| Job Screening Tools and Techniques |
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Reference Checks
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Did You Know?
A reference verification firm reports that up to 60 per cent of job seekers use misleading information on their resume or during the interview. It comes down to a matter of survival. We live in very competitive times, where people will try anything. Labour laws regulate what the employer can do, and very little consideration is given to regulating the employee's behavior. Therefore, it is important to protect yourself and your employer. One way to do that is to ASK FOR AND ALWAYS CHECK references. There are a few points to keep in mind when doing reference checks.
Guidelines
Here are the steps in the process to establish guidelines for checking references
Potential applicants have been screened and the interview process is complete. Now it is time for the final step, checking the applicant's reference. This is a key component that should provide complete and accurate information about an applicant's qualifications and experience.
An applicant should provide at least three references either before or during the interview. In addition to providing this list of references, applicants may also submit a letter of recommendation from a former employer or supervisor. It is a matter of courtesy to the candidate to obtain consent before checking these references.
If there are no policies or procedures in place for checking references, you should establish standards for your organization and follow them consistently.
Some of the basic steps follow.
Be Prepared
The most important thing to remember when checking a candidate's references is to be prepared. An effective reference check involves pre-planning to determine the kind of information required, how to get that information and who you are going to contact.
The most common and most efficient means of checking references is by telephone. When doing so, it is important to allow sufficient time to speak with the person who is providing the reference. It is essential to build up a sense of trust with this person so they will feel comfortable releasing information about the candidate. Do not appear rushed or disorganized.
Documentation
Taking notes and thoroughly documenting the reference check will make for a much more thorough evaluation. This will also ensure that information is accessible should an issue arise in the future.
The Right Questions
Using open-ended questions will illicit a more informative response. Asking whether the potential candidate was a good employee will likely generate a simple 'yes/no' response, perhaps leaving out important details. A key question asked by many employers when checking references is "Would you hire this person again?"
Ask for job related information only through direct questions. It is much more effective to ask directly for information about absenteeism, tardiness and competency than it is to illicit information on general personality traits such as intelligence.
The Right Person
Be sure you are talking to the person best able to evaluate the candidate's performance. If the person you are calling does not seem to know the applicant very well, ask to speak to a supervisor or someone who has direct knowledge of the applicant's performance.
Be Alert
Most reference contacts will provide a positive assessment of former employees. There are certain behaviors or voice cues however, that are good indicators of hidden or incomplete responses. Unusual hesitation, evasiveness, negativity or over-enthusiasm are but a few of the signs to look for when conducting reference checks.
Follow-up
Be sure to thank the contact for taking the time to talk with you! It is recommended you leave your contact information to allow for follow-up if so desired. It is also suggested that the possibility of contacting the reference a second time be left open, in case subsequent interviews reveal new information that may have been missed.
The Responsibility to Check References
Checking employment references may not only be helpful in making successful hiring decisions, but in some instances, may also help protect an employer from attracting liability. For example, if the nature of the job is such that an employee could potentially cause harm to third parties (i.e. nurses, teachers, security personnel) and where the employer asks for references, the employer may face liability if the references go unchecked and damages are suffered as a result. Arguably, regardless of whether the employer asks for references, if the job could potentially result in the employee causing
harm to the public or to other workers, the employer should be satisfied that the employee’s background and qualifications are suitable for the position.
Using Professionals
You can also get professionals to do the checking for you.
There are organizations that will conduct background checks/searches for you. They employ specially trained staff to pose the right questions and get the right information from past employers. They will typically make three solid attempts to verify and find the information you need.
They check, among other things you might request:
- Dates of employment
- Character
- Salary
- Title
- Performance
They will verify:
- Professional licenses
- Education
- Personal/professional references
To try one of these organizations, you may go to:
Tips
- When checking references, be specific about the information you are seeking. Even employers who may not be particularly fond of the employee might not want to say anything negative. If you ask specific questions, you will get their true opinion.
- Be sure that you assure confidentiality to the respondent.
- It is also a good idea to gather information from a few references and do comparisons to look for consistency in the responses.
- References are more reliable if the supplier has had more than two months to observe the applicant. It is also more reliable if it is from a supervisor as opposed to a co-worker.
- Obtain a signed consent of applicants to collect information about their employment, education, and to contact the references given - be on the safe side.
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Use of Inappropriate Information
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Resumes and CVs should not include the applicant's age, sex, place of origin, marital status, or number of dependents, although some candidates do record this information. You cannot apply this information to your decision making even if the applicant freely provides it, as using it would place you in violation of the Human Rights Code in all provinces and territories. (See section Employer Obligations: Laws and Regulations).
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Hiring the Applicant
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Did You Know?
Once a candidate has been chosen through the job screening process, and all of the necessary pre-employment checks have been completed with satisfactory results, a formal job offer is made to confirm the acceptance by the candidate of the final terms and conditions of employment. The job offer specifies the terms of an employment arrangement. Acceptance is achieved when both the employer and the candidate sign and date the final job offer agreement.
You should know that a job offer, when accepted by the candidate, binds the employer to a contractual arrangement whether written or implied. However, it does not bind the candidate to the contractual arrangement until the candidate arrives for work on the effective date specified in the job offer.
Job Offers
Now you are ready to make a job offer to your top candidate.
A job offer may be made orally, either in person or over the phone, or in writing. Most recruiting firms suggest that you do it over the phone, so you get a quicker answer to the offer and your chosen applicant does not get snapped up by some other employer while your written offer is still in the mail.
No matter what the form of the job offer, the principle is the same. Do not make promises, or statements that can be construed as promises, that you cannot or do not intend to keep. Those statements can sometimes lead to expensive litigation if you later decide to terminate the employee.
When a job offer is extended, it should include the following information about the job:
- The position offered
- Location and working hours
- Salary (although sometimes salary must be negotiated before the applicant will accept)
- Benefits
- Starting date
- Any papers or information that should be brought on the first day of work
- Any conditions that must be met before the applicant can commence work
- A date by which the applicant must respond to your job offer, so you can move on to the next candidate if your first choice does not accept.
While making a job offer is usually a positive experience, there are some areas to be mindful of and things to beware of. Do not create an employment contract with an offer.
Attaching Conditions
A job offer may be conditional upon certain requirements being met. If those requirements are not met prior to the start date specified in the job offer, the employer can defer the start date until such a time that they are satisfactorily met, or even withdraw the job offer. However, those conditions have to be explicitly stated in a written letter of offer, and the applicant advised not to take any action until the conditions are satisfied. Some examples of the kinds of pre-hire conditions that might be imposed include:
- Motor vehicle licensing requirements
- Certified criminal records check
- Medical examination
- Society, association, or union membership.
Sample Job Offer
DATE: (Date of offer)
ADDRESS:
TO: (Candidate)
I am very pleased to offer you the position of senior tester. The terms of the offer are as follows.
You will be employed on a full-time basis (37.7 hours per week) commencing Monday, June 10, 2004. For the first six months, you will be considered a probationary employee. You will report to the Vice-President, Research and Development, and will work in our Toronto Head Office on Bloor St. Your duties are contained in the attached job description.
The starting salary for the position is $37.50 hourly. The salary will be reviewed at the end of the probationary period. In addition to the usual employer's share of mandatory employee costs such as Canada Pension and Employment Insurance, you will be eligible to participate in the company's group health plan, following completion of the probationary period. The enclosed booklet describes the plan and the employee contribution levels.
Vacation is granted after six months employment. You will be credited with vacation days commencing the first day of employment and accumulate them at the rate of 1 day per month. Sick leave credits will be provided at the rate of one and one-quarter days for each full month of service. Sick leave will be cumulative.
As a condition of employment, you must provide proof of good standing in the Canadian IT Testing Association prior to the date of commencement of work. You will also be required to sign a "Memorandum of Agreement" regarding intellectual property.
ACCEPTANCE:
This offer is intended to contain the significant terms of the position offered. To signify acceptance of this offer, please sign the statement of acceptance below.
ACCEPT THIS POSITION AS DESCRIBED ABOVE.
| Date :__________ | Signature of Candidate :_______________________ |
Some business services companies will prepare letters of offer for you for a small fee. To contact one such company, go to:
Contracts
The purpose of a formal job offer is to confirm to the selected candidate the company's desire to hire him or her. It also provides for the acceptance of the job by the candidate. While the job offer, whether made orally or in writing, should contain certain information about the job, it is not intended to be an employment contract.
Every employee works under a contract. There is some misunderstanding about employment contracts. For the most part, people seem to believe that if there is no written contract, their employees are not working under contract. Nothing could be further from the truth.
When you hire someone, you agree to make an economic exchange. In effect, you enter into a contract with that person, whether it is written down or not. If you do not have a written contract, the terms of employment are governed by provincial labour legislation. Over and above the legislation, any promises made to the employee also form part of the unwritten contract. These could include your employee handbook and benefits pamphlets (if you have them). It will also include any promises you make orally such as "You will start at $21.50 per hour and after a month we will give you a raise."
Any and all parts of the unwritten employment contract can become the basis for legal action. If you break your end of the bargain, your employee can sue you - and win.
Since every province has a labour code, why would you want to put a written contract in place?
There are three main reasons why you might want to use written employment contracts.
- To make sure that there are no misunderstandings on either side.
You can use an employment contract to specify the key points of your agreement with your employee. Then there is no room for dispute about who said what or promised this or that.
- To set a specific term of employment
Provincial labour codes all require the employer to give written notice of their intention to terminate an employee and/or pay them wages equal to the required notice period. If you have an employment contract with a specific term of up to one year, you can end the person's employment at the end of the year with no penalty.
- To specify the terms of separation
All employment relationships end eventually. Provincial labour codes all include a minimum notice and payments an employer must make in the event that he or she terminates someone's employment for any reason other than for just cause. This is just the minimum notice requirement. In some cases, tort law can double, triple or even quadruple the notice required.
Some companies use employment contracts to limit the liability for severance.
For more detailed information about employment contracts, go to:
Tips
- Always follow a verbal acceptance by a candidate of specific terms and conditions of employment by a written job offer that is signed a returned to you.
- If it becomes necessary to change the initial letter of offer, always issue an amended offer and have it signed and dated by the employer and the candidate.
- Probationary periods may be specified in the job offer so that the obligations of the employer to retain a new hire beyond an initial trial period is limited.
- It is a good practice to have the written job offer accompanied by the approved job description.
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