Had Bizarre and Angry Phone Call from Agency in Regards Being a Referee for a Current Employee

Liamagirl1969 on 26/08/2017 - 17:17
Last edited 26/08/2017 - 19:02 by 1 other user

I was asked by one of my current employees (who is due to finish their contract of employment,at the end of the month) if I would be a referee for them. I was okay with this but wanted only my mobile number and first and last name (and current work title) put on the employees resume. The employee agreed to this. (The reason being is the nature of my work, involves dealing with involuntary clients, who often display behaviours that are abusive and or aggressive, so getting a hold of my home number or personal mobile, could prove quite detrimental to myself or other staff that work along side of me.

So, at the end of last week I get a phone call from a person who states she works for (………….) department and she is phoning me in regards a referee check for the employee in question. I agree to this but state that I will only divulge information about the employee in question, that I believe is relevant to the referee process. I state my reasons why. The person phoning me is okay with this. We talk for about fifteen minutes or so, when the callers questioning of myself, takes a rather sinister turn (in my opinion) with questions that (in my opinion at least) are leading, and can only answered, with negative feedback. E.G. one question was, " Tell me about a time, when you had to formally reprimand the employee in question? Another question was, " Tell me what areas of work performance that the employee is not performing well?" When I stated to the caller, that the employee is performing in a satisfactory manner and I have not had to reprimand them in regards poor work performance etc., the caller responded by stating that every worker is substandard in one or more areas, and I should be more honest in my summation of them??? Then it gets more weird (and a bit creepy) the caller then starts to call me by the applicants name??? I state that I am NOT the applicant in question but the referee, and I really don't like being intimated to that I am some kind of fraudulent liar?? The caller then becomes even more irate and hostile, stating that she wants direct line phone numbers to senior management in my organisation, because she doesn't believe I am who I am. I state that I am the manager of the area that the employee works in, and being a very small organisation (we are a small country hospital) with six paid staff and two volunteers, we do not have a senior line manager or chief executive officer. (There is a senior executive officer, but they are at the next hospital that is 60km from us and the employee has never worked there, so they would not be able to give the caller, accurate feedback on the worker in question) I refuse the callers request for these contact numbers/details, as I have been nominated as the contact person for this employee and secondly I DO NOT have verbal or written authority, to hand over other employees contact details. (This information makes the caller even more irate and angry)

Finally, I state to the caller, that I am going to end the phone call, as I cannot and will not be shouted at on the phone. I state to the caller that if she is unhappy with the feedback I have provided her with, she go back to the applicant or her own supervisor for further clarification etc. I gave freely of my time (I was on an RDO that day) and goodwill to be a referee for the employee in question, but this did NOT entitle anyone to harass, belittle or interrogate me.

This call really upset me. (I am not a person that gets easily upset) Have others experienced this kind of behaviour, when asked to be a referee for someone else?

Education & Work

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 26/08/2017 - 17:28
    +14

    I guess they will be happy to miss out on that job…I would have swung the conversation around to ask them about their work attitude LOL or just told them to (profanity) off.

    • Kangal on 26/08/2017 - 17:40
      +5

      Precisely.
      69er girl, you should've turned the tables on the caller and said that she was being unprofessional and that for your employee's sake you hope he/she will not accept the job and instead find a position where they are more grounded in reality and more professional to employees. You should've scrutinised the caller, and stuck to it. Also tell them that if they want to talk to you further, to come and see you in person at your hospital. This would've shaken her, stopped the abuse, and left you feeling much better on your day. If worse comes to worse, do not hesitate to call your supervisors and police for advice and assistance. Though it is a bizarre case, and definitely not very common.

  • Lil B on 26/08/2017 - 17:30
    +9

    Bikies.

  • mbck on 26/08/2017 - 18:04
    +3

    wow that's quite surreal! Take heart in the fact that there are idiots in the world, but there are others with more common sense and care. Take care.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/08/2017 - 18:46

    You are overthinking this. They probably have to make dozens of reference checks a day and will get some proportion of fakes. Don't let their presumption upset you. Objectively, it's a bit funny. Write their behaviour off as scorched earth technique.

  • Kail on 26/08/2017 - 18:47
    +10

    I would let your employee know about the phone call, they may want to withdraw their application from what is clearly a poor workplace.

    I would also call a manager in the company that called you and put in a formal complaint. Or better still, post on their public social media page if they have one, that'll change their attitude really quickly.

  • PJC on 26/08/2017 - 18:50
    +6

    You handled the matter admirably.

  • RobMel on 26/08/2017 - 18:59
    +4

    Hi,

    I hear you. Not quite sure if socio or psychopath is the best description for those kind of people, or maybe something else altogether.
    But it is clear they have some serious issue themselves.
    Don't take it personal, they would have tried the same silly routine with anybody willing to listen to them rant.
    Just feel sorry for them, what a sad life he/she must be living and move on.
    You did the right thing.

    Cheers

  • Davo1111 on 26/08/2017 - 19:22
    +16

    contact their boss and make a complaint

    • pegaxs on 26/08/2017 - 21:16
      +4

      100%. Came here, read OP's comments and was going to say exactly the same thing. This should be pinned to the top of this page.

      Put it back on them and call their boss and make an official complaint about the callers lack of professionalism. Then tell the Perron seeking the job to avoid working for them, cause if they are arsehats on the phone, they would be worse to work for..,

      • try2bhelpful on 27/08/2017 - 10:48

        That was what I would say as well. If I got one like that I would ask for their supervisor's number and then ring it to report them. Give the person you went referee for the heads up that this didn't work well and that the organisation is toxic. If possible I would look into who is the manager in charge of HR for the organisation and send them an email outlining your experience. Keep it cool and professional and indicate you are warning them about the negative impression that this person is putting out there about the company.

  • BertieBrown on 26/08/2017 - 20:16
    +1

    Holy Hannah. Sounds like your colleague just dodged a bullet.

    That's really quite bewildering to read.

    Also, it sounds like your colleague owes you a bottle of something, even just because you found out that is definitely not the place for employment. As others have said, it sounds like you handled yourself super well. Well done. :)

  • effgee on 26/08/2017 - 22:32
    +1

    Wow.

    Was your abuser from the place your employee applied to, or an external agency ?

    Regardless, no-one deserves to be treated like this. Good on you for standing your ground and not giving in to bullying behaviour. No wonder you're upset. Sadly there are many arses in the world. I hope you get over his incident soon - you did nothing wrong, but were trying to do the right thing by a good employee.

    Too late now, but given they were implicitly accusing you of being the applicant, you could have suggested they call the applicant while you were on the phone, or getting them to ring you back while the applicant was in their office.

    I'm a little confused why you wanted them to have your mobile number, rather than a work number.

    • iamagirl1969 on 27/08/2017 - 10:24

      Thanks for the feedback, and after the call, I thought that was something I could have done. But in the moment you don't think like that.

    • iamagirl1969 on 27/08/2017 - 10:30
      +1

      The employer I work for, does not allow staff to hand out internal desk numbers. (There are a number of reasons for this, that I will not go into) Therefore if we are to be contacted outside of the facility, it has to be via our work mobile phones. After this incident (I will take to my supervisor about this) I am seriously considering changing the policy so that any staff member who wants a reference check done (as I have provided) will have to accept that they will now ONLY be in written format. (e.g. a letter or an email) This particular incident has wasted a lot of my time and left a very bad taste in my mouth.

      Oh finally, the caller said that she was from a HR department in a Government Agency and not a recruitment agency (as far as I am aware)

      • effgee on 27/08/2017 - 17:31

        good idea re the written reference only…so long as it's on official letterhead and is registered in some way so potential employers can ring and check its valid. It's standard practice to do a verbal check of a written reference though, just not standard to be abusive.

        Hopefully your posting here will help you heal !

  • regenade on 26/08/2017 - 23:36
    -5

    Find out where she work, report to her boss and lodge a complaint. Once she loses her job and goes back on Centrelink and have to find a new job, the karma will hit her back. Don't want to make a generalisation, but why are middle age Aussie women get so angry and ride so quickly, it's a thing I have noticed so iften

  • PlasticSpaceman on 27/08/2017 - 08:31
    +2

    As others have said, it sounds like you handled this way better than most people would have.

    Just let your employee know you were contacted by someone, that you gave as good a reference you could, but the person you spoke with seemed very confrontational so hopefully is not indicative of how this other place is like (ie perhaps if offered a position, they might want to check with existing people working there to see if they really want to accept). Then put this whole thing in to the 'nut jobs I've had the misfortune to deal with' category, and move on. :-)

  • BigBirdy on 27/08/2017 - 09:00

    Assuming the caller knows where you work (where the employee in question came from), wouldn't the simple solution be for the caller to look the hospital up in the White Pages, call it and ask to speak to you by name? Short of that, the caller doesn't know who they are talking to.

    • iamagirl1969 on 27/08/2017 - 10:21

      I was on my RDO that day and let the caller know that. Even if they had called my desk number at work, the phone is set up to automatically divert the call back to my mobile. So they would have ended up just getting an engaged signal on my mobile, as that is what I was talking to her on. I spend 90% of my time away from my desk, so other than for internal use, where I calls others within the facility I work in, the desk phone is rarely used. Finally, staff (including myself) are not allowed to hand out internal phone numbers to (non) staff members. That has been a rule for as long as I have worked at the facility. I don't make the rules but am obliged to follow them.

      • minniethemoocher on 27/08/2017 - 17:03

        Yes but if you hung up and they called the hospital and were put through to your office phone (regardless if it was forwarded to your mobile) it would still prove you were employed by the hospital. I can understand why you don't provide a desk phone number but providing a landline even if it is to a switchboard is reasonable. It's so easy to provide a fake number number if it's a mobile, I can understand why they were suspicious. As far as your employee is concerned it doesn't matter if the HR person is a douche they probably would have nothing to do with them, although they might not get the job now.

  • Aussie Smurfette on 27/08/2017 - 09:34
    +1

    Seems very weird and you were extremely patient.
    Any phone call I have ever received as a referee have been 5 minutes maximum. Yes they turn up and do their job, pretty much

    • iamagirl1969 on 27/08/2017 - 10:23

      I got the impression after about ten minutes, that the caller was trying to get me to give negative feedback on the applicant and was not particularly interested in the positive feedback I was giving her. Why? Go figure?

  • iamagirl1969 on 27/08/2017 - 10:37
    +15

    Just to let everyone know. I have found the home page of the agency the caller (who did the referee check) works in and lodged an online complaint about the call etc. I also found out the phone number of the office of the senior directorate, who essentially runs the agency in question and gave them a phone call, letting them know of my experience with one of their employees (they were horrified at the nature of the call and the behaviour of the caller) I am not an angry or vindictive person, but suggested that the caller receive support to address what appears to be psychological issues? I left it at that.

    • try2bhelpful on 27/08/2017 - 10:52

      well done you. A sane and sensible solution to this issue. Who knows how many people this person has abused in the past.

    • PJC on 27/08/2017 - 13:35

      Well done.

  • azonki on 27/08/2017 - 10:39
    +3

    I have had a lot of experience with employment agencies and from both ends of business.
    Subsequently, I have a very poor opinion of both their practices and the calibre of their staff and no longer use their services.

    Large agency staff are nothing more than salespeople, having been lured themselves with the promise of huge commissions upon placement of a candidate.
    These large companies have procedures that must be followed - sounds like your experience - and also placement targets - pressure on staff - that must be met.
    They treat 'human resources' as they would milk on a fridge shelf.

    And I have been asked the same questions many times and have always had difficulty in answering truthfully.
    The last interviewer I had also got very upset when I couldn't answer the question about being reprimanded.
    I explained that I had been self-employed for the last 15 years, as was evidenced by my resume right in front of them and reprimanding myself was not a terribly sane thing to do.
    I then stood up, thanked them for their time and left the interview room and went to reception.

    She followed me there and asked what I was doing.
    I replied that I had honestly expected a more professional approach, especially with understanding my situation and attention to detail, and that I was obviously not a good match for their agency.
    She replied that they have hundreds of applicants to get through every day.
    I apologised for taking up so much of her time and walked out.
    I did not bring up the fact that she had me waiting on the most uncomfortable lounge chair for 45 minutes before interview and I got a parking fine for being over the one hour limit.

    Her office manager rang 3 days later and started with an apology of sorts and then commenced a rant about company policies and procedures, dealing with their massive volume of candidates and clients, and the pressures on their 'consultants'.
    I replied that I would not be using their services and had secured a job in the meantime from a private company, thanked her and hung up.

    • try2bhelpful on 27/08/2017 - 10:56

      Yup, I think you have summed it up very neatly. if they are dealing with massive volumes of candidates then they are not very choosy about who they are recommending companies employ. If they can't be bothered actually reading the resumes beforehand to see if people are a match then they are, also, not doing their jobs. I got a contracting job for a major company by using my contacts and I still had to go through an agency for the job. Complete waste of time, and money, for all concerned. Ended up permie so it didn't matter in the long run, but value add was not really evident.

  • Pumpkin_rrr on 27/08/2017 - 11:02

    @iamagirl1969 : this is creepy. My impression is this person is determined to extract negative comments from you. Very weird. Generally they only ring for Ref when the Applicant is shortlisted, perhaps down to last three. If they really like your friend, they should be happy and hang-up after you told them his/her strength.

    Agree with everyone, tell your friend about this incident, and tell her not to work for them, and ring the Company to lodge complaint. Very unprofessional.

    In some ways I prefer written reference. They are clearly laid out and you have record of what you said. The danger of phone reference is they can put words into your mouth. Of course you can ask for a copy of your reference later on, and so can your friend. I did that once and was devastated to find out what my Ex-Boss said about me. ……

  • Sensiekatie on 27/08/2017 - 11:38
    +1

    FYI, written references are worth nothing to applicants. To an employer, they have no weight at all - if they know anything about HR or Psychology research in the workplace.

    However, I have been a referee several times where I was sent out a questionnaire to complete about the applicant. I like that, as it meant I could do it when it suited me and I could he sure that I had it right and they got the right answers. Phone calls are bad because the quality is only as good as they person' ability to take notes. Having been the caller many times, it is hard to get it accurate and complete.

    When I was recruiting graduates, we shortlisted for interviews and then called all referees. That was so not fun given we were looking fir 12-15 graduates.

    • Pumpkin_rrr on 27/08/2017 - 11:45

      "written references are worth nothing to applicants"? This is bizarre because I know many organisations, government or semi-gov especially, only deal with written ones. They will never give verbal ref.

      Also we dont call ALL referees. We only call those we believe are suitable. It is a total waste of time to call ref of someone deemed unsuitable….

  • chumlee on 27/08/2017 - 11:53
    +1

    When the caller asked for phone number of senior manager I would have given her the number for the zoo and told her to ask for Mr Bear.

  • mike001 on 27/08/2017 - 22:34

    This is just typical of how most "talent" agencies operate and underscores how incompetent and unprofessional many of them are. They are worse than debt collectors. They lie through their teeth to get the business and then lie again to embelish the prospectbpf their candidate just so they can score a quick commission. Many of the ads they place contains embarassing spelling errors, yet they demand accuracy and attention to detail from thier "clients". The whole recruiting industry is a rort.

  • mike001 on 27/08/2017 - 22:36

    This is just typical of how most "talent" agencies operate and underscores how incompetent and unprofessional many of them are. They are worse than debt collectors. They lie through their teeth to get the business and then lie again to embelish the profile of their candidate just so they can score a quick commission. Many of the ads they place contains embarassing spelling errors, yet they demand accuracy and attention to detail from thier "clients". The whole recruiting industry is a rort.

    • [Deactivated] on 28/08/2017 - 19:05

      "embarassing spelling errors" …amen to those. ;)

  • iamagirl1969 on 02/09/2017 - 14:42
    +2

    Just a quick update to everybody in regards this particular saga. The employee who is/was looking for ongoing employment, has been contacted by an employer re employment and is in the final stages of this process, (not the same agency that caused the initial commotion) and my employer has taken my concerns on-board in relation to my recent experience. So we now as an employer will only had out written references (via email) or hardcopy letter. So all seems to be working out in the end. Thanks everybody for your valuable feedback. Much appreciated.

  • iamagirl1969 on 02/09/2017 - 14:43

    hand out……….sorry typo,

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join