What does the HiringThing and SkillSurvey partnership offer?

Through its partnership with SkillSurvey, HiringThing offers automated, managed reference checks that save more than 90% of the time employers spend doing reference checks the traditional way.

How do automated reference checks work in HiringThing?

Select an applicant and choose Request Reference Check from the Select Action menu. The applicant is emailed to provide references, who then receive a confidential, job-specific survey. About 85% of references respond, and feedback typically arrives within two days.

Why are reference checks important?

Reference checks help protect employers from negligent hiring claims and verify that what a candidate said is true. They also reveal how a candidate works with coworkers and provide added insight into their skills, performance and talents, including strengths the candidate may not recognize in themselves.

Who should you ask for references when hiring?

Go beyond past managers. Co-workers tend to describe helpfulness, knowledge, confidence, willingness to listen and personality, while managers focus on dependability, reliability, independence and responsibility, so a mix of references gives a fuller picture of a candidate.

How can you make reference checks faster?

Automate them. Tools like SkillSurvey send confidential surveys to references, which SkillSurvey reports produce an 85% response rate and candid, position-specific feedback without phone tag.

HiringThing News

Leave the Tedious Reference Checks Behind with SkillSurvey

Ashley Morgan

Smiling employer running automated reference checks

New SkillSurvey Partnership

We know how time consuming reference checks can be, and they are often a skipped-over step in your hiring process. Well, we’re excited to announce our brand new automated, managed reference checks, through our partner SkillSurvey. This automated process saves over 90% of the time YOU spend doing reference checks the traditional way.

Here’s the basics on how it works:

Select your applicant and click on Request Reference Check from the Select Action menu.
We will email the applicant asking them to provide several references.
Once completed by the applicant, an automated email will be sent out to those references containing a confidential, job-specific survey. 85% of references generally respond.
Typically within 2 days you will receive reference feedback to review on your potential candidate. It’s that easy!

How to Get More From Your Reference Checks

References can help you decide between top candidates. They can give you a closer look at an individual’s work ethic, talents, skills, and personality. They can help you find top leaders—those who will expand your company and excel within your organization. However, to gain valuable information from your references that will assist with your hiring decision, you must optimize your conversations with them. Here are a few tips to make that happen:

Automate Your Reference Check Process

In an effort to save time, hiring managers or recruiters can simply automate the reference check process, instead of calling references or searching for them on social media. With platforms such as SkillSurvey, hiring managers or recruiters can quickly and easily send out a survey to candidates requesting reference information, and references can provide their confidential performance feedback on the candidate for you to review. Automated reference checks can be very useful, as they provide the same amount of value as a one-to-one phone call. Not to mention, automated processes are much quicker for all parties involved.

Take Extensive Notes

Taking notes during the entire hiring process is vital and can help during reference checks. If you have concerns or questions during a candidate interview, take notes and match them up to the feedback you receive from references. This can help you sort information and aid you in making your final hiring decision, especially if you receive multiple references for a candidate.

Don’t Focus on One Type of Reference

Candidates commonly list only past managers and supervisors as references. While these individuals can certainly provide information about performance, they cannot paint a of a candidate’s work ethic and teamwork. Ideally, you want to receive feedback from a variety of individuals, including past co-workers. When you request references from a candidate, be sure to communicate with the candidate the types of references you prefer he/she include.

A study by SkillSurvey looked at the type of feedback provided by both managers and co-workers. In the survey, co-workers offered details focused on the following:

Helpfulness
Knowledge
Confidence
Willingness to listen
Personality

Managers provided details such as:

Dependability
Reliability
Independence
Responsibility

The Benefits of Reference Checks

Reference checks not only protect you from negligent hiring claims and verify that the information a candidate has told you is true, but have many other benefits.

Reference checks can give you a better sense of how the candidate interacts with coworkers as part of a team.
They can give you additional insights on a candidate's skills, performance, and talents, as well as some surprising insights into what your candidate can really excel at.
There's often a discrepancy between the way we view ourselves and the ways others view us, and that's not a bad thing—a reference check could provide additional ways this candidate could benefit your organization that they may not have thought of themselves.

There are many benefits to conducting reference checks. Due to the fact that reference feedback is confidential, SkillSurvey has an 85% response rate, with references providing candid feedback. When you receive each completed candidate feedback report, be sure to read through all of the information provided.

Additionally, using SkillSurvey reference checks can allow you to:

Reduce voluntary and involuntary turnover
Increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness
Improve the hiring journey
Enhance satisfaction of hiring managers
Expand your talent network

Because Skill Survey’s survey types are tailored by position, you will receive back detailed and specific information on the candidate’s performance in former positions.

If you wish to reach more references easily, lower your turnover rates, and reduce bias from hiring and improve compliance, it is essential that you conduct reference checks. Also, remember that conducting reference checks doesn’t have to be time-consuming when you automate the process. Reference checks can provide the most clear and detailed picture regarding a candidate’s work ethic and personality, as well as whether he or she is truly the best person for the job.

About HiringThing

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