Skip to content

Update reference call protocol

Warren Gifford requested to merge mercadon-patch-12 into main

Created by: mercadon

References are a big bottleneck (mainly due to People Ops bandwidth)– they take a lot of roundtrip coordination, involve playing phone tag, and accumulate very quickly based on the number of offers we have going out these days. (It is also extremely rare that reference checks have actually affected someone's offer).

New proposal for reference call protocol (this is subject to change in the future, but for now is solving for bandwidth on the recruiting team):

  • HM requests references on ad-hoc basis (only if you have any specific concerns about a candidate or their experience).
  • HM requests specific references (ex: former manager at X company or team lead at current company), ideally no more than two, whoever you think will give you the most insight on your concerns.
  • HM decides the timeline for the reference call (s)– whether it should to be prior to an offer, concurrently to an offer, after an offer, or after hire.
  • Recruiter coordinates calls and invites the HM to join all reference calls so they can dig into the areas of concern.
  • HM must be present for reference call(s).

Merge request reports