A reference check template, for phone or form.
One form for taking a reference: who the referee is and how they know the candidate, a consent script to read first, questions with 1 to 5 ratings, and a place to record who took it. Use it on a call, or send it for the referee to fill in.
01Before you contact a referee
A reference is personal information about two people: the candidate and the referee. Get the candidate’s consent, and use the referees they nominate. Tell the referee who you are, why you’re asking and who will see their answers before they give them. The script at the top of the template does this; read it out on a call, or leave it at the top of a written form.
This is general information, not legal advice. Check with your adviser how the Privacy Act applies to your agency.
02The template
Copy it into your own form, or download it as a text file. Everything in [square brackets] is yours to fill in.
[Agency name] Reference check
Candidate
Role they’re being considered for
Referee
Name
Position and organisation
Email and phone
How did you work with the candidate?☐ I managed them☐ They managed me☐ Colleague☐ Client or customer☐ Other: ______
When you worked togetherfrom [Month Year] to [Month Year]
Nominated by the candidate?☐ Yes
Before we start
I’m [your name] from [Agency name]. [Candidate name] has applied for a role with one of our clients and named you as a referee. Your answers will go to [Candidate name]’s file with us and to the client considering them, and may be shared with [Candidate name]. They won’t be used for anything else. Are you happy to go ahead?
Referee agreed to give a reference☐ Yes
Questions
- What was their job title, and what were they responsible for day to day?
- Why did they leave, or why are they looking to leave?
- What were they best at? Can you give an example?
- What is one thing they could have done better?
- How did they work with the people around them?
- How did they handle pressure or a deadline they couldn’t meet?
- What kind of manager gets the best out of them?
- [A question for this role, such as a technical skill or system]
Quality of their work, from 1 to 5☐ 1☐ 2☐ 3☐ 4☐ 5
Reliability, from 1 to 5☐ 1☐ 2☐ 3☐ 4☐ 5
Working with others, from 1 to 5☐ 1☐ 2☐ 3☐ 4☐ 5
Would you hire or work with them again?☐ Yes☐ Yes, with reservations☐ No
Anything else a future employer should know?
Record
How it was taken☐ Phone☐ Video call☐ In person☐ Written form
Taken by (consultant)
Date
Referee signature, if written
Date
03Getting a useful reference
- Confirm the referee first. A company email address should match the employer they name; a personal webmail address is worth a second look.
- Ask for examples, not adjectives. “Can you give me an example?” turns “great with clients” into something a client can use.
- Listen to “would you hire them again?” A pause, or a qualified yes, means ask more.
- Write down what they said, not your summary of it. A client reading the reference should hear the referee.
- Add one or two questions for the role. Our 30 reference check questions are grouped by what you need to learn, with sets for senior and finance roles.
04Questions to leave out
Don’t ask about anything that touches an attribute protected by Australian anti-discrimination law: age, health, injury or disability, sick leave, pregnancy or family plans, carer’s responsibilities, race, nationality, religion, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity. If a referee raises one of these unprompted, don’t record it and move on.
05How Koho does it
Koho sends the referee a link under your brand. They accept the consent notice, confirm their name, position, organisation and email and how they worked with the candidate, then answer a short form that saves as they go. Koho flags a personal webmail address and matches a company one against the employer they name. Reminders go on day 3 and day 7, and a referee who’d rather talk can leave a number instead. The answers land on the candidate’s file, and are never read by an AI service. More on the reference checker.
Never chase a referee again.
Koho sends the form under your brand, reminds the referee on day 3 and day 7, and files the answers on the candidate’s record.