THE ART OF FINDING THE RIGHT EMPLOYEE
The road to finding the right new employee can be both long and circuitous - and the need to choose the right candidate, and especially to avoid unsuccessful recruitment, has hardly been greater than now. That's why each stage of the recruitment process is continuously adjusted to optimize quality and minimize resource consumption.
A digital transformation of the referral process therefore seems obvious - especially considering that the traditional telephone conversation with a reference often presents several quality challenges.
CHALLENGES IN OBTAINING REFERENCES
The biggest challenge is most often the reference bias for the candidate, which is further exacerbated by the fact that they may also be both alerted and instructed by the candidate. A survey via LinkedIn shows that more than 10 % are actually willing to dress up their reference a bit to help a former colleague in a new job. Furthermore, 48 % only act as references for colleagues they can fully vouch for - further highlighting the bias issue.
The quality of references is also challenged by the lack of structure, objectivity and clarity that often characterizes telephone conversations. Especially when the reference is obtained in the car on the way home from work.
Finally, recruitment specialists point to the challenge of obtaining references at all - and at a point in the hiring process where there is also time for a thorough interview.
WHAT IS THE COST OF REPLACING EMPLOYERS?
Data from PWC show that replacing employees comes with great costs:
50 -150 % of an annual salary.
Up to 400% of an annual salary of specialists and managers.
THE PITFALLS OF THE PHONE REFERENCE
LACK OF STRUCTURE
BIAS
MISINTERPRETATION
Telephone references notoriously suffer from the characteristics of the medium – including a lack of structure. And even though the telephone was made to facilitate two-way communication it always comes with the risk that a conversation may turn one-sided. In terms of telephone references, who speaks and how much is not of no significance.
Bias in the reference-person is a well-known phenomenon and problem. But what about bias in the person obtaining the reference? Many believe this happens often – but few may be willing to admit it. Avoid the risk of any type of bias with THE DIGITAL DOOBLECHECK.
An article from Harvard Business Review touches on the risks involved in putting your own interpretation on telephone references in situations where this is the first conversation with a reference and it concerns a candidate, who you’ve only met once or twice.
- Listen to what the person is saying and don’t interrupt or supply the answer you want to hear
- Don’t read anything into the person’s inflection. You don’t have enough context to judge a stranger’s tone of voice
LACK OF STRUCTURE
Telephone references notoriously suffer from the characteristics of the medium – including a lack of structure. And even though the telephone was made to facilitate two-way communication it always comes with the risk that a conversation may turn one-sided. In terms of telephone references, who speaks and how much is not of no significance.
BIAS
Bias in the reference-person is a well-known phenomenon and problem. But what about bias in the person obtaining the reference? Many believe this happens often – but few may be willing to admit it. Avoid the risk of any type of bias with THE DIGITAL DOOBLECHECK.
MISINTERPRETATION
An article from Harvard Business Review touches on the risks involved in putting your own interpretation on telephone references in situations where this is the first conversation with a reference and it concerns a candidate, who you’ve only met once or twice.
- Listen to what the person is saying and don’t interrupt or supply the answer you want to hear
- Don’t read anything into the person’s inflection. You don’t have enough context to judge a stranger’s tone of voice
360° ONLINE REFERENCE
A digital online reference comes with many advantages – from the automated process, structure and flexibility offered by the IT techs in use, to the increased objectivity and unambiguousness ensured by the question-and-answer methodology from the world of analytics.
THE DIGITAL DOOBLECHECK offers a unique opportunity to increase the diversity of the references, both in terms of the number and types of references.
Via carefully pre-defined question-and-answer combinations developed in cooperation with experienced HR- and recruitment specialists, bias for the candidate is minimized. Furthermore, the prospect of using online references gives reference persons an expectation of more advantages not only for themselves but for the quality of the reference:
More honest references (19 %)
More time to think about the answers (44 %)
Will feel less obligated in terms of feeling I have to help my colleague (14 %)
A higher quality of reference (16 %)
Avoid that the person obtaining the reference asks leading questions (24 %)
I can submit the reference at my convenience (47 %), including in the train, in the evening or over the weekend
Source: LinkedIn Survey 105 respondance
MINIMIZE BIAS IN THE REFERENCE
ACHIEVE STRUCTURE, OBJECTIVITY AND UNAMBIGOUSNESS IN THE REFERENCE
REMOVE TIME PRESSURE AND CONSUMPTION
STRUKTUR, ENTYDIGHED OG DOKUMENTATION
PÅ ALLE REFERENCER
INCREASED RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY
Structured and standardized online references minimize bias and increased the value of the reference
DEMONSTRATE PROFESSIONALISM
Strengthen your Company Brand with a professionally planned and executed online reference – both in the eyes of the candidate and the reference person
GDPR COMPLIANT
THE DIGITAL DOOBLECHECK is fully GDPR Compliant med full data security for all parties involved and automatic deletion of data in accordance with the settings selected.
INCREASED RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY
Structured and standardized online references minimize bias and increased the value of the reference
DEMONSTRATE PROFESSIONALISM
Strengthen your Company Brand with a professionally planned and executed online reference – both in the eyes of the candidate and the reference person
GDPR COMPLIANT
THE DIGITAL DOOBLECHECK is fully GDPR Compliant med full data security for all parties involved and automatic deletion of data in accordance with the settings selected.
THE REFLECTION
METHOD®
In order to reduce bias and to illustrate similarities and dissimilarities between the candidate’s presentation of himself and the reference person’s impression of the candidate, THE DIGITAL DOOBLECHECK employs a unique method called THE REFLECTION METHOD®.
The method requires the candidate to choose which of two statements best describes the candidate. All statements are framed in such a way that there is no right or wrong answer, which helps reduce bias. An example of a set of statements might be, is the candidate:
A MULTI-TASKER vs. A SINGLE-TASKER
AUTOMATION AND SECURE DELIVERY BETWEEN PARTIES SAVES TIME AND WORRIES
AUTOMATIONS SAVE TIME
Make full use of the many advantages and opportunities offered by digitalization and save loads of time with THE DIGITAL DOOBLECHECK
STRESS FREE DELIVERY
Deliveries and notifications between the recruiter, stakeholders, candidate and reference persons happen automatically and with a minimum of errors and resulting worries and stress.
AUTOMATIONS SAVE TIME
Make full use of the many advantages and opportunities offered by digitalization and save loads of time with THE DIGITAL DOOBLECHECK
STRESS FREE DELIVERY
Deliveries and notifications between the recruiter, stakeholders, candidate and reference persons happen automatically and with a minimum of errors and resulting worries and stress.
YEARLY SAVINGS ACHIEVED BY CHANGING FROM TELEPHONE REFERENCES TO ONLINE REFERENCES
Number of recruitments per year
100
x
Average number of candidates that references are obtained for
2,0
x
Average number of references per candidate
2,0
=
Expected savings in hours
150
INTUITIVE WORKFLOW
THE DIGITAL DOOBLECHECK is a Cloud-based solution and thus quick to start working with. No integration with existing IT-infrastructure is required, and an intuitive navigation and manageable workflow minimize the need for education and training.
Delivery between parties involved in the recruitment process happens automatically, and step-by-step updates keep the person in charge of recruitment regularly updated on the progress of the process. THE DIGITAL DOOBLECHECK is fully GDPR compliant, and obviously data security is fully up to market standards.
YEARLY SAVINGS ACHIEVED BY CHANGING FROM TELEPHONE REFERENCES TO ONLINE REFERENCES
Number of recruitments per year
100
x
Average number of candidates that references are obtained for
2,0
x
Average number of references per candidate
2,0
=
Expected savings in Dkr.
129.000
ABOUT
The idea behind THE DIGITAL DOOBLECHECK came almost naturally after an unsuccessful recruitment of what should have been a key employee. A disaster in every way. Obviously, this led to a period of reflection in terms of what went wrong during the recruitment process and was simultaneously the beginning of many considerations of how to avoid it happening again in the future.
The different phases of the recruitment process were examined as well as possible solutions – and one phase was quickly identified as being just as neglected in terms of development and digitalization as it has been recognized to be of more and more importance – namely the obtainment of candidate references.
A little less than two years later the first online reference was obtained via THE DIGITAL DOOBLECHECK with all the advantages and opportunities it offers compared to the classic telephone reference.
Development is on-going, and the road map for new features and areas of application ensures that no one in the company will have time to rest on their laurels.
THE TEAM BEHIND THE DIGITAL DOOBLECHECK
We are 100 % Danish owned and run by founder Flemming Hesthaven. Additionally, we are a team of dedicated and skillful developers and communicators that work together to offer the best digital solution for obtaining online candidate references.
