Research from SHRM shows that 96 percent of human resources professionals check references, yet less than 25 percent of those checks are able to produce adequate information beyond employment verification. What happened to reference-checking? This session will examine where the reference-checking function has come from in the past — when it was a hiring formality that was checked off and completed over the phone — to its evolution now as an opportunity to collect 360-degree feedback that predicts performance and retention. Learn how technology has introduced a way for talent acquisition professionals to capture behavioral feedback from five references in two days for each job candidate, and how to avoid the 10-15 percent of candidates who score low with references. Also, see an overview of how this technology infuses consistency, reliability and validity into each reference check and obtains scores that identify candidates’ developmental needs. What will participants learn? How to improve quality-of-hire by avoiding the 10-15 percent of candidates who score low with references. How to capture behavioral feedback from five references in two days for each candidate. How to infuse consistency, reliability and validity into each reference check. How to identify developmental needs of each candidate. How to provide information to hiring managers that influences decisions.

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2. Speaker: Jack Kramer
Vice President Field Operations
SkillSurvey
Moderator: Ladan Nikravan
Associate Editor
Talent Management Magazine
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Ladan Nikravan
Associate Editor
Talent Management magazine

7. #TMwebinar
Jack Kramer
Vice President Field Operations
SkillSurvey

8. Revolutionized Assessments for Business
How Automated Online Reference-
Checking is Changing the Hiring Game
SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360™

9. The History of a Reference Check
• Historically
– One of the most important steps
– Hiring managers talked to previous managers
• How are they day to day?
• Nuances?
• What challenges do they have and what can I do to make them A+ players?
• Actionable Information
– Will it help make a decision?
– Will it screen out or have candidate rise to the top?
– Will this information help this person succeed?
– Will this information predict behavior?

10. Necessary for
making informed
hiring decision
Historical Phone Checking

11. History of Reference Checking Effectiveness
Actionable
Information
Reference Checking Past 40 Years
1990’s1970’s 20001980’s 2010
Can we make it
relevant again?
Should it be?

12. The Lawyers Get Involved
• The 1990’s and the new millennium
– Legal issues arise
– HR cracks down and bans reference checking
• What are the options?
– Outsource the process – check the box

13. Results of Outsourcing
• 4 simple answers
• Does it really help
make a decision?
Key Success Traits
• Interpersonal Skills
• Teamwork
• Honesty
• Dependability
• Integrity

14. The Lawyers Get Involved
• The 1990’s and the new millennium
– Legal issues arise
– HR cracks down and bans reference checking
• What are the options?
– Outsource the process – check the box

15. The Lawyers Get Involved
• The 1990’s and the new millennium
– Legal issues arise
– HR cracks down and bans reference checking
• What are the options?
– Stop doing it?
• If you do try and reference check:
• Countless hours of phone mail tag, email tag, phone mail tag
• Weeks and weeks of time
– All for no actionable information

16. • Bad Hire has an impact
• Various by organization and by job role
– Hard dollar cost – base salary, benefits, on board training, exit costs
– Internal team turmoil
– Customer satisfaction
– Compliance (Finance – SOX issues and the Fed’s)
• For sales roles
– Cost of lost revenue
– Asset is time – time is lost forever
• For clinical roles
– HCAHPS and reimbursements
Impact of a Bad Hire

17. Dependable Employees
Absenteeism is a chronic problem among U.S. retail employers
• Conservatively costs $3,600 per hourly employee per year and $2,650 per salaried employee
per year
• A company with 5,000 hourly employees has the potential to reduce costs by over $7.9 million
per year (3.2% of total payroll)
• Results in lost productivity, high-cost replacement workers, and excess staffing
Results in reduced
ability to meet demand
leading to dissatisfied
customers

18. Employee Retention in Retail
Is Turnover Really a Fixed Cost?

19. Can we make an impact
by identifying behaviors
before they are hired?
Can HR Make An Impact?

20. The Results are in…….
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Minimal
Moderate
Great
Percent
DevelopmentalNeed
10 + years of statistics prove out - SkillSurvey References Perceive
Candidates in the following categories
5-10 % High Risk Candidates
10-15 % Moderate Risk for Success Candidates
80-85 %Validated Low Risk

21. Should be a Poll Question: Can We Identify Them?
D’s and F’s are a must to avoid

22. Categorize the Candidates
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Minimal
Moderate
Great
Percent
DevelopmentalNeed
The A’s, the B’s, the C’s, the D’s, the F’s
5 % D and F’s

23. The D’s and F’s
We all know this person.
- Asking the question:
- Who hired him?
- Why is he still
here?

24. The Hard Cost of Bad Hire – Real ROI
The U.S. Department of Labor currently estimates
that the average cost of a bad hiring decision can
equal 30% of the individual’s first-year potential
earnings. That means a single bad hire with an
annual income of $50,000 can equal a potential
$15,000 loss for the employer.
Question for the attendees:
Can you think of one person your team hired recently where you made a
mistake? Hiring manager override gone bad?
Example – RN $60,000 x .3 = $18,000

25. • Finding the B’s and C’s
• Seems to be many in pool
• The interview:
– Seemed ok, better than most
– Something nagging
– ….3 months later – C – player
– I knew it
The B’s and C’s
"I noticed that the dynamic range
between what an average person
could accomplish and what the best
person could accomplish was 50 or 100
to 1. Given that, you're well advised to
go after the cream of the cream. ...A
small team of A+ players can run
circles around a giant team of B and C
players.“ --- Steve Jobs

26. The B’s and C’s are Hard to Identify
A players
B and C players

27. Large Percent of Candidate Pool
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Minimal
Moderate
Great
Percent
DevelopmentalNeed
The A’s, the B’s, the C’s, the D’s, the F’s
15 % B & C’s
80 % A’s

28. B Player is Singled Out and Hired
B Player is Chosen
• Some gaps
• No show stopper issues
• Onboarding plan
• Know the issues before day 1

29. Less than one minute
85% Response Rate
Confidential Reference
Feedback
Two Days or Less
Identify
Avoid
Validate
Skeptical?

30. The Real Cost of Bad Hire – Cream of the Cream
• Hiring for Mediocrity
• Driving to the A player on every candidate
• Cost of B’s and C’s
– HCAHPS
– Customer Satisfaction
– Sales
– Avis – we try hard to be the best (#1)
• Must focus on the A’s
• Identify those who can be B+ players

31. What is the Problem?
• Most candidates do a nice job presenting themselves during
interviews
– All are team players
– All show up for work and don’t text, sit on Facebook all day
– Most are ethical and always do the right thing
• Most candidates are well rehearsed in the question/response mode
– Books, job seeker sites
– Experience interviewing all the time
• Your only view today is from the candidate’s perspective
– Really need a true 360 review from those who saw the behavior in the past

32. Phone interview
Face to Face
Personality / Behavior
Assessments
Resume
From Candidate Perspective – Today’s Approach
I’m terrific
I work really hard, weekends
too!
I interview well
I’m a Team Player
Recruiter Candidate

33. Phone interview
Face to Face
Personality / Behavior
Assessments
Resume
From Reference Perspective – Today’s Approach
She’s terrific
I would hire her again, yes!
She works hard
She’ a Team Player
Recruiter Reference

34. Phone interview
Face to Face
Personality / Behavior
Assessments
Resume
A New Perspective – The New Paradigm
Dependability
Interpersonal Skills
Personality
Work Ethic
Teamwork
Integrity
References
Recruiter

35. Comparison
Online Solution Typical Phone Check
More references 5+ business references
50% of which are former or
current Supervisors
2 to 3
Faster 1 to 2 days 5 to 10 days
Guide Hiring Managers Previous managers assisting in
leading interview
No
Pauses a hiring decision 5% - 10% of candidates < 1% of candidates?
Passive sourcing tools 5 references per candidate –
warm leads
Not Applicable
Compliant/Legal Risk Supports compliance with EEOC
and OFCCP
Uncertain/Inconsistent

36. Why You and a Better Process?
• Improve
– Quality of Hire
– Hiring Manager’s Interview Effectiveness
– Efficiency
– Passive Sourcing
• Drive
– Compliance and Consistency
• Elevate Recruitment’s Role

37. Improve Hiring Manager’s Interview Effectiveness
• Lack of consistency for hiring managers
• Managers looking for differences in candidates
• Probing questions driven by previous managers’ comments

38. Patient Satisfaction - HCAHPS

39. Behavioral Interview Questions

40. Improve Efficiency – Time and Money
RecruitersSourceCandidates
Screen to top 3 candidates

41. • Improve efficiency – time and money
• Six Sigma
 From 60 work weeks to 4.8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Telephone SkillSurvey
Work weeks to
reference check
2,272 job
candidates
Solution resulted in a 92% Reduction in Time Spent reference checking
Exclusive Case Study: Improved Efficiency – Time and Money

42. Passive Sourcing by the Numbers
Job opening
100
Candidate
s
300
Reference
s
1,500
An organization
has 100 job
openings
3 candidates
apply on average
for each job = 300
candidates
3 candidates
SkillSurveyed and
provide 5 references
each = 1,500 potential
contacts
65% of the 1,500 contacts opt in to learn about future
career opportunities. 1,500 x .35 = 525 + passive
candidates
1 2 3 4
Talent Pipeline and Funnel
• Multiplier Effect Based on
Number of Candidates Screened
• Builds Automatically
Industry Professionals with Whom
To Network and Source
• “Great People Know Great
People”
• “Warm Lead” vs. “Cold Lead”

43. Science Compliance Risk
Risk and Compliance Management

44. Increase Compliance and Consistency
• It is all about the science - Validity of survey questions
– Do the questions validate what you are actually asking?
– Do the questions help predict future behavior?
– Are the questions being asked in a way that reduces risk?
• Sample question – What high school did you go to?
• SkillSurvey reference feedback shows no differences
between sub-groups
– Helps support your efforts to remain EEOC and OFCCP
compliant
• Standardized process

45. • Clear ROI for Finance and Budgets
– Quality of Hire
– Turnover
– Efficiency
– Passive Sourcing
• Elevate Recruitment’s Role
Why You and a Better Process?

46. 1 minute
5 minutes
10 minutes
2 seconds

47. Survey Availability
Job Level ►
▼Job Family
Entry-
Level
Hourly Clerical Professional Supervisor Manager Executive
General       
Production     
Sales       
Marketing     
IT       
Operations     
Customer
Service      
R&D    
Admin      
Finance      
Legal      
HR      
Engineering     
Education    
Healthcare       

48. Step 1: Enter Candidate Data

49. Step 1a: Select Survey
Send email
to candidate

50. Sample Libraries: Finance

51. Other Libraries: IT

52. Other Libraries: Customer Service

53. Other Libraries: Healthcare

54. Step 1a: Select Survey
Send email
to candidate

55. From: org name Recruiting
Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2008 12:57 PM
To: Patrick T
Subject: org name Selection Process Information
Dear Patrick T,
Thank you for your continued interest in the Major Account Sales position with org name. As already
explained to you, a critical step in the selection process is reference checking. org name uses web-based
reference checking for this purpose.
Please click on the link below. It will open a web page where you will input your reference. You will also
be able to review a sample of the questions being asked and the email that will be sent to your
references. Your references will be emailed a reference survey and their responses will be submitted
directly back to SkillSurvey. No one will see your references' individual responses because all responses
are electronically aggregated together to produce one summary report.
Note that all references will be responding as individuals, not as representatives of any company or
organization.
Please click on the following link (URL) to begin: http://eref.skillsurvey.com//CandidateUtilities/EOC.aspx?
Step 2: Candidate Enters References
Automated Email From
Recruiter to Candidate
Explaining the Process

56. Step 2c: Candidate Confirms References and Signs Legal Waiver
Proof of Consent
“…I hereby release any such
person, their company, and any
affiliated officers, directors,
agents, and employees from any
and all claims I may have arising
out of the disclosure of such
information…”

57. The Surveys: Job-Specific, Behaviorally-Based Questions

58. Job-Specific, Behaviorally-Based
Would you like to learn more about job openings at Your Co name?

59. Drive Warm Candidates to Career Page

60. Step 4: Aggregate Reference Responses into Actionable Intel

61. Validated Candidate – Good Fit

62. Validated Candidate – Good Fit

63. Pause or Avoid this Candidate – Low Scoring

64. Professionalism

65. Interpersonal Skills

66. Patient Satisfaction - HCAHPS

67. Verbatim Comments

68. Verbatim Comments

69. Passive Candidate Database

70. • Clear ROI for Finance and Budgets
– Quality of Hire
– Turnover
– Efficiency
– Passive Sourcing
• Quickly Implement and Easy “Win” for HR
• Elevate Recruitment’s Role in the Organization
Why You and a Better Process?

71. Sample Clients
Sample Clients

72. SkillSurvey Usage and Growth

73. About Us: SkillSurvey
• Providing Reference Solutions since 2002
• Inventor of web-based reference checking
– Patent pending
• 37,611 Candidates in June 2013
– June 2012 – 30,621
– Over 1,000,000 candidates entered since 2008
– Over 5,000,000 people experienced the SkillSurvey process
• 750+ customers
• 319 surveys in current inventory – 23 different job families
– Cynthia Hedricks, PhD, Chief Analytics Officer
– 92 Surveys for Healthcare roles, 22 Surveys for IT roles, 12 for Sales roles, 10 for
Customer Service roles, 22 for Finance roles, 15 for Retail roles, 13 for Education

74. Contact SkillSurvey
www.skillsurvey.com
Jack Kramer, Executive Vice President
Field Operations
jkramer@skillsurvey.com
610-947-6300 x 1203

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