#employee reference

There will be times that you will receive requests asking for references of former employees. If the referenced employee was a good employee and left on good terms, this will not be a difficult situation for you. However, if the employee was terminated or left on bad terms, then what you will say could be tempered by the events of his leaving. Either way, you need to be careful regarding what you relay when providing a reference for a former employee.

Several basic guidelines will keep you and your company out of hot water when providing employee references. You need to be honest, but you also need to be careful. Brief answers are the best approach and some company policies will only allow that you give their job title, dates of employment and final salary when giving references. This is the safest route to take, even if the employee was a good employee.

Reference Format

When giving a written or verbal reference, give the bare facts, as well as true assessment, of the employee’s performance. Provide a brief overview of his performance in the position that he held while under your employ. This can include date of employment, his enthusiasm and ability to do the job, his honesty and integrity, and the reason that he has left employment with your company.

Just the Facts

Give only accurate and easily documented information about the former employee. Do not go into the bad qualities of the employee and be careful not to be drawn into a lengthy conversation. The requester will often try to find out more information than you need to give, which can cause you problems if you fall into this trap.

Designated Personnel

Have one person that you trust handle these types of inquiries and make sure that the reference checkers are directed to them. Policy regarding references should be clear so that a subordinate does not get on the phone and tell the prospective employer all of the foibles of a terminated employee or give a bad reference because they had a bad working relationship.

Again, reference checkers can be sneaky and try to find an employee at your company who will tell all. This could ultimately get you in a bad situation legally if the former employee fails to get the job and the bad referral can be pinned on your company.

Documentation

Implement a policy that all references are to be recorded and saved. This will give you supporting documentation in the event that the former employee claims that you sabotaged his being hired by the a new employer. Be consistent in your practice of providing references.

Be Honest

Honesty is always the best policy. You can provide negative information on a former employee as long as the information is not malicious and is fact-based. It is best to give the good with the bad, though, when the reference is for an employee who was above par, or for one who was terminated or left on bad terms.

A termination of an employee should have been documented, thereby providing you substantiating information regarding the termination. This information can afford you protection. It is also best to tell the checker that you do not wish for the information to be shared with the employee, thus providing you a level of confidentiality.

How can you judge someone’s character? It is not an easy task but one that employers and other professionals may have to complete as part of their job responsibilities.

When an individual applies for employment, the employer will review his qualifications.There will be questions about work history as well as education and income. Asking for a referee or reference is another common requirement to obtain employment. When asking for a referee, employers have to determine if the referees themselves are valid.

Length of Time

Consider the length of time a referee has personally known or been professionally associated with the applicant. It takes time to get to know a person’s character or work habits. Those giving a reference for an applicant they have only known or worked with for a brief time may have only seen this person during times of good fortune. But have they been associated with this person long enough to see how they respond when things are not going well?

A referee should be able to provide information as to how the applicant deals with difficult situations. She should tell of how the applicant faced a given problem and developed a strategy to overcome the difficulty. A referee should be able to give the type of detailed history on the applicant that can only come from knowing someone over a significant length of time.

Meet the Referee

Employer screening agencies may have a preference on communicating with a referee. While some may be fine with a written reference, others may feel they gain a better perspective of the applicant, as well as the referees themselves, if the parties involved meet or speak in person. Some interviewers feel they can better determine the validity and sincerity of the referee by personal communication. While they may not want to think badly of someone, an experienced human resource director will realize a dishonest applicant may use false references.

Keep it Legal

While it is standard practice to check the background of a prospective employee, many companies also check the validity of the referee. This practice is legal if it can be shown the validation is specifically for job-related purposes and is not in violation of any anti-discrimination laws.

If referees will be checked, the applicant must be notified of this action. This simple notification may encourage the applicant to provide truthful answers during the interview. The interviewer may gain some perspective by asking the applicant what their referees may say about them. The interviewer may relay this information when speaking with the referee to see if the answers are agreeable.

The person who checks the validity of the referee should also be the same person the potential employee will report to. This is based on the idea that two people may have greatly different perceptions of the same individual. If you will be directly working with the applicant, conduct the referee check personally.

There will be times that you will receive requests asking for references of former employees. If the referenced employee was a good employee and left on good terms, this will not be a difficult situation for you. However, if the employee was terminated or left on bad terms, then what you will say could be tempered by the events of his leaving. Either way, you need to be careful regarding what you relay when providing a reference for a former employee.

Several basic guidelines will keep you and your company out of hot water when providing employee references. You need to be honest, but you also need to be careful. Brief answers are the best approach and some company policies will only allow that you give their job title, dates of employment and final salary when giving references. This is the safest route to take, even if the employee was a good employee.

Reference Format

When giving a written or verbal reference, give the bare facts, as well as true assessment, of the employee’s performance. Provide a brief overview of his performance in the position that he held while under your employ. This can include date of employment, his enthusiasm and ability to do the job, his honesty and integrity, and the reason that he has left employment with your company.

Just the Facts

Give only accurate and easily documented information about the former employee. Do not go into the bad qualities of the employee and be careful not to be drawn into a lengthy conversation. The requester will often try to find out more information than you need to give, which can cause you problems if you fall into this trap.

Designated Personnel

Have one person that you trust handle these types of inquiries and make sure that the reference checkers are directed to them. Policy regarding references should be clear so that a subordinate does not get on the phone and tell the prospective employer all of the foibles of a terminated employee or give a bad reference because they had a bad working relationship.

Again, reference checkers can be sneaky and try to find an employee at your company who will tell all. This could ultimately get you in a bad situation legally if the former employee fails to get the job and the bad referral can be pinned on your company.

Documentation

Implement a policy that all references are to be recorded and saved. This will give you supporting documentation in the event that the former employee claims that you sabotaged his being hired by the a new employer. Be consistent in your practice of providing references.

Be Honest

Honesty is always the best policy. You can provide negative information on a former employee as long as the information is not malicious and is fact-based. It is best to give the good with the bad, though, when the reference is for an employee who was above par, or for one who was terminated or left on bad terms.

A termination of an employee should have been documented, thereby providing you substantiating information regarding the termination. This information can afford you protection. It is also best to tell the checker that you do not wish for the information to be shared with the employee, thus providing you a level of confidentiality.

References. Yes, we all know they play a role when it comes to getting a job or into an apartment/house. But do you truly realize the vitally important role that they play?

When you realistically look at how important a reference is, you may choose whom you put down a little better. It’s safe to say they are the determining factor to you getting the job you want or being able to live where you want to live. Everyone knows that when you’re applying for either a job or somewhere to live, there’s going to be a background check or a tenant screening process. Although they do differ depending upon what you’re applying for, it is a reality that your background will be looked into nonetheless.

When applying for a job, they’re going to most likely want a reference of someone you’ve previously worked for. But do they want that reference to be someone you were really good friends with at the job? They don’t. Why? A friend will definitely want what’s best for you, and if you’re looking for a job, they’re going to want you to get it. They won’t tell the employer anything bad or negative about you. They’re going to paint the best picture of you, say all the nice things you can imagine so that you get what you’re applying for. Employers want the truth and generally, the whole truth won’t be gotten from a friend. If they find out your friendly relations, chances are your references will be deemed invalid and could even get you rejected.

When looking for references for a potential future employer, it’s best to go with someone you’ve previously worked for. The best person would be a direct supervisor or team lead, someone that could see you in action on a daily basis and give a true testament of your work ethics. He or she must be someone who could give an accurate account of your attendance history, say if you’ve followed directions correctly and met or exceeded expectations for the job description that you were to follow, or if you failed and didn’t want to comply with rules and regulations set out for you.

In terms of a landlord, they’re going to want to speak or hear from previous landlords. They want an idea of what they may be getting into if they choose to go with you for the apartment or house. They’re going to want to know about your payment history – if you paid on time, missed some months, or constantly had excuses as to why you couldn’t pay. Your cleanliness, and hopefully not lack of it, will also concern them. It’s important to know if you’ve trashed previous places or had previous issues with pests, anything along those lines. How long were you renting under the previous landlord? That will also be a big factor that new landlords will be looking into. Stability is key for a landlord; he definitely doesn’t want to have a tenant that will leave within a few months.

It is then best that before you give your previous landlord as reference person, and even before you actually leave, that is, if he already knows it, make sure you find out from him what he is going to say should he get a call for a reference check on you. It’s not to ask him to lie for anything negative he has to say. It’s to prepare yourself and have a ready and thought-out explanation should the potential landlord asks. Also, it’s to work out whatever conflict you have with the previous/current landlord, which may also hopefully bring his future comments to the more positive side.

When you have people that are going to be a reference for you, you want to ensure that they’re going to give a good reference. You can make sure they have all the right information and that it is up to date and accurate; you don’t want them to say something that’s different from what you’ve put down on your application or given in an interview. Something else you can do is stay in contact with them. There is nothing worse than a call about someone you’ve forgotten.