Xref provides insight on candidate engagement | Connect Hearing

What drove you to switch from manual to automated reference checking?

At Connect Hearing, the professionalism of our staff is critically important. We are committed to providing the best hearing solutions for our clients’ health, with the highest level of respect and expertise from our people. We employ people that truly care about hearing healthcare and are passionate about helping those with hearing difficulties.

Hiring for our audiologist and hearing instrument practitioner roles can be challenging since they involve such niche areas of expertise and specialist training. There is a lack of people available, particularly in remote and rural areas so our recruitment processes need to be as reliable and insightful as possible.

When recruiting for other, front-end and customer service positions we face all the usual challenges of anyone looking for staff in today’s competitive hiring market - for example, a lack of time available to complete the necessary recruitment steps promptly, to ensure we secure the best people possible.

Prior to discovering Xref, we were conducting our reference checks by phone, with the odd email if references were in a different timezone. It was entirely manual and we were playing a lot of phone tag, sometimes for days at a time, trying to reach people.

Xref was introduced to one of our directors from a counterpart in a sister company who had nothing but great things to say about Xref’s services - it was then that we realized just how much an automated system could improve the quality and efficiency of our reference checking process.

What was your brief for Xref?

Reference checking is an important process for us, it verifies what we have been told by a candidate so we can feel sure they have been honest about everything they claim to be capable of.

We needed to find a way to ensure this valuable step in the recruitment process wasn’t taking up too much time and resources, or slowing down the hiring journey and leaving us at risk of losing the best talent available to us. After speaking with Xref team, we were intrigued by how easy the system was to use, the lack of effort on our part to initiate the process, and the quick turnaround time showcased. This paired with a glowing recommendation from our sister company compelled us to try Xref.

What has been the outcome of using Xref?

The first time we used Xref, we put the requests in on Friday afternoon and by Monday morning they were all complete. It was absolutely wonderful!

The process is incredibly efficient and on the couple of occasions that we haven’t heard back from a reference, the onus has been on the candidate to encourage their contacts to respond or provide alternative contact details. Previously we would have continued to try and track down that original reference who perhaps, in fact, was not willing to provide feedback.

Prior to introducing Xref, we would have conducted reference checks on one final applicant, to confirm our feelings that they are the right person for the role. But there are occasions when there are a couple of people that could be suitable and we're having a hard time deciding on which candidate to go with.

We are now able to add a second set of references without any additional time or resources required. On these occasions, the level of engagement from a candidate and the speed at which they get their reference details submitted will often tell us a lot about their eagerness to complete the process and be in the best position to secure the role.

As well as the improved efficiencies offered by the technology behind Xref, we have also loved the very human support they offer. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with everyone on the Xref team - any questions we’ve had have been addressed quickly.

All in all, it’s been a fantastic experience and everything we were told we were going to get from the system we have in fact received. And that’s always great to see!