By Shaun Carpenter

When is the best time to conduct references on candidates?

Every thorough selection process should include a reference stage but some factors can play a role in deciding when to have the conversations with referees.

Number of Candidates
The number of candidates on the shortlist can influence your timing. For references to be effective you’ll want to speak to a significant cross-section of people who have worked with the potential hire, both in their past and with recent and current employers. My rule of thumb is at least two people who have reported to the individual, two who have been peers, and two who have supervised him. In addition it’s also great to have a couple referees who have worked with the candidate on committees, on Boards, or through community or other volunteer activities. Add all this up and you have a sizable list so you may want to wait until that shortlist of six candidates is down to two finalists. If you are only really interested in two people at the time of shortlist, you may wish to get going on the reference process earlier in the game.

Number of Stakeholders Involved
Another factor is the number of stakeholders in your organization who will be interviewing the candidates. If you’re the hiring manager and sole decision-maker you may want to conduct references right after the first interview but if there is a larger committee with a voice in the decision or a process with multiple levels of interviews/presentations, you may want to wait as the best reference reports are those where you can probe and investigate questions or doubts that have arisen during the meetings. If your president brings up a niggling concern he wants to have supported or eliminated through references and you’ve already conducted all the conversations, it may be tricky to get the referees time for a second go around. The referees are often very senior, busy people so make sure you schedule the reference conversation in advance, often through their assistant, and be sure to communicate the amount of their time you’ll require so there are no surprises.

Employment Status of Candidates
Whether your finalist candidates are presently employed or not will also influence your timing significantly. The business community is tight and you’ll want to avoid word getting out about an individual’s involvement in a search process.  It can put the person’s current position in jeopardy if discretion and confidence are lax at all. Often times a committee member will know someone who used to work at the same organization where a candidate was employed or some other degree of separation exists and there is a desire to reach out to that individual. I strongly dissuade taking this tactic as I’ve seen it result in the candidate being let go after their employer inadvertently discovers their employee is looking to leave. If there is a particular person you or a selection committee member would like to speak to but he doesn’t show up on he candidate’s reference list, just speak openly to the candidate about it.

If the leading candidate is employed and has had a long tenure with an organization some reference discussions may even need to take place after an offer has been negotiated and agreed upon in principle. Quite regularly an offer will be extended contingent to a final reference conversation with the very individual who the selected candidate is submitting his resignation with.

Shaun Carpenter is Associate Partner with Pinton Forrest & Madden Executive Search. He has worked in the executive search business for 12 years and is well respected in the industry for his aptitude in candidate development and client relations. He received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary, which included studies abroad at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Shaun is also currently an active member of BC HRMA’s Coastal Vancouver Advisory Council.