A candidate background check can provide an employer with valuable additional information, but knowing how to interpret the feedback is just as important. Especially when you hear something negative about a candidate.
One former manager’s assessment does not give you the full picture. Every employment relationship has two sides, and an opinion can be influenced by previous experiences, personal dynamics, management style, and the work environment. This is why a background check should be treated as one part of the recruitment process rather than the final truth about a candidate.
Know Who You Can Ask for Feedback
You should only contact references provided by the candidate for feedback. The way a candidate reacts when asked to provide references can also give you additional insight, for example, into how openly and confidently they speak about their previous employment relationships. This may, in turn, provide clues about how things went in their previous role and whether there are any potential concerns to explore further.
The most valuable feedback usually comes from a candidate’s former direct managers. A colleague or business partner may be able to describe the person as a team member, but they may not know what goals were set for them, how well they achieved those goals, or what kind of feedback they received.
At the same time, it is important to maintain a critical perspective when listening to a former manager’s opinion. The fact that you are both employers does not automatically make their assessment objective. You do not know the full context of their working relationship, the problems they may have experienced, or the former manager’s own role in those situations.
Prepare Your Background Check Questions
Before collecting the feedback, think through the specific questions you want answered. You could ask about the candidate’s previous responsibilities, how well they achieved their goals, their strengths, and areas for development. It is also worth asking how they worked with their manager and the wider team. Another important question is in which situations the person needed more support.
Try to ask the same questions when speaking with different references, as this will make it easier to compare and evaluate the results objectively afterwards. When preparing your questions, leave room for open-ended questions that do not lead the respondent towards a particular answer. For example: “Is there anything else the candidate’s future manager should know?” Sometimes the answer may reveal something unexpected that makes you look at the candidate from a completely different perspective.
Negative Feedback Needs Context
If a former manager says that an employee struggled with their responsibilities, it can be easy to draw an immediate conclusion. Instead, ask what opportunities the person had to succeed in the role. Were they given sufficient training? Did they receive feedback? Were the goals and expectations clearly defined?
The same applies if you are told that a candidate “did not fit into the team”. The issue may indeed have been related to the candidate, but the team itself may also have had an overly competitive atmosphere, excessive criticism, or other issues that made it difficult for a new member to settle in.
Negative feedback may be entirely justified, but before drawing conclusions, it is important to understand what the assessment is based on and the wider context behind it.
Consider How Recent the Feedback Is
A negative experience from ten years ago may not reflect the employee sitting in front of you today. People develop, gain new experience, and can learn a great deal from previous situations. Therefore, it is best to conduct background checks on employment relationships from the past five years and consider any older feedback in the context of when it was given.
The timing of the conversation also matters. Make sure the reference has the time and privacy to speak openly and without feeling rushed. If they are busy or it is not a good moment for a longer conversation, arrange another time.
Always Look at the Bigger Picture
A candidate background check is only one part of assessing their suitability for a role. You also have information from interviews, previous work experience, assessments, and other stages of the recruitment process.
If the same pattern emerges from several different sources, it is worth paying attention to. However, if one negative assessment contradicts everything else you have learned about the candidate, it makes sense to investigate the reason for that difference before ruling them out.
The purpose of a background check is not to find a reason to say “no” to a candidate. It is to gain another perspective that helps you, as an employer, make a more informed recruitment decision.
If you need support with candidate assessment, executive search, or the recruitment process as a whole, TeamCreator is happy to help.
Please contact us HERE or write to info@teamcreator.ee.
