Skill survey has been great. We now conduct reference checks at a much higher rate than we did before (nearly 100%). It's a critical part of our hiring process for managers, servers and bartenders and I can't imaging operating without it. Fun fact, we actually caught a manager who was providing fraudulent references by reviewing the IP addresses. I was very thankful for that feature at the time.

1. Skill survey makes it easy to conduct reference checks. Before we had it, we did this by phone. We probably only completed checks about 25% of the time and they were awkward to conduct. 2. I love the fact that there is a percentile score for performance. This makes it easy to see how candidates stack up against industry specific data. 3. I love the strengths and weaknesses section. This is one of the most valuable sections for us. Not only is it helpful in making a decision to hire, I've often come back to these before writing annual performance reviews. 4. I really love how easy it is to execute the process. One email address and a few clicks and the whole process basically unfolds which is amazing.

One wish would be for the system to solicit more written commentary from the reference providers. I can understand that this would create a larger barrier for participation, and I'm not dissatisfied in what we currently receive, but more specific detail is always better. Maybe 1 written section per evaluation category? In addition, I filled out a review on a competing reference check for one of our former employees and was interested to see that I was not able to provide all top scores for the employee. The system forced me to downgrade at least one of my answers. As a reference check provider, this forced me to find an area where I honestly felt the employee was lacking and I ended up delivering a more honest answer. To my knowledge, SkillSurvey does not have this feature and this might create overly positive reviews.

I liked SkillSurvey, and found that the process of checking a reference and making sure that the references were legitimate was as clean as it could be, barring the comments I had above. Their team also sends emails concerning current events and how they might affect business, as well as just check-in messages to see how we're doing with the product, which are nice personal touches.

I found SkillSurvey to be a really easy-to-use product. Our staffing firm deals with a sensitive clientele, so we need to make sure that we have people checked by references before they are put into the field. SkillSurvey helped us to easily tell if someone had completed their references themselves (as it tracks the IP address from which the form was submitted) and it also helps us to message people who have not yet submitted references through the website, eliminating the extra step of going into an email program and sending a reminder that way. The ease of viewing the results from the reference, and the metrics/questions that they have in these reports (as well as the ability to choose which form you send out) really helps to get relevant and readable results.

I think the areas of improvement for this software would be: technological optimization and a better instruction system for the candidate on sending out their reference request links. First, optimization: the website is always slower to load, and this was a problem specific to this particular site. The main page will take 3 or so seconds to load where other, different sites take a second or so, and while this isn't a deal-breaking factor for me, it's certainly annoying when you're trying to sift through multiple different files at once. Second, Instructions: the current procedure that candidates follow when they send their reference links seems to be fine, but I've received complaints from some people that their references aren't back only because they thought they had sent their references but instead had only saved them in the SkillSurvey system, never having sent them out to their references. As well, I received a complaint from someone who felt that the messages that SkillSurvey auto-generates from candidates when they are sending to their references were an infringement on her privacy, as they are written in the first person. Even though there is an option to view the message that will be sent out before a candidate sends it, I think it could be a good idea to add more visibility, maybe even a warning message, concerning what the candidate is about to send out.

I took a survey on behalf of a candidate for a position. Responses were a 7-step never / always scale. Any candidate will offer favorable referrences, so what is the point of asking me if my former coworker is "Always" responsible? The person I was describing is a wonderful and highly competent person, an asset to any organization, but I don't feel the survey I took would give any hiring manager an accurate view of her skills.

Very easy for the survey-taker to respond.

Would not give an accurate or useful view of the candidate being considered.

Having a small HR staff the time we're able to dedicate to reference checking was limited. This product allows us to receive better feedback more quickly. It hasn't completely replaced making an old fashioned phone call but it has cut down on the need to do so every time.

Given that the references individual responses are not linked back to them personally I've found that I usually receive more candid responses. As silly as it sounds, I've avoided potentially bad hires based on feedback from candidate's hand picked references through this system. As a small HR department it's difficult to invest a ton of time calling references, waiting on call backs, playing phone tag, exchanging voicemails, etc. only to receive dates of employment. The survey's can be customized and you can include your own questions, including space for verbatim answers. The reports are easy to read. The few times I've had issues their support staff have handled them promptly. Somewhat pricey but not difficult to justify when you weigh out the benefit. Integrated with our ATS (The Applicant Manager).

Won't completely replace contacting references. Sometimes references will leave feedback that needs additional explanation, which is next to impossible to get given the anonymity for references. Some references have become offended, though very few, that the system "pesters" them or are upset at the simple fact that we're asking them to fill out a survey rather than calling them - as if it were disrespectful of their time somehow. Those cases are by FAR the minority though.

Meaningful information to select the best candidates

We have been using SkillSurvey for over 2 years for all new hire reference screenings. The system is very user-friendly and easy to navigate. It has saved me, as an HR department of 1, countless hours trying to reach multiple references via phone and getting only dates of hire and titles. It takes only a few minutes for me to enter a candidates information and select the appropriate survey based on position applied for. Because the applicant signs a release, we have found that the responses from references are candid and constructive. With the unlimited package we selected this year, I have begun using the SkillSurvey system earlier on in the hiring process on more candidates--not just the final candidates. This provides us with specific feedback early on and provides a great tool we use in the interview process-the Hiring Manager report. The Hiring Manager report provides not only the survey results but also suggested questions for the applicant based on the results of the reference screen. It has enabled us to ask applicants questions specifically aimed at their areas for improvement. Thanks to SkillSurvey the quality of our new hires has improved-we have meaningful information on the candidate that better equips us to choose the best candidate.

The only con is the price-- as a non-profit the cost is a bit high. However, I have thus far been able to make the case for its value to both my department and agency as a whole.