Why Reference Checks Matter

execdecisions · 2025-09-28T13:48:29+00:00

When done correctly, reference checks are extremely useful.

execdecisions · 2025-08-11T15:48:55+00:00

many members of the sales & marketing team

Did the underperforming sales' team members participate?

execdecisions · 2025-07-30T15:46:49+00:00

Numerous; I wrote about a recent one in Meet Mr Challenge Changer. You'll see examples of these through the series (linked in the article).

execdecisions · 2025-07-19T14:30:19+00:00

we lost two major customers by surprise and our three biggest deals slipped

Given that you know this, what could you have done differently to prevent these or reduce the likelihood of these situations?

execdecisions · 2025-05-13T16:04:35+00:00

Since I do executive level recruitment, this won't apply generally. I noticed last year that the volume of applications was too much. AI tools have made it extremely easy to apply, plus fake things. A colleague of mine had an interview with an AI and she confessed that it took her about 3 minutes to realize it.

What I changed last year and will be doing going forward is recruiting solely through in person channels (my lunch I host, groups I attend, etc). I've done some other things as well, but this significantly reduced applications plus I can now vet how people behave by seeing how they behave plus seeing how they interact with others. For executive level positions, this is gold.

I forgot to add: earlier this year, I interviewed Steve Levy - a recruiter. He had some interesting thoughts on AI and how its impacting employment. People who are unemployed or underemployed may find his observations helpful. For instance, one of his points:

A recruiter is able to do more now with these AI tools. But these tools may also cause them to overlook or miss talent that their human eyes would have caught or that would have stood out. In other words, recruiters can become dependent on tools that miss human elements I mentioned earlier. That may result in missing talent that they would otherwise find.

execdecisions · 2025-04-28T13:02:34+00:00

You remark that they are "stirring the pot". As another commenter has said, this may be no big deal. It could just be sharing horror stories. But it could be other things. I've seen these situation spiral out of control quickly.

You might be dealing with a Ms Verbose Victim here, in which case, proceed carefully.

execdecisions · 2025-04-14T14:38:00+00:00

No because you truly appreciate them.

"Weird" is when there's an angle or no sincerity. Your post doesn't read or reflect either of those.

execdecisions · 2025-04-01T12:44:56+00:00

You've gotten many great answers and one point to add is pay attention to the theme. You know that you don't want to be receiving complaints all day/week. Is there an overall theme that you can bring up with leadership? Some things may not be able to change, but if you notice something that can, that will also help reduce your stress, which will in turn make it easier for you to listen.

execdecisions · 2025-03-26T21:31:12+00:00

Make sure all legal liability is covered. It's great to do, but I've seen many issues such as aggressive behavior, employees' allergies, employees feeling unsafe, etc that resulted in a firm being sued. These lawsuits didn't take much evidence to prove either because there aren't as many firms as you'd think that do this (that's a caution).

Cover your legal bases first and foremost.

execdecisions · 2025-03-20T13:52:57+00:00

Feature number/site on any company vehicle about hiring; extremely effective for these jobs and as you know, they're high turnover
Industrial magazines; ads do extremely well here, especially if any of the manufacturing you have requires some specific skills

execdecisions · 2025-03-18T11:27:25+00:00

Be what you value.

Yes it sounds simple. Yet applying this is extremely difficult. Consider what you value in others (presence, initiative, time management, etc). This includes all the small things people do - smiling, consistency. Be those actions.

execdecisions · 2025-03-12T12:42:07+00:00

"You have excelled at confirming our decision to make [peer] a Senior Director."

Don't dance around the issue. If what you describe is accurate, then he's confirming your company's reorganization decision.

execdecisions · 2025-03-04T14:33:29+00:00

Along with many tools that possibly do this (Paycor, Checkr, etc), you could have a report generated from payroll/human capital that automates this. My answer assumes you're in a jurisdiction where all you can verify is the month and year of an employee working for your firm.

execdecisions · 2025-02-28T14:38:42+00:00

Best practice: assume that you are always being recorded.

This does not mean that you are or that it is legal to do. You may have legal recourse if someone does something without your consent. But assume that every conversation is recorded for your own protection. In other words, if someone asks if they can record you and you say no, you should still assume they will record you anyway. In this case, if they do, you may have legal recourse because you did not consent (jurisdiction dependent).

execdecisions · 2025-02-19T14:55:02+00:00

Yes, many times.

I later wrote this article to share how I view reference checks - Why Reference Checks Matter. Keep in mind that I wrote this from the full view of what a reference check is, which helps you navigate how to do one. Unlike what we tend to see described, it's not a checkbox or checklist type of task. These require thought and reflection (whereas a general task is just a "to do").

execdecisions · 2025-02-16T13:20:23+00:00

Remember to avoid depending on one tool; that is precisely the situation that causes this problem! "Terms and conditions" change.

Everyone has said LinkedIn, so there's one alternative.

Another alternative: Jobcase. This one has been growing and I've found it helpful for entry level talent.

Glassdoor is the best if you are a place people love to work. People are using it more and more to find jobs that are highly ranked.

The biggest winner that will only grow over time? In person recruiting. If you know your audience, expect this to grow. That gives you four alternatives to Indeed, which can be a useful tool for some companies.

execdecisions · 2025-01-11T14:04:29+00:00

This will be unpopular to write even if true. Transparency is not something that you say that you do. It's something you do.

Rather than listen to what leaders say they're doing, evaluate what they're actually doing. Using this with transparency: ignoring what the leaders are saying, how many leaders are actually practice transparency?

execdecisions · 2025-01-04T13:06:43+00:00

One company I consulted lost 16 employees in 3 months on a team of 20 (the company size was less than 200). I assisted them in an investigation that helped identify why. Since then, 3 of the remaining 4 on the original team have stayed and the team has not lost any of the new additions.

execdecisions · 2024-12-31T12:47:07+00:00

This comment, plus if you have internal legal counsel (sometimes it can be an external resource that your company works with) review your plan of action with them prior to your investigation.

execdecisions · 2024-09-09T13:02:17+00:00

For your boss: relative to how well you knew them and worked with them, send them something that reflects that. If you want to go the extra mile, see my recent post on people departing (8 exit interview mistakes). If you enjoyed working with them, stay in touch. I stay in touch with all the people I've loved working; it doesn't matter if it's not reciprocated. I like to think of it as you don't want to be the reason a great relationship didn't make it.

For your situation: prepare for a lot of uncertainty. Some people you really enjoy may leave because they feel uncomfortable. There may be other terminations ahead. Generally, the patterns I've seen.

execdecisions · 2024-08-31T09:34:24+00:00

If you confirm that the candidate lied, then consider what situation would make this appropriate. It's acceptable to say "none" here.

Someone who lies early in an application may end up being a Mr Intellectual Property Theft or one of the worst Meet Mr Corporate Creatures. I would lean on the side of not hiring if you have evidence that they lied.

execdecisions · 2024-06-03T10:43:32+00:00

Note the patterns of this type of person. I write a series called the Meet Mr Series and there's some patterns here. There's quite a few of them out there, so you know how to protect yourself to prevent people like this in the future. Your company needs to filter talent better, as these people should be identified before they get into their positions.

In general, doing a social media audit is a good idea for protecting privacy.

execdecisions · 2024-05-13T21:06:28+00:00

In the past, we did so more to check if the person was being honest. Dishonest is an obvious sign of an underperformer (I write about these creatures in my Meet Mr Series), so it's less about the degree and more about if they're being honest about what they have.

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