Xref Features - Seven User Favourites

Are you making the most of your reference checking process? Xref might be a world-leading automated reference checking software but there are a wealth of additional tools and insights at the fingertips of users. In this blog we take a look at seven value-adding features of the Xref platform that our clients love most. 

Here’s what else lies behind that big green button...

1. Core competency tracking 

It all starts with data. With every reference conducted using Xref, a number of data points are measured and analysed, adding insights to the feedback provided in the reference responses. 

This includes core competency tracking, a visual representation of how candidates measure up against one another, in relation to the competencies required to perform in the role and fit in well with the business. This feature enables benchmarking at-a-glance and allows employers to make an initial assessment before diving into the full reference responses. ‍

‍2. Unusual activity 

Xref is passionate about ensuring the right people are recruited into the right roles. Good reference checking is key to making this happen but, with traditional, phone-based approaches, there is no guaranteed method for validating that the person providing the reference is who the candidate said they would be. 

Our unusual activity feature monitors various data points in real-time, to identify where candidates and their referees are when they access the platform, what devices they use and the times at which they carry out a step in the process. Xref flags any potentially fraudulent activity, highlights the reasons for the flag being raised, such as the IP address of a candidate being the same as their referee, and offers the employer the opportunity to explore the issue further, before it’s too late.

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“A candidate had informed us that her referee was overseas, but the Xref process identified & flagged with us that the reference had been completed from the same IP address as the candidate. Given this, there was no doubt that the reference had been completed fraudulently.” Legal People 

3. Report sharing & tracking 

Technology can be a game-changer when it comes to improving the efficiency of typically admin-heavy processes. But if each process produces a report that then needs to be downloaded, attached to an email, sent off to the relevant stakeholders and followed up, there can still be a lot of heavy-lifting involved. 

With Xref’s report sharing and tracking feature, you can quickly and securely send a reference report to a colleague from within the Xref platform. As soon as you enter your colleagues details and hit send, they will receive an email linking to the full report. And no need to check in and make sure they got it, as soon as the email is opened you will receive an alert letting you know that it has been viewed. 

4. Bulk requests 

For some industries, hiring can come in peaks and troughs. Usually, it is somewhat predictable as, for example, retailers anticipate high volume hiring in the lead up to the holiday season, but occasionally these fluctuations in recruitment can be unpredictable. This was certainly the case for organisations in the hospitality industry who ground to a halt during COVID-19 but are quickly ramping up as restrictions begin to ease in some markets.

With Xref’s bulk request feature, we remove the need to manually process multiple candidate reference requests. Users can, instead, upload a file of candidate details, which is used to send out the reference request to up to 100 candidates in one go. It’s a quick and simple tool that makes bulk referencing - something that would traditionally take days, if not weeks to complete - a fast and simple process that can be completed in a matter of minutes. 

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“Given the majority of our staff are in sales roles, hiring can be cyclical, and on occasion, we are required to reference a large number of candidates which would take a huge amount of time and significantly slow down the overall hiring process, without Xref.” Konica Minolta 

5. People Search 

Traditionally, one of the greatest recruitment challenges is the ability to source candidates that would be the best fit for a role, but are not currently considered a “job seeker”. In a job seekers’ market, where the number of people looking for roles massively outweighs the number of roles available, companies are trying to find new ways to source so-called “passive candidates”, great candidates who are not actively looking but could be open to a new opportunity if approached. 

Traditionally, employers do not retain referee data and contact details, given they do not have a secure means to do so and would have no efficient method for utilising the information in the future. Xref People Search maps the details of job roles and places of employment provided by referees when submitting references. It enables users to filter the information available and identify persons of interest from a database of referees that have provided feedback on their candidates, via the Xref platform. This data is already securely stored on the platform and property of the user, but the Xref People Search solution offers a simple and efficient way of filtering and mapping it.

6. Template Builder 

Having the right tools for any job is vital to making sure that you get the best results while being efficient and effective. This is absolutely true when considering the recruitment process, for the best end result - a great hire - you need the right tools that will ensure each stage is completed quickly and delivers the right insights to support the final hiring decision. Everyone tasked with making a new hire requires a reference check to validate their thoughts and assumptions. But not everyone has the resources or experience to ensure that they are asking the right questions in every reference questionnaire.

Template Builder puts that expert knowledge in the hands of anyone looking to create a new reference questionnaire template, for free. Given Xref's legacy in the reference checking space, at the time that Template Builder was developed we had access to almost a decade's worth of reference checks. From analysis of thousands of these checks, we were able to collect and consolidate the most effective questions. Give it a go! 

7. Integrations

The ability to seamlessly integrate HR functions is what makes technology a ‘must-have’. Busy HR teams don’t have time to switch between applications, transferring data from one to the next. 

We have integrated our online reference checking software with more than 30 of the world's leading Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), as well as multiple regional background checking providers, from which users can choose from more than 200 global checks, including police record and working with children checks.

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“The SmartRecruiters and Xref integration allows us to access our entire recruitment process from one place. It's nice to be able to have the manager access the report directly at their convenience through SmartRecruiters.”  McDonalds 

Xref provides a fast, effective and reliable solution to the reference checking process but what many people don’t realise is the full power of the big, green button. With all of these additional features at their disposal, Xref users are well positioned to beat their competition in securing the best talent. They can identify great candidates earlier, ask the right questions of their referees, analyse their suitability more quickly, move them through the full recruitment workflow more efficiently and, all the while, ensure the reliability and security of the process. 

Want to know more? Get in touch today!