ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 40 percent of HR
professionals report that over the last three years they have increased the
amount of time spent on reference checking for potential employees, according
to the 2005 Reference Checking Survey released by the Society for Human
Resource Management (SHRM).
Most organizations conduct reference and background checks as part of
their screening process. Seventy-three percent of survey respondents say that
reference checking is somewhat or very effective in identifying poor
performers.
"Being able to identify unqualified candidates during the recruiting
process saves organizations time and money," said Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR,
president and CEO of SHRM. "Employees provide the competitive edge for a
successful business, making it critically important for organizations to be
able to recruit the right people. With new technologies, reference and
background checking has become easier to conduct and increasingly more
important to organizations who want to get a complete picture of the job
candidates they consider hiring."
Ninety-six percent of organizations conduct some kind of background or
reference check. Although much reference checking is conducted in-house, 52
percent of survey respondents report that their organization outsources at
least part of their reference checking or verification.
Survey respondents report that reference checks have found inconsistencies
in areas including certifications, eligibility to work in the United States,
degrees conferred, schools attended, and malpractice or professional
disciplinary action. The most common inconsistencies -- found by about half
of survey respondents -- are inconsistencies in dates of previous employment,
criminal records, former job titles, and past salaries.
Organizations are responsible for checking the references of potential
employees, but also are asked to provide reference information about former
employees. Due to a fear of liability, 54 percent of organizations have
policies to not provide employee references. Yet, 75 percent of HR
professionals believe their organization would share more information about
current and former employees if there were laws clearly protecting them from
legal liability.
The survey was based on 345 responses from a random sample of SHRM
members.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world's largest
association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than
190,000 individual members, the Society's mission is to serve the needs of HR
professionals and to advance the human resource profession to ensure that HR
is recognized as an essential partner in developing and executing
organizational strategy. Founded in 1948, SHRM currently has more than 500
affiliated chapters and members in more than 100 countries. Visit SHRM Online
at http://www.shrm.org
SOURCE Society for Human Resource Management
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Related links:
http://www.shrm.org
CONTACT:
Frank Scanlan, +1-703-535-6043,
fscanlan@shrm.org, Jen Jorgensen, +1-703-535-6356,
jjorgensen@shrm.org, or Will Gray, +1-703-535-6012,
wlgray@shrm.org, all of the Society for Human Resource Management
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