Better Background Investigations: Reference Calls!

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When it comes to conducting background investigations, is there anything worse than making reference calls?  I mean it’s the same conversation over and over again, right?  😩

Well, here are three questions you can start using to not only spice up those calls but to extract some very important information for your applicants’ references...keep reading! 👀

Hey everyone, it’s Tom Sye your Police Marketing FTO, and this week, let’s bring some life to those dreaded reference calls you have to make, shall we? 👏

Look, I get it…I have often cited reference calls as being the absolute worst part of conducting a background investigation.  You make the call, hear the same old, same old about people, and move on to the next one.  It’s a literal Groundhog Day on the telephone. 🥴

But these verification calls are actual a very important facet to completing a Police Officer applicant’s background…and can be a gold mine of information and insight to who your applicant is and what they’re really after if you’re asking the right questions. ⛏️

Here are three surefire questions you can add to your current script that are guaranteed to illicit response and insight about your applicants…

OK…not to derail everything here, but first let me start with a Background Investigation bonus question…

Bonus question: Do you have a minute to talk? 🤔

Normally, when someone gives you a bonus in a newsletter like this, they save it until the end…but I’m getting mine out of the way right now because this is absolutely the very first question you should be asking on every single reference call, other than is this Jim or John or whoever you’re asking for. 😀

Often times when we make reference calls, we simply get the person on the phone and start firing away at our pre-scripted questions.  Afterall, we just want to get through this thing.  Lost in that approach is the fact that we assume the person we’re calling has been sitting around doing nothing else but waiting on your call ever since they agreed to be a reference for your applicant. 😐

If you want better information, start by asking if they’ve got a second to talk.   This gives the reference an opportunity to decide if whatever they’re doing at that exact minute can wait for a second or if they need to call you back when they’re more focused and actually have time to talk about somebody.  When you’re respectful of a references time, they’ll give you way more than a standard ‘yes’ or ‘no’. 👍

OK…let’s get on with the questions…

1. How do you guys know each other?

Typical reference forms that police agencies send out have some sort of question asking about their relationship to your applicant.  Most people filling them out just write ‘friends’ and we as Background Investigators, leave it at that and move on without ever bringing it up on the phone. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️

Here’s why this question is important.  Do you know how many times I’ve discovered…that ‘friend’ has turned out to be the applicant’s boyfriend, girlfriend, aunt, uncle, or yes, even their mother or father?  It’s been quite a few and really makes a big difference in evaluating this persons opinion of your candidate, does it not? 😳

But this question is not just about making sure you’re not getting the wool pulled over your eyes by a family member in disguise…this open-ended question allows the reference to tell you about their relationship naturally, as they see it, and can often lead to information you had no idea about ala we played little league baseball together or were actors in the school play, or even in some rare cases, we were in a gang together or we met in detention because we got into trouble a lot.  🤯

Don’t skip this one.

2.  What is it about {name} that would make you say…yeah, that’s the kind of person I’d want to have showing up if I had to call the police?

Honestly, this is my favorite question in the world to ask references because it elicits so much more than the typical ‘yes’ that a ‘do you think they’ll be a good Police Officer’ question gets for you. 🙌

Asking it this way, personalizes the question to your reference…makes them think for a minute because again, this is not a typical question they were expecting…and gives you some real insight about their true feelings…both good and bad. 💪

3. Is there any reason you don’t think they would be a good Police Officer?

I always ask this one immediately after question 2 and towards the end of my reference call as this is another question that breaks the mold of the typical 'do you recommend them or not' and gives the reference one last opportunity to provide honest insight about your candidate. 🤥

After asking this question, you should hear a pause, which is reflective of the reference taking the time to actually think about this unpredicted question, and then they’ll provide you with some feedback. 🗣️

Be prepared for anything here.  You could hear, ‘no…I think they’ll be really great' or you could hear, 'well…I’m a little concerned about their temper or how they’d treat people'.  All of it will be really honest feedback and most people will go on and on in their answer for a few minutes either reiterating previous information which is good for your applicant or providing brand new details of why you shouldn’t be hiring them.  Both are good for your investigation. 👌

Either way…it’s all information you are never going to get if you’re just going through the motions with basic questions. 😎

Ready to learn more about revamping your hiring process or police recruiting in general?  Need more advice just like this on how to get your police marketing moving without busting your recruitment budget? 👇

My Road to Better Recruiting online police training course has everything you need to start recruiting like it’s 2025!  🚀

Take control of your police recruiting by visiting forcopstraining.com/rtbr.  It’s the only police recruiting program in the world created by a police recruiter for police recruiters!  You’re gonna get a ton out of it. 💯

Have a friend in recruiting who is ready for better background investigations?  Share this newsletter with them so they can learn too.  We’re all in this together and helping each other out is the only way we can restore the future of this great profession of ours. 🤝

Have more questions about police recruiting, marketing, or anything else you're struggling with? Don't hesitate to reach out...I’m always here to help. 🙏

Until next week my Police Marketing Squad, happy recruiting! 😃

Tom

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👋 I’m Tom Sye, your Police Marketing FTO. I founded ‘For Cops’ Training to teach Police Departments how to attract more qualified candidates through the same tried and tested methods I’ve used for the past ten years at my own department to keep up with turnover and stay ahead of vacancies.

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