Improve Your Reference Checking and Break Through the "Stone Wall of Silence"

It's been said that "the answers to all questions of today reside in the past." While not true about everything, this statement has a lot of validity when hiring new employees. That's because your employees of tomorrow likely have exhibited their skills and character traits working for someone else yesterday. It follows, then, to find out what those traits are, all you need to do is ask that someone.

Well, checking references these days is not quite that simple.

For one thing, former employers in these litigious times may be notably mum on answering your reference checking questions for fear of facing a defamation lawsuit. Many will only verify dates of employment and title ... the HR version of "name, rank, and serial number." But HR expert and author Arthur R. Pell does suggest some strategies for checking employment references that you can use to peer over this "stone wall of silence."

Make reference checking a personal matter, not a matter for "Personnel"

First, Pell recommends talking to the candidate's immediate supervisor, not the HR department, which is likely to only have what's been officially recorded about the person. Some of the most important impressions you can harvest will be personal, and thus not likely to be written down.

Pell says to ask what the person's duties were, and then explain how important they are to the position you are filling. You might just get a comment on how well the person performed these duties along with a description of what they were.