NEED QUICK RESPONSE!!! re employment verifications
hhaynal
231 Posts
How do each of you respond to the following query in an employment verification:
Would you rehire this employee?
Would you rehire this employee?
Comments
Gene
Please don't misunderstand: If it's someone who we would NOT re-hire, I would ignore the question, and supply dates of employment. If it's someone who was a good employee, I would write the statement I quoted above, which is code for yes, we would re-hire. Does that make sense?
Good comments and appreciate the insight, as always.
We had one x-ee recently seek employement at the county nuke plant. She called me very upset and wanted to know how they found out about her attendance problems and counselings. She said, "I thought you didn't give out any information except dates and positon." I then informed here that the nuke plant had sent me a release form that she had signed specifically stating we were free to give them any and all infomation they requested regarding her former employment. She was not a happy camper.
Good luck.
Nor a very smart camper, I surmise. Too bad she didn't get the job, because it doesn't sound like working in a radioactive environment would do her intellect any harm.
Anyway, I go the same route as most others have said: Give only job title and dates of employment unless a written release is provided, and then stay very narrowly within the parameters of the release.
Speaking of questionable intellect, in over 20 years of doing this job, I have yet to have any reference seeker figure out that, as a governmental agency, we must produce virtually any personnel record on the basis of a request made under our state's open records act. Shhhh! Don't tell anyone.
Give dates of employment, that they were employed, and title. (If job title isn't a good explanation of what they did. (i.e. Administrative Assistant... may need to add their job responsibilities were ...to answer phone, greet customers, input data into an accounting software system, make appointments and plane reservations. Where with Shipping and Receiving Clerk, you probably know.)
They may have been a wonderful employee for you and turn out to be a nightmare for them... may not be qualified for the new job.
E Wart
I noticed your response #14 to your response #13.
I might or might not agree with you except that I didn't quite understand what you were trying to say in #13. Could you please elucidate? 8-}
One can not be attacked for responding to an inquiry as long as you do not apply personal opinion. Our form says hire or no rehire, our policy is not to rehire, when the individual has left with a negative file.
If the supervisor/manager filled out the form and it says no rehire, that is exactly how I respond to the reference check. If the inquiry wants more information I tell them to ask the person concerned for they know why!
Pork
I've dodged a couple of bullets over the years because I got an honest reference on a potential employee, and want to be of the same service to other employers. In many states, including Wisconsin, there's a statute protecting employers who give factual references, and I think we're hiding behind a poor excuse for not doing so.
I'm not sure I see the point of the Q in an employment verification. But in the case of either employment verification or employment reference, our strict policy is to give only dates of employment, job title(s), and salary history.
I advise caution around answering the "would you rehire" Q, unless the EE or former EE has signed a waiver holding you harmless re: sharing of such information.
Without a signed authorization, we give nothing more than dates of employment and job title at termination. If the question about rehirability is asked, we will answer it with a simple response that the past employee either is or is not eligible for rehire. Unless our file is specifically documented to reflect a no-rehire status, we would say the employee is eligible for rehire. If the question isn't asked, we don't address it. With an authorization, we are willing to disclose wages and number of hours worked, but we do not disclose a reason for an unfavorable rehirability status.
"Would you rehire this employee?"
I say: yes or no
I don't provide any other information - as I wrote it in to our policies not too x;-)