PAGE 2 S1. Charles County Business Record April 14, 2008

Do you need' background an'd reference checks? Yes, you do!By Ed MayugaSpecial to the Business Record

As candidates near the end of

the interview process and youare excited

about hiringthat person,STOP, take aminute andplan yourbackgroundand refer­ence check­

ing strategy.Why is it

Ed Mayuga important tocheck back­

ground and !references? Becausethis difficult economy has cre­ated a buyer's market in poten­tial candidates and you want tobe certain that you find the right

person for your growing busi­ness.

:Ideally, you would have atleast two candidates at the end

of the process who are bothqualified for the job and canserve as a backup for each otherin case the other does not workout. This is where clear and fre­quent communication is neces­sary to "keep a candidatewarm" and maintain their inter­

est in your opportunity. Manyemployers that I have spoken tohave questioned the reliabilityand value of checking refer­ences because of the time

involved and my response is"Don't skip this crucial step!"

There are a few companiesthat can create a credit, educa­tion, and criminal backgroundcheck for a nominal fee (around

$70) within a few days. It isimportant to have the candidatesign a release form that allowsyou to check their backgroundand may also include a D~Vdriver's license check as well asa controlled substances check;there are many forms that youcan find on the Internet.

When it comes to referencechecks, I ask the c~ndidate for10 references: a minimum of

three managers/supervisors,three or four colleagues, andthe remainder are direct

reports, if applicable. If a can­didate has not done a good jobof maintaining the network,coming up with 10 referenceswill be difficult. It is also inter­

esting if a management candi­date cannot produce directreports for references, indicat-

ing a "red flag" for her manage­ment style.

Occasionally, a client willquestion if reference checks areworthwhile, suspecting thatthere will only be positive refer­ences or the candidate worked

for a corporation that has anofficial policy of not giving ref­erences, only dates of employ­ment and verification; howevermost people are willing to givea positive review. No one willget sued for a glowing review.

Checking references takestime and you may have to leavea few messages and wait for acallback, so you need to beready with a few key questions,such as:

What would you say arehis/her greatest strength?

What would you coach

him/her to improve?In your opinion, if you were

in charge of the hiring process,would you rehire this candidate?

This is completely confiden­tial, but are there any red flagsthat we should know about?

Any job offer that you makeshould be contingent on refer­ence checks being clear, even if .your state is an "at-will" state.You are making a significantinvestment in recruiting, inter­viewing, and hiring a top per­former, so it is well worth it toinvest a little time in knowingthe person that you are hiring.

Ed Mayuga is a search consult­

ant with Collaborative StrategiesInc., a strategic consultant andexecutive search firm. He can becontacted at 314.523.9421 or

emayug@csi-mail.com.