What's the point of references? Unless they are obtained correctly!! The number of candidates we have rejected because of poor references is quite alarming, candidates who are currently working in children's services. How is this happening?? Here's a few reasons: Taking reference contacts at face value - If a candidate provides reference details of a contact at their current employer, how do you know that is the right person to provide a reference. They could be a colleague or friend happy to provide a reference but not authorised by the organisation to do so. Emailing a referee without calling first - Without calling the referee, how do you know they even work for the organisation. I have seen some very elaborate scams where fake emails addresses have been created to provide references. Referees using Hotmail, Gmail or other non-organisation accounts – Why would the referee not provide a reference using an organisation email address? If the reference is provided from a personal account, it cannot be deemed a legitimate reference on behalf of the organisation. Some smaller companies may use Hotmail or Gmail accounts, but these can be verified online. Not checking the organisation details – More often than not, references will only contain basic information such as dates of employment and confirmation of Safeguarding or disciplinary investigations. I have had candidates tell me they work with children and young people, yet when I have checked online, found that the company is registered to support adults only. How we do things at Kingston Noble! · All referees are verified by calling the company directly and confirming the person is authorised to provide a reference and is the best person to do this. · If a non-organisation account is provided, we will check whether that account is associated with the organisation. If not, the referee will be rejected, and our team will use professional curiosity to establish why the details were provided in the first place · Where only basic details have been provided on the reference, we will research the organisation to ensure the job role given by the candidate matches the support provided by the organisation We really need to get this right to ensure the candidates we are introducing to children's services are safe to work with young people.
