Hiring season is here, and the stakes are high. A strong hire can move a school forward more effectively than any other initiative. Conversely, when a new hire doesn’t meet expectations or align with your school’s needs, it can tax a school’s finances, culture, morale, and leadership workload.
Have you ever made a hire that you later regretted? Maybe you rushed the process due to an unexpected mid-year opening. Or you fell in love with the resume and neglected to delve more deeply into the candidate’s experience.
One crucial (and often overlooked) step in the hiring process might save you and your school a lot of time, trouble, and money: Strategic, structured reference checks.
“What went wrong?”
Many schools make hiring decisions based on resumes, outward credentials, and surface-level interviews. Here are some pitfalls to avoid:
- Asking general, predictable interview questions that don’t reveal meaningful insights about the candidate.
- Prioritizing secondary skills, like coaching abilities, over mission alignment and cultural fit.
- Rushing the process due to time pressure or constraints.
- Failing to take useful notes.
Reference checks, when done effectively, help avoid these missteps by providing deeper insights into a candidate’s experience, work ethic, and alignment with your school’s mission.
Beyond a background check
When employed strategically, reference checks can yield valuable insights that go far beyond basic background verification. Reference checks can provide:
- New Insights: Learning about a candidate’s attitude, work ethic, and performance in ways that interviews might not reveal.
- Info for Onboarding Preparation: Understanding a candidate’s strengths and areas for growth before they even start.
- Candidate Comparison: Differentiating between finalists rather than simply validating a decision.
Timing is everything
Traditionally, reference checks happen at the end of the hiring process. However, moving them earlier can provide more useful insights before making final decisions. Consider:
- Mid-Process: When initiated in the middle of the hiring process, reference checks could replace semi-finalist interviews, saving you and your candidates time.
- Before an Offer: Gathering references before a final offer lets you compare top candidates more effectively.
Who’s in charge?
Your human resources team may handle employment verification, but when it comes to deeper evaluations of teaching style, attitude, and mission alignment, hiring managers or division heads should take the lead.
When requesting references, prioritize speaking with prior supervisors, department heads, or administrators — not just peers.
Beyond Hiring: Supporting Faculty Growth
Finding the right educators is just the beginning. Ensuring they succeed requires a strong faculty evaluation and growth framework. Join us for our upcoming workshop, How to Implement Transformative Faculty Growth and Evaluation, to learn how to build a culture where teachers—and students—thrive.
What makes a reference check effective?
To ensure that your reference checks yield meaningful information:
- Use standardized questions for consistency.
- Avoid vague questions like, “What are their strengths?” — even weaker candidates can receive positive references.
- Focus on behavior-based and competency-focused questions, such as:
- “Tell me about a time they handled classroom conflict.”
- “How do they respond to feedback and criticism?”
- “What kind of professional development would benefit them most?”
- Consider using Likert scales (e.g., rating candidates 1–5) to quantify responses and compare candidates more effectively.
Online reference forms can streamline the process, improve response rates, and reduce bias. However, they aren’t foolproof. You can’t assess tone, and you may not be able to follow up. A hybrid approach — using online forms early and personal phone calls for finalists — can maximize efficiency while preserving meaningful insights.
Focused, fair, objective
When assessing “cultural fit,” be diligent about assessing possible bias and your subjective preferences. When you interview a candidate and think, “They’ll fit right in!” it’s worth considering whether they’re offering more of what you already have, rather than adding a valuable new perspective.
The questions you ask during a reference check should reflect your school’s mission and values rather than your own personal impressions.
Whenever you evaluate or refine your hiring policies, consult with legal counsel to ensure that policies remain legally compliant.
A chance to build trust
Some candidates may hesitate to provide references from current employers. That doesn’t mean you can’t conduct a thorough and informative reference check.
- Look for references from prior jobs or other professional relationships.
- Assure candidates that reference checks are standard practice.
- Clarify that reference checks don’t indicate a final hiring decision but are part of a transparent process.
The professionalism you demonstrate during this process helps establish your integrity and trustworthiness as a potential supervisor.
Every hire counts
Intentional, structured, and strategically timed reference checks can help independent schools make stronger hiring decisions, leading to better faculty retention, improved student experiences, and a healthier school culture.
How will you improve your hiring process to build the best team for your school?
About the Author
Megan Delaney is a senior marketing copywriter at ISM. Before joining ISM, she spent 15 years as director of communications at a private-independent school in New York City, where she led led internal and external communications.
