References

Re: References

Alan Tevendale — Sun, 04 Aug 2013 12:06:49 GMT

Ditto above. I'll always ask for references. It's a very important part of taking on a new employee. I've often thought that who they select as their referees can be fairly important as well.

Re: References

Neal Palk — Sun, 04 Aug 2013 10:16:15 GMT

[quote user="Braden Collins"]I will always check references by phoning the referee. I think anything less than that and you leave yourself open to employees with problems. I always have a list of questions for the referee so find out about important points rather than just asking what the person was like.

[/quote]

That's exactly how to do it. As said above the written reference is limited (usually!) to job title and to/from dates and often little else. There is potential legal exposure to most other questions whether the responses are 'good' or not.

The (unattributable) phone call to the referee is the way to go - but even then, be shrewd about what you're told - a manager may want to offload someone and that won't happen if s/he gives a less than satisfactory reference..........

Re: References

Braden Collins — Sun, 04 Aug 2013 01:50:44 GMT

I will always check references by phoning the referee. I think anything less than that and you leave yourself open to employees with problems. I always have a list of questions for the referee so find out about important points rather than just asking what the person was like.

Re: References

Stephen Courtney — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 22:42:26 GMT

I have been asked to give personal references rather than ones given as an employer - as an employee myself, I would not be able to do that. But to say ' i know so-and so, and he/she is a nice person and a caring vet, works hard, good personal relationship etc ' is probably more useful.

Re: References

Sylvia Wilson — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 21:09:58 GMT

Hi Anon,

lots of employers still ask for references and quite a few follow them up. However, they are a bit of a nightmare as many previous employers won't give a response beyond "yes s/he worked here" for fear of a less than perfect reference being used against them. I suspect some employers ask for them just to make sure the prospective employee can come up with some names!

I have been an employer in the past and have been asked for references for former employees. Many large organisations now use a pro forma that asks about things like attendance records and whether there are any disciplinary issues rather than anything about performance.