make sound hiring decisions with our relevate reference technology.

On average, the cost to replace just one employee ranges just above 20% of the position’s salary. The combination of these high costs with the ongoing labour shortage and growing skills gap makes it crucial for organisations to make effective hiring decisions.

One of the most powerful tools that your organisation can use during the recruitment process is reference checking. The ability to obtain direct feedback from the candidate’s current or former managers and co-workers is invaluable. However, taking the time to conduct multiple reference checks per candidate can be both tedious and time consuming.

To help your company gain the candidate insights it needs to make informed hiring decisions, in an effective and efficient way, we’ve created Relevate Reference, our latest automated reference checking platform.

This guide explains more about what Relevate Reference is, how it works and the value this technology can bring to your organisation

what is relevate reference?

Relevate Reference is an automated reference checking software streamlining the reference checking process by acquiring valuable candidate insights online. Rather than spending hours on the phone or struggling to find a time that works for you and the referee to conduct a reference check, Relevate Reference allows referees to provide feedback at any time, anywhere and from any device.

Then, our technology combines this feedback and delivers it in an easy-to-understand format so you can assess each candidate’s skills and competencies and determine job and boss fit.

Our Relevate Reference technology is not a standalone product. Still, just one of the many tools our clients has access to as part of our overall recruitment and workforce management solutions. It’s also just one function of our complete talent tech stack called Relevate, which includes:

• Relevate Talent Search
• Relevate Match
• Relevate Reference
• Relevate HR Portal
• Relevate Schedule
• and more

As with all of our Randstad services, you can customise how your company utilises our Relevate platform. This customisation allows you to incorporate the right tools into your overall recruitment strategy without being overburdened with the tools you don’t need.

how does relevate reference work?

Relevate Reference is so easy to use that you can obtain the critical candidate insights you need with just a few clicks. All you need to do is select which reference feedback report you want to use and provide your candidate’s contact information, including first and last name and email address. Our automated software will take it from there.

Relevate Reference requests candidates to provide the name and contact information of the professional referees they want to use. It then automatically sends referral requests to each candidate’s referees with a link and instructions for completing the form.

Referees can then complete the form and provide a reference from any device, at any time, from anywhere. Our online reference checking technology even sends out automated reminders to referees, if necessary, to improve response rates. It also sends you email alerts as each reference form is submitted.

Once our system receives all reference forms, it automatically generates a talent insights report. This report combines all the results into one easy-to-understand report that includes valuable data, such as the probability of rehiring rate and overall performance scores.

It also includes a combined scale rating score for essential questions asked in the reference form, such as:

• is the candidate a team player?
• is the candidate adaptable to change?
• does the candidate deliver work on time?

what makes relevate reference a powerful recruitment tool?

Our Relevate Reference automated reference checking platform allows you to integrate technology and data into the hiring process without eliminating the human element. What does this mean for your company? It means that your hiring managers still retain complete control over which candidates are the best fit for the company, role and boss.

The difference is that our technology provides your hiring team with the candidate insights necessary to compare applicants in a fair, accurate and unbiased method. This unique combination of technology and human touch is at the core of our Randstad talent solutions.

With our Relevate Reference tool and other elements of our Relevate tech stack, your organisation can streamline the recruitment process while simultaneously improving hiring outcomes.

how can relevate references add value to your organisation?

Relevate Reference is ideal for any small to midsize business that wants to hire smarter and faster. This technology can provide your organisation with numerous benefits, including:

time savings

While the exact time it takes to conduct a reference check varies greatly, it’s recommended to set aside one hour for each check. When you multiply this amount by three or four per candidate, it’s easy to see how time-consuming this process can be. This doesn’t even count the time spent going back and forth just to set a time up to complete the reference check with the referee.

The reality is that most HR professionals simply don’t have hours to spend conducting reference checks. So, they either rush through the process, only reach out to a few referees or skip the process altogether.

Relevate Reference helps hire managers to save time by automating the entire reference checking process. You can complete the entire reference checking setup process in just a few minutes. Results can then be delivered right to your inbox in about one week.

increased speed in hiring

When it comes to hiring talent, time is not on your side. Today’s highly competitive job market means employers must work fast to select a candidate and extend a job offer before the competition. On the other hand, you can’t rush the hiring process, or the quality of the hire might suffer.

So, employers must gather as much data and insights about the candidates as possible, as quickly as possible. Relevate Reference can help you do just that. Our automated reference checking technology only requires a few clicks of basic information about each candidate. Then, you can focus on other HR duties while our technology takes care of the rest.

Within one week, your organisation can have the candidate insights it needs to make sound hiring decisions. Best of all, you can select the information you want to collect from references. You can choose between our numerous well-structured reference forms or customise a form to ensure you gather the right insights regarding candidate skills, competencies and attributes.  

With these insights, you are better equipped to compare and contrast candidates and determine which applicant is right for your company. Shortening the time necessary to complete the reference checking process can enable your organisation to extend a job offer to the right candidate before your competition.

improved hiring results

According to a recent study, 88% of executives are concerned about increased turnover rates. One of the best ways to minimise turnover is to ensure you’re hiring suitable candidates for the correct positions. This task is no easy feat. It means you must look beyond just skill sets and competencies. While necessary, these qualifications alone can’t help determine job and boss fit.

Instead, you must dig a little deeper and learn more about the candidate, such as leadership style, motivations and personality. Conducting virtual or face-to-face interviews can provide some candidate insights.

However, it only offers a one-sided view. On the other hand, reference checking can help you obtain a better view of the candidates through the eyes of their current and former managers, supervisors and co-workers.

For years, the reference checking process was conducted primarily by phone. While this method can be effective, it also can lead to rushed conversations and preliminary results. We find that allowing referees to use our Relevate Reference process to complete an online form at the most convenient time can lead to higher response rates and more detailed responses.

One of the best features of our Relevate Reference technology is that it combines all the candidate’s referee feedback into one easy-to-read report that provides a better overall view of each applicant. These insights can help you determine not only which candidates have the right skill sets but which one is the best fit for your company.

minimising biases in the recruitment process

Bias in the recruitment process is one of the toughest challenges to overcome. After all, the vast majority of people have some types of biases, whether they are conscious or unconscious. When these biases impact hiring decisions, it can significantly hinder your company’s ability to build a diverse and inclusive workplace.

While you can’t remove biases that referees may bring, you can mitigate biases that impact hiring decisions by your recruitment team by using automated reference checking. With our automated software, there is no guessing game regarding the referees’ responses.

Instead, our technology combines all results to provide an overview of the candidate's strengths and weaknesses. Our reports are structured the same way to provide an accurate side-by-side comparison of the candidates.

monetary savings

Automated reference checking is quickly becoming a must-have tool to help employees save time and hire faster. Rather than purchasing this technology as a stand-alone product from a less-experienced company, you can gain access to this powerful tool just by being a Randstad client.

Our clients have full access to our Relevate Reference tool and our entire Relevate tech stack. You can choose which tools suit your company without incurring additional costs.