Planit Software Testing Eliminates Reference Bias and Saves Time

What drove you to change your reference checking process?

Since launching in Australia more than 20 years ago, our software testing company has grown into a global operation, with more than 1,300 employees across our international network. As Planit’s cutting-edge solutions gained momentum in industries around the world, we found ourselves needing to expand our team quickly and efficiently.

Managing large recruitment campaigns using a manual reference checking process became an unproductive task for our HR team. We were also up against the challenges of recruiting in highly competitive industries, with prospects considering multiple roles at once.

We required a swift final recruitment stage in order to ensure we weren’t losing the best talent to competitors. A large part of the problem was that our Australian-based recruitment team was having to reference check candidates from all over the world, and the inevitable phone-tag would often cause delays of up to three weeks.

This lag seriously hindered our ability to get the best people through the door. We realised we needed to reassess our processes and ensure we were doing all we could to reduce time spent on what we regarded as administrative tasks.

What was your brief for Xref?

As a company that prides itself on offering streamlined, automated solutions that drive organisational efficiencies, we needed a recruitment process that more closely aligned with our business philosophy.

We needed an efficient reference checking solution that could swiftly manage our increasing volume of recruitment. At the same time, we didn’t want the process to be rushed and ill-considered. We wanted to be able to generate valuable insights in a timely manner, to help us make informed hiring decisions.

We also wanted to implement a solution that would benefit the broader business. We wanted to see the ripple effect of an efficient talent acquisition process spill over to improve wider HR and business operations.

What has been the outcome of using Xref?

Since implementing Xref’s automated platform, we’ve gone from a reference checking turnaround of up to three weeks, to receiving an Xref report within 24 hours. The agility of the online system means referees, regardless of their location, can complete reference reports at a time most convenient to them. We can now have a role filled and someone in the job within one week.

The return on investment from Xref has been greater than we anticipated. Beyond efficiencies, we have also found that Xref enables us to eliminate bias from our reference checking process. It’s crucial for us to get a snapshot of a candidate’s background and verify their work history, but Xref also creates a sense of privacy and security in the process.

We now use Xref reports to not only inform hiring decisions, but also to keep our Board of Directors up to speed with recruitment efforts. The ability to securely store, cross-check and benchmark the data produced by the system means our Board can be confident in the integrity of our hiring process when speaking with stakeholders and clients.

The time and cost-efficient nature of the Xref platform has increased the productivity of our HR staff, enabling them to add greater value to the business. With more time on their hands, HR staff can turn their attention to broader areas of our HR operations, including strategy, candidate selection and retention.

Thanks to Xref, we now have a system that not only meets our current recruitment needs, but supports future business growth.