant’s
release in writing, as well as the applicant’s self-rating, you’ll find you get a
great deal more cooperation.
Experience shows that employers get
useful responses and reliable answers more
than 90 percent of the time when they
use this tool. The technique is effective
because you’re asking references only to
confirm the applicant’s self-ratings—not
to divulge information.
additional strategies
If you still meet with resistance when
using the form to check references, try
these strategies:
• Have the applicant do the legwork. Ask the applicant to call and tell
the reference you’ll be calling, and that
they’d appreciate it if the reference would
cooperate. The applicant’s follow-through
(or lack of it) will tell you a lot about
their viability as an employee.
• Try, try again. If you call the applicant’s former department and are
referred to human resources, try the
0
department again later. You may get
more information if a different person
answers the phone.
• Have someone else try. Sometimes it’s difficult to establish rapport
with a reference. Someone else may be
able to get more information.
• Speak with a former co-worker.
You may get a more willing response from
the applicant’s previous co-workers than
from their former supervisor. (It’s also
possible you may obtain valuable leads
on other potential job candidates. After
all, if the applicant you’re checking on
was unhappy enough to leave, chances
are someone else may be too.)
• Appeal to the person; don’t think
of them as just a “reference.” If you
have established a good rapport with the
person on the phone, but they will not
give you any information, you could try
this approach: “I understand you may
not want to discuss this, but if you could,
what would you tell me?” It may sound
too simple, but it does work occasionally.
Whatever you do, don’t give up or
pass on getting reference information. If
you don’t get any cooperation and then
hire the person, document your inability
to get meaningful references and keep
the records in the employee’s file.
Also, take a moment to consider your
own policy on references. As employers, we owe it to our employees and the
publics we serve to hire decent, ethical,
safety-conscious employees. One of the
only ways to do this is by sharing information with one another about former
employees.
When you hire new people, ask them
to sign a release that, should they leave,
allows you to give references when asked.
If every employer would adopt this procedure, negligent hiring lawsuits would soon
be only a footnote in law school texts.
Mel Kleiman is a consultant, author, and Certified
Speaking Professional on
strategies for hiring and
retaining the best employees.
He is president of Humetrics,
a developer of systems, training processes, and
tools for recruiting, selecting, and retaining
the best. You can reach him at 713-771-4401
or [email protected].
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