Every c-level staff candidate that your company comes into contact with is likely to have a list of references from past jobs to back up their reputation. Your company needs to know what to look for when assessing each person in a reference file.
Inc.com's Suzanne Lucas recently discussed the dangers of candidates using so-called "neutral references" on the advice of an attorney, rather than more specific ones. Although she says that looking solely for the title and dates of service of an employee is a great practice by legal standards, she also argues that in the long run, a neutral reference policy leaves out important details and is unfair to the candidate. The references don't get the chance to describe moments where the candidate exceeded expectations.
She also takes unscrupulous recruiters to task for claiming to only look for "neutral" data when they are actually skewing the results before they even hear back from the candidate's references.
"Some sleazy recruiters like to play tricks like, leaving voice mails that say, 'I'm calling about John Doe. If he was a good employee call me back, and if he was a bad employee, no need!' so that you can get around your company's policies without actually saying anything," she writes. "Because many people play this reference game, it's become a code."
With an experienced recruitment consultant, a company will have assistance in recruiting individuals fairly, correctly and based on the law. They will also help to locate a candidate who will enter their new position with enthusiasm, so businesses don't have to rely on just the basic facts in their history.
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