Referencing

Our candidate referencing brings direct conversations with referees together with discreet enquiries through our professional network and documentary checks on the claims a candidate makes. The outcome is a verified record of what a leader has achieved, along with an informed understanding of how they lead. Every senior appointment we manage includes:

• Confirmed verbal contact with all named referees
• A detailed search and analysis of online social and professional networking information
• Informal approaches to other business contacts within our extensive professional network
• Authentication of academic and professional qualifications, with all directorships confirmed
• Optional psychometric testing and skills assessment
• Optional CCJ, bankruptcy and credit reference checks

Our findings are presented in a confidential pack, which we provide for all shortlisted candidates. The pack establishes each individual’s credentials. It can also offer valuable insight into their career history, management style and previous successes.

What executive referencing covers

Executive referencing is the process of verifying a candidate’s career history and gathering informed views on how they lead, using named referees, wider market contacts and public records. At board and senior management level it goes well beyond routine reference checks. An unsuitable appointment at that level costs far more.

Referee conversations and market soundings

We speak directly with each referee a candidate names. Two work references are generally sufficient, normally from the candidate’s current and previous line managers. We do not approach a current employer until the candidate has formally handed in their notice, so that their existing position is not compromised. Executive references gathered through conversation allow us to explore what sits behind a record: how much responsibility the candidate carried, the decisions they made and how they worked with colleagues and boards, in more depth than a written reference normally allows.

Beyond the named referees, we make informal approaches to other business contacts in our professional network who know the candidate’s work. Each approach is handled with complete discretion. These soundings can provide context that a formal reference does not, such as how a leader is regarded across their sector. Our article on obtaining candidate references sets out further techniques, from peer references to questions tailored to the role.

We also review the information held on each candidate’s online social and professional networks in detail. This confirms that the public account of a career matches the CV. It also brings to light anything in the public domain that a client would wish to know before making an appointment.

Qualifications, directorships and pre-employment checks

We take steps to authenticate all academic and professional qualifications, and to confirm any and all directorships. Current and former directorships can be checked on the public register at Companies House, where a search can also be made for disqualified directors.

If a role carries significant financial responsibility, clients may also request CCJ, bankruptcy and credit reference checks. County court judgments in England and Wales are recorded on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, which Registry Trust maintains on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. Bankruptcy orders and individual voluntary arrangements are shown on the Individual Insolvency Register. These checks, and others such as DBS and criminal record checks, are run only at the client’s request and carried out through an appropriate third-party provider, with the results presented to the client in a written report.

How reference checks differ from executive background checks

Reference checks gather what people who have worked with a candidate say about them, while executive background checks compare the candidate’s own account with documents and public records, including registers of directors, court judgments and insolvencies. For a senior appointment, a thorough referencing process draws on both kinds of evidence before the client makes a decision.

Our executive referencing therefore concentrates on the areas that count most in a leadership appointment. These are the accuracy of a career record, the directorships a candidate holds or has held, the qualifications they claim and, if the client asks for it, their financial position. All findings appear in the confidential pack, so that any question can be put to the candidate while the appointment is still under discussion.

Referencing for board and regulated appointments

Board and regulated appointments need particular care. A director’s history is partly a matter of public record, and certain regulators set their own rules on references. For board and non-executive appointments, confirming each current and former directorship is a standard part of our pre-employment screening.

Financial services firms within the Senior Managers and Certification Regime face a specific rule. Before appointing someone to certain roles, they must take reasonable steps to obtain references from every employer the candidate has had in the last six years, as set out in chapter 22 of the FCA Handbook. For financial services appointments, a candidate’s regulatory history is best understood while the shortlist is still being drawn up, so that nothing emerges for the first time at the offer stage.

When referencing takes place in an executive search

References can be requested at any stage of a search and do not depend on a formal offer being made. In most cases we obtain them before a candidate is shortlisted, so the client receives our findings well before any offer and its final decision rests on confirmed facts.

Within our executive search process, the referencing pack sits alongside the detailed written profile we prepare for each shortlisted candidate. Where a client has also chosen formal assessment, the panel can weigh both sets of findings at final interview.

Standalone referencing for candidates introduced elsewhere

Our executive referencing service supports our core headhunting function. It is also available as a standalone solution for clients who may be considering candidates introduced by another party, and a standalone instruction can cover any of the checks described on this page, from referee conversations to the optional financial checks. We report our findings in the same confidential format.

FAQs

To discuss executive referencing for a forthcoming appointment, or for a candidate introduced by another party, please speak to our team in confidence on 0333 800 1560.