Hiring a new employee can be an expensive investment for any company. The average cost of hiring a new employee, according to Investopedia, is $4129 (USD) and breaking even on this investment can take up to six months. So, we understand that one of the last things you want to do is throw more money into the hiring process by spending hours of your time conversing with your candidates’ referees. Though, reference checking is still a necessary process that can help your company avoid serious negligence while also helping to point you in the direction of the best candidate for the job.
MyRecruitment+’s automated reference checking software ensures you remain compliant and efficient in your recruitment process. Giving you a better understanding of your candidates, and a more efficient system of retrieving, sorting and displaying references. Why would you want to do it any other way?
What is automated reference checking?
Essentially automated reference checking refers to a system that gathers and sorts references directly from candidate’s referees into one database. The system eliminates the need for manually communicating with each candidate’s referees and instead handles all correspondence regarding references.
How does it work?
Our enterprise-grade software is designed to seamlessly integrate into your workflow process – allowing you to choose when you would like to conduct reference checks. You simply slot the reference check stage into your recruitment process wherever you wish to conduct one.
From there, you can begin customising the questions you would like to ask about your candidates. You can even collaborate on these questions with other HR team members to ensure they’re appropriate and professional.
Next, you can begin customising the communications so that they are in your own words. You can also customise these communications further to include your company’s branding. This adds a personal touch to the process, helping to further build your company’s brand.
Now that has been done, you can set up the system to flag referee responses of your choosing. This could mean flagging either extremely positive or negative responses, based on a rating system or responses including certain keywords. This feature will help you sort through the references later on.
So now, when you move a candidate to the reference check stage, the system will automatically send out a form to the candidate to fill out with their relevant referee information. Once this is submitted, the software will use this information to contact the referees with your customised form. Once the referee has sent this back to you, our software sorts the relevant information provided. Flagging any that meet the criteria you set and notifying you that this step has been completed.
What are the benefits of automated reference checks?
Save time and money
Manual reference checking can be a tedious and time-consuming task – that is hard to speed up because it relies on external sources getting back to you. The time factor alone is why many companies neglect reference checks altogether despite the obvious need for it.
Automated reference checking can cut down this time significantly. You no longer have to spend your time chasing after referees. Instead, you need only wait for a notification while you get on with your other tasks. With the amount of time you save by using an automated reference checking system, your company could reduce the budget needed to recruit, creating a more efficient hiring process.
Avoid negligence
There have been many instances where companies have failed to conduct the necessary pre-employment checks on their candidates, leading them to hire employees who are unsuitable for the job. A notable instance of this was the Quakers Hill Nursing Home disaster back in 2011. A newly hired nurse set fire to the facility, where 14 residents died, in an attempt to cover up the fact he had been stealing drugs from the facility. It was revealed that the aged-care facility neglected to conduct any reference checks on the nurse responsible. Though his employment history showed he had been suspended for being drug-affected at work and investigated for workplace misconduct at two of his previous jobs.
After discovering this, nine of the victim’s families decided to launch a class-action lawsuit against the parent company of the aged-care facility. They accused the company of being negligent in relation to employing the nurse. A critical takeaway from this for companies is to not neglect pre-employment checks such as reference checking.
Remain Compliant
Compliance standards have gone through the roof for hiring. It has gotten to the point that it’s simply unrealistic for companies to be completing their pre-employment checks manually. Reference checks are a time-consuming task that takes away from your other roles and responsibilities, but trying to rush these checks can result in poor reference checks that don’t provide you with accurate or enough information – leaving you open still to risks.
Automated reference checking can prevent this risk, and help your company remain compliant in their hiring process.
Customisable questions
There is no point in asking all referees the same questions. There are different values, skills and abilities you will want to ask about depending on the role you are screening for. Our automated reference checking system allows you to write your own questions and even save them as templates for your various role types to use again later. Making this system suitable for a variety of industries as opposed to confining you to a basic set of questions that provide little insight into your specific candidates.
Customisable branding
The opportunity to fully customise this system is at the centre of what makes our automated reference checking software cutting edge. Not only can you customise your questions but you can also customise all your communications to be in your company branding. This consistent branding throughout your communications is essential for employee branding, as it creates a clear and consistent message across all your company correspondences.
Automated flagging system
Our systems end-to-end data flow seamlessly automates the entire reference checking process. Allowing you to set the parameters under which you want to flag a response. You may wish to flag candidates who receive a low rating, or contrastingly, you may want to flag those candidates who receive an extremely high rating – it is entirely up to you. This feature is a screening tool that helps to draw your attention to what you most want to know.
Takeaways
Getting a better understanding of your candidates is not just a nice touch – it is a must when it comes to avoiding negligence and choosing the right candidate for the job. Automated reference checking allows you to do this in a timely and cost-effective manner. The seamless integration within our recruitment software eliminates any possible disconnect between reference checking and the rest of the recruitment process. Instead, you have a system that, above all else, is designed for you and your company’s needs.
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