With annual budgets just around the corner, are you looking for ways to improve spending? Could saving your organization thousands of dollars with little time and resources be of benefit to you? Listen up, we have a solution!

Employee turnover can cost you anywhere from 30-200% of the employee’s annual wages. Ouch, right? Turnover of just two Administrative Assistants could cost your organization tens of thousands of dollars in a year! A quick analysis of your hiring process could make all the difference in the world.

How do reference checks affect your hiring process? Do you have a consistent method? Is it done with every hire? Now is the time to start! The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, so be sure to do your research! Many employers today only offer very limited if any, information on current or previous employees. Here are some great tips on how to get the most of out of your reference checks:

• Probe to find the right references. Most employees are going to list the top 3 references that they know will speak highly of them. Ask them for additional contacts, this may open the doors to co-workers or supervisors who will give more information than just dates of employment and verifying of work history.
• Take your time. If they were worth reference checking, then they were worth a thorough reference check. Use some of the same probing questions that you use during an interview. See if their references describe the candidate in the same way that they describe themselves.
• Ask for examples. If they describe the candidate as a problem solver, ask for specific instances in which they had solved problems in the past.
• Ask for referrals. Questions like, “If I chose not to hire this candidate for a _______role, who would you recommend?” are great ways to gain additional candidates and insight for your open position.

Hiring the right candidate the first time can be a great savings of time and resources. If you are struggling to gain thorough information during a reference check, consider partnering with a recruitment agency. Recruiters spend far more time reference checking than most employers due to the volume of candidates that they represent. This most often allows them to gain rapport with other hiring managers, in addition to their existing client relationships. Often times their network allows them obtain more information than what someone with no rapport is able to gain.

Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of professional recruiters? Contact us today!  If you are a stand out professional seeking contingent or long term career opportunities, visit our job seekers section for more information!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.