Reference Checks: How to Automate This Season
References are a critical step in the hiring process and can make or break a candidate. But tracking down feedback can also be extremely labor-intensive, and a slog in the hiring process. In some cases, getting hung up gathering references can be the difference between landing a candidate, and seeing them walk. As we say in the recruitment business - time kills deals.
So how can you speed up the reference process while still being able to gather the information you need? Automation.
Thankfully, the struggles around reference checks are not unique to camp, and there are many user-friendly platforms on the market designed to make your life easier. The popular camp management platforms also offer reference templates to help streamline the experience. While those are all viable options, we’d like to share a custom process we’ve built that you can easily replicate for the upcoming recruitment season.
With speed on our mind, we automated our reference process by setting up a “Reference Hotline” using Google Voice. Once we have contact information, we invite references to provide feedback using a voicemail system, giving them a quick, easy, and approachable way to provide feedback that doesn’t require lengthy email responses or a scheduled chat with a hiring leader. The “on-the-go” nature of the format influences references to respond quickly and transparently. We find most people respond within 24 hours, and often within minutes.
Here’s how it works
Setup a Google Voice phone number along with a voicemail message i.e. “Thanks for calling the camp reference hotline…”
Enable the “Do not disturb” feature in settings to have calls go straight to voicemail
Turn on the “Get voicemail via email” setting to have voicemails automatically transcribed and emailed to you
Invite references to use the hotline via email or by using the text function of Google Voice. Note: If you would like respondents to provide feedback using a specific prompt, we recommend outlining those questions in your initial outreach. That way you avoid a long-winded voicemail message on your hotline.
Total cost: $8 per month
By adding automation into our process we screened over 2,000 applicants and interviewed more than 600 candidates for camp jobs in 2022. Innovation like this is vital to helping us decipher the “go’s” from the “no-go’s”
As you think about how to up your game this hiring season, try to add automation to reference checks. It’s a great way to gain a competitive edge.
Pro Tip: There is a fair amount of debate over when the appropriate time is to check references. We are big proponents of starting the process AFTER you’ve sent the candidate an employment contract. By adding in language that “employment is contingent on positive references,” you can buy yourself time, while showing candidates genuine intention to hire them.