Reference checks are a key part of any church’s hiring process. Here atVanderbloemen Search Group, we strongly encourage churches to conduct very thorough reference checks on their final candidate(s) as part of their due diligence. It can help you discern who would be a great hire and help you avoid who might be a disastrous hire.
The goal of reference checks is not to catch the candidate in a lie or fabricate a “gotcha” moment, but rather to assess whether the candidate has the character, skills, and abilities necessary to serve on your church staff. Truly effective reference checks should also give you insight into how they would be best managed and led should they join your team.
One of the ways we serve churches is by offering comprehensive, 360- degree background & reference checks on candidates, where we conduct reference checks, criminal/background checks, credit checks, social media checks, and education verifications, and we compile all the information in a comprehensive report. (It can be really smart to have a third party like Vanderbloemen conduct these checks for you for legal reasons, our expertise in the area, and your peace of mind when making a hire. If you’re interested in talking to us about this service, contact us here.)
In our experience conducting reference checks, we are continually evaluating and improving our list of effective questions that we ask each reference.
Here are 5 questions that are vital for every ministry reference check, regardless of the role. These questions are a great start to your most effective reference checks.
1. How do you know the candidate?
It’s easy to skip this question and rely on information provided by the candidate, but I’ve found it to be important to ask the references themselves. This will verify information the candidate provides and will give additional details of their relationship.
Understanding the relationship between the reference and candidate is key to both your question formation and their answer evaluation. It is important to spend a few minutes thinking of how you might tailor the questions for references based on their relationship to the candidate. A supervisor will be able to give you a behind the scenes perspective on a candidate’s ability to work with those in leadership. Conversely, a previous subordinate should be able to give you a good description on a candidate’s leadership ability and style.
2. How would you describe the candidate’s
leadership style & ability?
This question is especially important when conducting reference checks for someone in senior leadership, but it’s also important for any role on a church staff. By asking references how they would describe the candidate’s leadership style, abilities, and weaknesses you can gain insight into how they would fit in and lead your organization.
3. How does the candidate interact with other
church staff members?
Do they keep to themselves or do they befriend other church staff members and serve other ministries at the church? What is their communication style? How well do they get along with others? One of the core staff values at Vanderbloemen Search Group is “Broadband Love,” meaning we strive to live in grace and walk in love with each other by serving each other.
By asking questions about a candidate’s ability to serve their colleagues, you are really asking, “Are they a team player?” If a candidate is really talented but a rotten member of your team, are you sure you want to make that hire?
4. Talk about the candidate’s ability to recruit & lead volunteers.
This is an important question for almost any church staff member, as the success of many church ministries depends on the number, quality, and retention of volunteers. Can this candidate train others to lead? Depending on the size and vision of a church, each church will place a different emphasis on leadership of staff and management of volunteers, recruiting, training, and/or mentoring volunteers. Smaller churches with limited resources will find that hiring a candidate who is skilled in the area of recruiting volunteers will dramatically improve the quality of and
the participation in the ministry. Larger churches will often place more emphasis on a candidate’s ability to lead staff and manage volunteers.
Also, no matter what size your church and what leadership style you are specifically looking for, church staff members should be continually pointing those under them to a growing relationship with the Lord.
Which leads me to the next important question:
5. Is the candidate intentional about their time with the Lord?
Do they have a growing relationship with God? Are they being mentored, discipled, and poured into by other Godly leaders? Are they humble in spirit? It’s easy as a church staff member to be so busy serving God and the church that you forget to actually take time to be with God. By asking questions about the candidates relationship with God – and not only their personal relationship with God but their working out that relationship in the context of relationships – you are verifying that they indeed have a genuine, growing relationship with Christ.
For as much as we believe reference checks are a critical part of the church staffing process, it is also important that reference responses not be given more weight than what they actually are: one person’s opinion of another person’s performance. If questions or red flags were raised about a candidate’s performance during a reference check, follow up with the candidate about those questions. Don’t dismiss a candidate outright before you dig into those red flags. They may be able to give you some background and details that would alleviate any concerns, or perhaps give you additional references that could provide additional information to aide in the decision-making process.
There are numerous additional questions that are vital for thorough, effective reference checks, questions that can reveal important truths behind a candidate’s background, transitions, strengths, family, and role specific skills & expertise.
As I mentioned, one of the ways that Vanderbloemen serves churches is by offering comprehensive, 360-degree background & reference checking for a church’s potential candidates. We conduct reference checks, criminal/background checks, credit checks, social media checks, and education verifications, and we compile all the information in a comprehensive report. Many smart church leaders partner with a third party like Vanderbloemen to conduct these checks. It can keep a church blameless regarding certain legalities in hiring & interviewing, and
provide a church with the utmost peace of mind when making an important hire.
If you’re interested in talking to us about our background check and
candidate vetting services, contact us here.
