Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This time I am posting for my friend. I keep telling her to get an account, but she is terrified that she will get caught...so here I am.
It is my friend's job to handle, among other things at work, references for new applicants for employment.
There is a new "leader" at the company who wants things reported in a certain way. Fine.
My friend's department head asked her today regarding the status of the references and if there were issues with the references holding up the process for the new applicants.
He then asked her area of the office at large. One woman immediately chimed in that she was waiting for references and that it was holding up her work. The rest were sort of quiet but there was apparently agreement that references hold up the process. So the boss asked them all, 6 of them in total, to send an email with the people waiting for references.
Apparently all but one of them also sent a "cc" to her as well. So, she was able to reply as follows:
1st Person...4 pending references, all contacts had been called multiple times with no response, and were scheduled to be called for the 4th and final time that day.
2nd and 3rd people- nothing pending
4th- new hire in the office with one reference pending but my friend had just been given the reference request about 20 minutes before.
5th- 1 pending. Multiple calls, 3 references completed but not usable, 3 calls to one contact, 2 calls to another contact to try to get a current reference.
6th person- 5 pending....2 completed. 1 pending. 2 that my friend had never been told about.
She responded with this info to her boss by forwarding the emails to him with her comments on the status of each reference. She also "cc"d him on all reference emails for the rest of the day. POssibly overkill, but I do think she made her point...
I told her she is fine. She is doing her job, she is calling the people and leaving messages or getting references on the day she is given the request, or the next day if it is the end of the day. She clearly is following up on all of the requests she has been given.
Also, her boss's boss asked for her to send a list of all references she had pending...the list she sent matched exactly with the list above, except for one that she forgot to include (and the 2 she did not know about but I don't think that counts).
Am I right? Does this actually show that she IS doing her job? There is no way to force someone to answer a phone call or return a message, all she can do is follow up in a timely manner.
How can she do any better than what she is doing? I mean, she is given references to call. She calls the phone numbers...if she is not able to get them to answer her call and they do not call back, how in the world does this translate to not good at her job?
I'm kind of surprised that people you would list as references would hesitate to 'be' a (timely) reference, but same time, people do have jobs and lives, etc, so maybe it's not always so easy to reply timely/quickly. But, it does seem that she has a system and is following up and is able to utilize her system to report (in a certain way) on the status of things.
Does she feel the higher-ups want more? Or? If they are new, maybe they are just trying to get a grip on things and know what's going on. Hard to say, or guess what they may want, exactly. I would tell her to hang in there.
The only other thing she could try (if it's ok) is to call the numbers and not leave a msg after the first one, or follow-up msgs, but just to see if someone answers the phone, but hang up if no live answer. Is that a possibility? Or, would/could it 'tick' people off if they have a cell phone, etc? How long has she been doing this job? Hopefully if she is falling short, someone can just give her some tips, resources, to improve her efforts - and results.
Our company has just gone to an all electronic reference system, and part of the data is response time of the referees - though that may not necessarily 'ding' the applicant, it's just part of the info.
She works in a field that is heavily recruited, so I think they are thinking she is a sales call. A few people have told her this. Also, the people seem to rarely pre-warn their references...she says that people being surprised or stating that they have not talked to the person who gave them as a reference in a couple of years.
People rarely call back. She has one person that she has called 4 times, the recruiter has called once, and on her last message she said she used firmer language to let the reference know they are holding up the application of the person by not calling. A total of 5 messages over 3 days with no return call. She said that on the reference list that she got from the new person, 2 of the 3 references gave her wrong numbers. So it is not like the candidates are making sure that the references are all that prepared to be called.
She went to talk to her boss after the whole office announcement with some suggestions on how to possibly encourage a better response, and he said she is not in trouble...but she is still convinced she is.
Not sure if she can do the not leave a message thing consistently, or even if she would want to, as I think she feels that the messages she is leaving, and the people in the office being able to hear her, show that she is really making the calls. I am not sure on that one though...
As I said, I told her there is really not much she can do if she is calling the people, and the people are not calling back.
Maybe there's a point where (with permission and advice from those above her) she can check back with applicants regarding their references. Like when your credit card doesn't work and they ask, would you like to use another card?
Maybe she just feels a bit uncomfortable due to new manager(s) - that's rather normal, I believe.
Maybe there's a point where (with permission and advice from those above her) she can check back with applicants regarding their references. Like when your credit card doesn't work and they ask, would you like to use another card?
Maybe she just feels a bit uncomfortable due to new manager(s) - that's rather normal, I believe.
I asked about this. She says that it is the job of the recruiters to furnish the references for her to call (some rule I do not understand about the recruiters not being allowed to call their own references). She said that when she has a couple of calls to people that have not been returned, she lets the recruiters know. And asks for alternate numbers or for email addresses, or entirely new references. She also said that when she completes a reference for a person but has others still outstanding, she lets the recruiters know the status then as well....
I am still unclear as to the other poster who said she is not good at her job and his rationale for this...as I told her the opposite, that she is not able to do more than make the calls she is supposed to make, to let the recruiters know when there are issues, and to keep track of those that are pending.
I think maybe she's just feeling uneasy about the 'environment' due to new manager(s) asking for info - it can make one feel defensive until you get to know them and their expectations better. And sometimes they are trying to make impressions too (to their bosses). It seems like that may be all it is - and she's likely conscientious - so she's taking the questions even more seriously than they may be intended. 'Guy' bosses aren't often too 'warm and fuzzy' - so that can make it seem even more serious - when maybe it's not. Of course, you get the 'loon' boss now and then - but that's beyond her control.
Best wishes to her! And nice friend / co-worker you are to do all this too!!
We appreciate the advice. I think her boss meant it when he said she is not in trouble, as she does have a good handle on things. And quite honestly, if they are going to hold her responsible because people don't return phone calls or answer their phones when they ring...well, there is not a lot she can do as there is no way to fix the issue.
I told her that all she can do is stay on top of it, communicate when she is not able to complete a reference for someone, and always be aware of what references she has been asked to complete. And she is doing this.
I am still unclear as to the other poster who said she is not good at her job and his rationale for this...as I told her the opposite, that she is not able to do more than make the calls she is supposed to make, to let the recruiters know when there are issues, and to keep track of those that are pending.
This isn't true. As a professional employee, I would have expected her to see that getting these referrals to call her back was difficult and arduous and have already suggested other ideas for a new process. When something isn't working well, you don't just sit around and say "I did what I was supposed to do". You examine the problem and find a way to fix it.
Maybe changing the process so the recruiter ensures the applicant calls the referrals first, so they know to expect the call from your friend would help. The onus then falls on the applicant. "Thanks for applying, Applicant! Please know that we require 2 personal references. We will be contacting them within the next two days only, so please provide names of people who are available and willing." You can bet the applicant will ENSURE the referrals will be available.
So, I agree with an earlier poster. Just "making the calls" again and again, knowing this process is obviously not working, is a characteristic of an employee I would not want to have.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
