Why Phone Calls for Reference Checking Aren't Great?

Recruiters are in a rush to close job positions and have zero time to waste. As you invest a significant amount of effort in the hiring process, you want a clearer picture of the candidate before you hand them the offer and onboard them. Online reference checking can provide valuable information about the candidate’s professional details. Hiring companies that have experienced the benefit of an automated reference checking platform can vouch for its usefulness. It may be worthwhile to explore what online reference checking can do for you and how the Xref software can ease your hiring woes.

What is Online Reference Checking?

While you may like the candidate who walks through your door or who is behind the screen, you still need to do your due diligence to know if they can do the job (and do it well) and if they can be trusted. Others can best affirm this knowledge. Online employment checking is a process which verifies the information provided by the candidate. Through a series of custom-built or handpicked questions, you get to know about a candidate's past performance and their suitability for a role. It could also include background checks which verify a candidate's criminal records, education documentation, visa status etc. 

When Should You Consider Using Online Reference Checks?

For some, a digital, online reference check seems like something best suited to only specific roles or industries. The Xref platform is proficient for almost every role type and level, across a full spread of sectors. In recruitment, time is of the essence, and in a challenging market, minimising recruitment admin is key to remaining competitive. Online reference checking takes the legwork out of a critical recruitment task to ensure it is done quickly and with compliance. Regardless of the talent, you’re looking for; robust reference checking remains essential for confident recruitment decisions. ‍

Why Should You Consider Using Xref for Online Reference Checks?

Automated reference checking is better because of the following reasons if you choose to use Xref:

• Compliance & governance - Xref is certified by the world’s highest global standard for data security. It is ISO 27001 certified and offers globally compliant data collection and storage. It meets all regulatory requirements to ensure every candidate is assessed fairly.
  

• Value & trust - Xref is trusted by more than 1,200 businesses globally. It offers a reliable tech solution with dedicated account managers and local support. It’s an enterprise-ready solution that scales with businesses as they grow.
  

• Unusual activity detection - Xref detected more than 7,000 cases of potential fraud in one 12 month period. Xref's unique fraud algorithm monitors for unusual activity during a reference and raises a red flag if anything potentially fraudulent is detected.
  

• Relevant & valuable insights - Xref offers candidate assessment and benchmarking at a glance. It delivers relevant data analytics to inform great recruitment decisions with tailored and comparable insights, perfect for candidate benchmarking.
  

• A tailored experience - Xref offers opportunities to tailor the entire reference checking process to suit the needs and requirements of a business and the role being filled.
  

• Time & efficiency - Xref references take 30 seconds to request and are returned in as little as 24 hours. And as a reference is completed, Xref notifies the requester, they do not have to wait until all responses have been received to start reviewing feedback.

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Four Questions You Should Ask Before Choosing Your Provider

If you are considering a move to the automated option, consider the following points for your software selection:

1. What legacy does the platform have?  A good starting point is to look at the company’s background and take a moment to explore the other services it has under its belt. Knowing what a business has to offer can give you an insight into its potential growth and scalability. 
   

2. What data security does the company offer? Doing your due diligence to know that the tech provider you're looking into has adequate security measures in place, is critical to ensuring you're investing in a solution that can be trusted to collect and store your data securely. 
   

3. What are other people saying about the tech? Research what people are saying about a platform online. Start by looking at public reviews and checking if the business is active on social media. It can also be helpful to check the brand’s website and read their testimonials to gain further insight into how clients are using their tech. 
   

4. What support does the company offer? It is essential to find out what level of support will be available to you. You want to be sure that the business provides adequate in-platform training and guides that you can access anytime you need. It’s also helpful to understand if the company has local in-house support teams who can help you during your business hours and on time.

Why Phone-based Reference Checking is Not Worth the Hassle

Traditional phone-based reference checking can take hours of effort. Here are four reasons why phone calls may not be the most convenient solution.

Reason 1: Referees are unprepared

Nobody likes to take a phone call on the fly where they have to talk about current or past employees. They would prefer to get time to recall and prepare, the proper way of doing it is sending out an email to schedule time in advance, which if you look at it, can be time-consuming.

Reason 2: Time constraints

Not all referees have time to have a long phone conversation. Well, you may think they do but what if they are in a high-pressure work environment with targets looming on their head. While everyone would be happy to act out of goodwill, the more accommodating you are, the quicker you’ll get the information to complete your hiring process.

Reason 3: Phone Tag

The number one gripe for all recruiters is phone tag even when you’ve scheduled a call with a referee; there are those days when phone calls keep missing. Plus you are making these calls during your regular work hours.

Reason 4: Inconsistent interpretation

Each recruiter has his/her way of approaching a referencing task, which also means that interpretation of a referees information could be different. A standardised process brings fairness to the hiring activity.

The Xref, online reference checking software overcomes all the issues mentioned above. There is more to online reference checking than just sending a questionnaire, stats reveal that completion rates are higher, it saves time, and a sound system will have inbuilt analytics to help you benchmark your candidate against others.

Sodexo, vouches for the fact that Xref allows a recruiter to collect more references between 8 pm and midnight on a Sunday, than what you could do between 9 am and noon on a Monday. The reason why their talent acquisition team relies on the Xref solution

• Xref has been a seamless addition to their recruitment process.
• Helps the Sodexo team to significantly reduce the amount of time they spend on a critical but otherwise time-consuming part of that process.
• Offer a deeper level of insights and reporting.

What Does an Xref Reference Involve?

Checking references online is very simple and fast. Xref requests are made in 3 steps and they can be done in only 40 seconds.

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1. A 30-second request 

The Xref journey starts when an employer or recruiter enters the details of their candidate into the Xref platform. ‍

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2. The candidate provides details 

This initial request triggers an email to the candidate, asking them to give details of their reference contacts. ‍

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3. References provide their feedback 

Once the candidate’s job is complete, their referees receive an email linking to the Xref platform and asking them to provide their feedback online, against a set of questions defined by the employer. 

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The fourth stage in the process is the return of the reference reports that the recruiter receives once a reference is completed.

Get Started! 

Online reference checking can help you improve your time to hire, guarantee consistency and accuracy of data in a secure and compliant way. Xref is an enterprise-grade solution that makes reference, background and ID checking fast, simple and secure. With user-friendly technology, a fully-automated process and local customer support teams, it is now trusted by businesses all over the world to empower significant people decisions. If you’re interested, reach out to us for a demo or free trial.