No Reference. Mo Problems.

Silly season is rapidly approaching. With it comes the chance to get in the mixer with the industry and yarn up a storm. The Seek Awards the other week were abuzz with industry gossip. Whoever decided that the eve of one of the biggest events in the recruitment calendar was the best time to deliver crushing news needs their own position scrutinized. While I would love to go in on the unnamed agency, they’re a fairly litigious bunch. I don’t even qualify for the title of a mom-and-pop operation as it’s just Poppa Burnett here at Island HQ, I don’t have the legal firepower to take on an empire that size. Thankfully for me, not for anyone else involved, there was another example of an agency deliberately hindering the career of consultants that has taken my attention.

This week after a long-fought recruitment process a candidate was offered the role of their dreams. It’s one of those deals that warms your heart. The candidate had jumped the fence to an internal position but found out the hard way they were pretty much a glorified resourcer. Even the $15K increase and a title that included the word “national” wasn’t enough to make them stick around. Their skill set lies in business development and relationship building. So, they swallowed their pride, picked up the phone, and lowered their salary expectation in order to re-enter the fast-paced world of agency recruitment. All going well so far. As is the hallmark of any top candidate, they had a few options. The top 2 options included an agency that was in direct competition to their previous place of work. As it was getting to the business end, the candidate approached their previous manager to let them know a reference would be imminent. This is where the plot thickens.

The manager refused. Because this other agency was likely to come up against them for business, helping them in any way was a big no-no. The consultant was disappointed as that manager was the only person who could give a detailed account of their performance and productivity. Being professional they accepted the answer and let it be. The second offer came through. This time in a completely separate industry in a different location, for the sake of argument let’s say Lower Hutt to Welly CBD. Surely MR/Mrs Manager could have zero qualms with this and a glowing reference was incoming. Wrong again. The Manager now revealed that it was in fact company policy, delivered from the very top! Under no circumstance were leadership or any other member of the organization allowed to give references for soon-to-be leaving staff.

This was especially hard to take for the candidate. They had built a relationship with this person for a number of years, professionally and personally. For them to intentionally hold them back was more than frustrating, it’s closer to diabolical. This unfortunately isn’t the first time I’ve seen this attempted. The immaturity of a business on full display, owning its insecurities, proudly presenting a united fragile front. However, what usually happens is that someone will break rank. Acknowledging the irony of being in a business that is focused toward helping people progress in their careers, they find an unreserved meeting room or retire to the safety of a car to do a very off-the-record reference. Hurt people famously hurt people and it was discovered that this Manager had exited the business at one point and was given the same treatment. They were merely adding to the generational trauma this work ‘family’ had adopted. Thankfully this company man/woman had been recently interviewed at the rival agency and the hiring manager felt compelled to give them a call. It was the same result, although conforming the bizarre policy firsthand goes a long way in adding context.

Legally, employers don’t have to give a reference here in NZ. It is more of a moral issue. There isn’t really a good enough excuse not to though. Other than, we’re hemorrhaging staff and our competition is providing them with better opportunities, remuneration, and career progression. It's petty, I wonder if this policy is explained to people entering the company, or if it is only revealed on exit. Would you join an organization, if this was the case? Recruitment demands a combo of blood, sweat and tears. We give a lot of ourselves to create our business within a wider business. Why would anyone choose to champion a brand if when you've hit a ceiling, they act like you never existed?