Writing references for current and former employees goes with the territory of being a school leader.
Yet as someone who has been doing this for more than 20 years, it is slightly dispiriting to see that the polite discourse around references is being lost.
For example, while I appreciate school HR departments have a lot on their plates and reference checks are a time-consuming but necessary evil, recent emails I have received suggest that some schools have abandoned any attempt to be civil.
The first was titled “Reference Request” but the body of the email contained no text whatsoever, there was simply the school’s confidentiality disclaimer in the footer and an attachment named “ReferenceRequest.docx”.
Was it so much of a burden on the person’s workload to write a few introductory lines and a polite sign-off?
Somewhere in the professionalisation of HR departments, we have lost sight of the fact that we are people-based industry working with children.
It would also be nice if such requests included a note of recognition that taking time to write references is an additional burden on already time-poor leaders.
Ticking boxes
The second was an email from a third-party reference portal company asking for a reference for one of my colleagues.
The email did not make any reference to the school to which my colleague was applying. My initial reaction was that it was a scam, so I had to go back to the company to find out further details before completing the form.
This growing trend of outsourcing to online reference portals means that increasingly, reference requests are a tick-box exercise that only cover the statutory safeguarding essentials.
This does the sector a disservice by failing to give schools a proper insight into a candidate they are considering hiring.
It also makes it harder for the referee to keep a copy of the reference that they have provided, something that any school should do as a matter of consistent record-keeping.
Referencing what?
There was a time when references were part of the selection or appointment process. They were a key piece of evidence as to whether or not a given candidate would have the skills and aptitude that the appointing school was seeking - whether he or she would be a good fit.
This genre of professional reference requires more effort and time for employers and referees. However, there was a recognition across the profession that school leaders supplied more detailed references and that this would be paid back when they were next appointing.
Sadly, those days are gone.
The consequence is that references are so bland, they say nothing more than that a given candidate is safe to work with children and that there are no current disciplinary processes in relation to them. On this basis, it is difficult to tell one applicant from the next.
It certainly gives the impression that the appointing school’s only concern is to fill the vacancy.
I suspect that there are two factors at play here: a misplaced quest for fairness and a fear of push-back from an unsuccessful candidate: HR departments love standardised data to compare applications - and tick-box references are much easier for this than a free-flowing paragraph extolling the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates.
Furthermore, personal data access requests under the Data Protection Act mean that references are no longer confidential. Thus, it is prudent for referees to err on the side of generosity than risk being challenged by the employee about whom they are writing.
The result is that the relevant principle here is caveat emptor: the onus is placed on the new employer to find out as much as they can about the candidates within the recruitment process, without being able to triangulate that with information from previous employers.
There needs to be a debate within education about the purpose of references. Are they going to provide schools with useful information about candidates that will help schools inform their appointment decisions? Or are they just about statutory suitability of candidates?
In which case, has the time come for the Department for Education to provide a model reference template that all schools could follow?
Lost courtesies
Sadly it’s not just within HR teams that area of references is missing some of its professional courtesy - there is a creeping attitude that an employee has the right to demand a reference.
While this might be a reasonable expectation of one’s current employer, it certainly isn’t of a former colleague.
In the past, therefore, it was a conventional understanding that anyone applying for a job would contact their referees in advance, letting them know about the job for which they were applying and asking if they were happy to provide a reference.
Increasingly, this courtesy has gone. Quite often, the first I learn of a current or former employee applying for a post is when the email comes through from the new school’s HR department.
References take time - even the tick-box ones and online forms. They usually require the gathering of information that senior leaders don’t have at their fingertips, such as start dates, a detailed list of responsibilities and current salary levels.
This is even more challenging when the school leader has moved on to a new school and does not have access to the HR records of their former school.
A heads-up that such a request will be incoming at least gives those being asked to write the reference time to gather this information and prepare accordingly - and it is the polite thing to do, too.
Cultivating your referees
So, here’s my advice on cultivating your referees.
- Contact them first
When applying for jobs, ask referees from former schools before you begin your job search process if they would be happy to be a referee, and share your plans, aspirations and motivations with them.
It is quite understandable and acceptable to keep your powder dry with your current school. However, as soon as you are able to let your current employer know about the requirement for a reference, you should do so.
- Provide key information upfront
Ideally, when you are asking for a reference, confirm the key details yourself with the referee - start and end dates, job titles, salary and so on - so they can easily cross-reference it with their own data.
This could be done with the latest copy of your CV (or a link to your LinkedIn page, assuming that it is up to date) and any letter of application to help provide them with the key information relating to your time working together. That way, your referee can frame what they write to the role for which you are applying.
None of this is revolutionary, but we should not let digitisation and claims of being too busy erode the personal connections that are crucial to making the process tick. A little consideration goes a long way - after all, you never know who you may be working for one day or requesting a reference from.
Mark S Steed is the principal and chief executive of Kellett School, the British International School in Hong Kong. He previously ran schools in Devon, Hertfordshire and Dubai. He tweets @independenthead
