Many employers believe that references are just a formality. They get the information from candidates and then don’t follow up. Significant compliance issues within healthcare require references, so it’s essential to conduct one properly. When you’re verifying references, how do you know where to start and what questions to ask? Here are some question ideas to make this part of your hiring process a little easier.
What Was Your Relationship with the Candidate?
You need to understand the connection between the reference and the candidate. Not every reference will be a direct supervisor. Some may have worked with them as a coworker or in a volunteer position. But understanding how the reference knew your candidate would help you put their information into the proper context.
How Would You Rate Their Work?
While references are always subjective, you want to have them value the candidate’s work and experience. Most people will provide you with information on a numbered scale. One can indicate a candidate has some trouble on the job, while a ten would tell you they’re a superstar. However, it’s essential to know that these numbers are only relevant based on how the reference worked with them in the past.
Were They Good at Communicating with People at All Levels?
In almost any job, employees will need to have practical communication skills and talk with various people, including patients, coworkers, managers, doctors, and more. Their reference is an excellent resource to better understand how they can communicate. Ask them who they worked with and how they were able to frame expectations and perform duties.
Was There Anything that Affected Their Performance?
You also want to know how your candidate works in every possible situation. Anyone can have a bad day, but there may be a red flag when performance is affected in the long term based on outside factors. Their reference may talk about how they handle stress in the workplace or how they are best managed when something doesn’t go as planned.
Do You Think They Would Be a Good Fit for This Position?
In the conversation, briefly give the reference a rundown of the specific position. It’s important to hear if they believe the candidate will fit the role. Even if it’s not what they’ve done in the past, the reference will likely have some idea bout their transferable skills and know what kind of environment will allow them to thrive.
Is There Anything You Would Like to Add?
You should also give the reference a chance to provide any additional details. They may have something they think you should know about but that you didn’t specifically ask. For example, they may know that this candidate is great in very structured environments but struggle in more casual workplaces. This could be helpful to determine if they will be a good fit for you.
Do You Need Help Sourcing and Pre-screening Qualified Nursing Candidates?
Call the team at Fortus Healthcare Resources today.
