by Paul W. Barada
Monster Salary and Negotiation Expert
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I've always been amused by companies who want my firm to thoroughly check every reference a candidate provides but refuse to return the favor when asked to do the same for their former employees. They expect other employers to talk but won't do so themselves. There probably isn't a more curious paradox in the HR field.
While there's nothing wrong with carefully checking references, it is a gross disservice to prospective employers to withhold job performance information. A no-comment policy is a red flag for most employers. After all, if the person was a good employee, why isn't the previous employer willing to say so?
A no-comment policy creates negative results for both job seekers and other employers. It hurts former employees who performed well and are seeking to advance their careers based on solid performance. It also facilitates the passing along of bad apples to unsuspecting employers.
Things Are Changing
Happily, there are some positive changes on the hiring horizon. One has been the emergence of a whole new line of cases based on the concept of negligent referral. In a nonlegal nutshell, negligent referral is a former employer's failure to reveal true information about a former employee that results in harm to an innocent third party. Another positive change has been limiting, by statute, the liability of employers who make truthful, good faith statements about former employees. More than 40 states have passed some legislation that protects employers from being sued by former employees who aren't hired because of what was said.
A New Tactic
One of the most novel approaches, however, has been the emergence of associations of companies that agree to share information about former employees with other members of the group. The idea is to get around no-comment policies for the benefit of all concerned. If you join the association, you agree to provide honest job performance information about former employees to other association members, and they, in turn, agree to return the favor.
So far, this new concept has been limited to companies in the same type of business. But efforts are underway by some major players to create associations that will operate the same way, featuring diverse businesses. As this new approach unfolds, it should hold many benefits for both employers and job seekers. It will facilitate the free flow of information between employers, reduce the risk of litigation, help good employees advance their careers and help uncover poor performers who currently hide behind no-comment policies as they go from job to job. These associations could create win-win situations for all concerned.