Poor / Inaccurate verbal reference. What to do, if anything?
Discussion
My daughter’s boyfriend has resigned from Employer A and is moving to Employer B. Both are reasonably small education organisations, A is a small private company, B is a small stand-alone organisation within a Local Authority. B has asked A for a written reference (by email) which was not returned by A’s “CEO” and was chased up by B’s HR team on the phone.
The phone reference was apparently scathing once they got past did he work there for the period claimed in the role stated questions. He was accused of not being able to take instructions from women (very relevant to Employer B as their management team are 99% women) and of persistent lateness, among others. As I understand it Employer B is still offering him the job I think, but have relayed the feedback they got and expressed some concern about it to him.
Now, also relevant is:
- Employer A has form for giving duff verbal references, he knows of one other person who was given one
- Employer A confirmed in her reference to B that they have taken no formal HR action to address the issues raised whilst he worked for them. I don't know whether A has said anything in passing.
- Boyfriend does have an issue with talking to his mother decently, if he was my son and talked to my wife the way I saw him talk to his mother I’d have lamped him, so I can believe that Employer A would have that issue with him too, although obviously parents and employers are different and he denies A's allegations.
I’ve suggested he sets up weekly feedback sessions with his immediate supervisor when he starts at B to ensure that any issues are dealt with “in the moment”, I’ve also suggested he get clarity on what his probationary period is and what is expected during it. Any other ideas?
If the job offer is withdrawn, can he take action on the basis of hearsay? I know you have to be careful giving references to avoid this very issue. His field is not particularly small or more incestuous than most, but it could bite him later if he did take action against Employer A.
The phone reference was apparently scathing once they got past did he work there for the period claimed in the role stated questions. He was accused of not being able to take instructions from women (very relevant to Employer B as their management team are 99% women) and of persistent lateness, among others. As I understand it Employer B is still offering him the job I think, but have relayed the feedback they got and expressed some concern about it to him.
Now, also relevant is:
- Employer A has form for giving duff verbal references, he knows of one other person who was given one
- Employer A confirmed in her reference to B that they have taken no formal HR action to address the issues raised whilst he worked for them. I don't know whether A has said anything in passing.
- Boyfriend does have an issue with talking to his mother decently, if he was my son and talked to my wife the way I saw him talk to his mother I’d have lamped him, so I can believe that Employer A would have that issue with him too, although obviously parents and employers are different and he denies A's allegations.
I’ve suggested he sets up weekly feedback sessions with his immediate supervisor when he starts at B to ensure that any issues are dealt with “in the moment”, I’ve also suggested he get clarity on what his probationary period is and what is expected during it. Any other ideas?
If the job offer is withdrawn, can he take action on the basis of hearsay? I know you have to be careful giving references to avoid this very issue. His field is not particularly small or more incestuous than most, but it could bite him later if he did take action against Employer A.
I'd suggest that he stops acting like a dick at work. That way, he'll get on great with the team and the reference will be forgotten.
Your idea of starting some sort of disciplinary process voluntarily is IMO only asking for trouble. I can't imagine any scenario that makes life better for he bloke by doing it.
Your idea of starting some sort of disciplinary process voluntarily is IMO only asking for trouble. I can't imagine any scenario that makes life better for he bloke by doing it.
Some Gump said:
I'd suggest that he stops acting like a dick at work. That way, he'll get on great with the team and the reference will be forgotten.
Your idea of starting some sort of disciplinary process voluntarily is IMO only asking for trouble. I can't imagine any scenario that makes life better for he bloke by doing it.
Your first sentence is my thoughts to a "T", which didn't go down well with my daughter but I did warn her I was going to be as blunt as she knows I can be...Your idea of starting some sort of disciplinary process voluntarily is IMO only asking for trouble. I can't imagine any scenario that makes life better for he bloke by doing it.
I didn't mean for the feedback session to be "disciplinary", more that it is a specific time for a conversation where the supervisor (whoever they are it is odds on a confrontation avoidance person) has the opportunity to discuss things and he knows he needs to be in "receive" mode, rather than be drip fed off hand comments & hints through the week he may well not pick up on. His questions should be "What should I start doing, what should I stop and what should I continue" rather than "what do you want to tell me off for this time"
It is for this exact reason why my old company stopped giving references other than to confirm dates of employment and job title.
Not knowing your son in law but there's no smoke without fire plus what you've witnessed probably means that the previous employer isn't too wide of the mark with their reference!
So your son in law needs to prove them wrong in changing his behaviors I reckon!
Not knowing your son in law but there's no smoke without fire plus what you've witnessed probably means that the previous employer isn't too wide of the mark with their reference!
So your son in law needs to prove them wrong in changing his behaviors I reckon!
Collectingbrass said:
If the job offer is withdrawn, can he take action on the basis of hearsay? I know you have to be careful giving references to avoid this very issue. His field is not particularly small or more incestuous than most, but it could bite him later if he did take action against Employer A.
Well, is he certain it was not accurate? If not accurate, then he can do something about it. But if it is accurate...........
Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff