It is essential that we do not hire people who might endanger our employees or our students. Because people sometimes falsify their credentials and backgrounds, especially in times of economic hardship, it is important to check references. In addition, people sometimes interview well but have a record of not actually performing as well as they have led you to believe. Therefore, it is important to check out any areas in which you have doubts or uncertainties. Often reference checks will dispel these or give you information that will help you be a more effective supervisor of the new employee.
Reference checks are also a form of insurance.
The hour or two it takes to conduct a reference check is far less time than the time it will take to deal with performance, attitude or behavior problems. If the selected candidate happens to be a university employee, ask your Human Resources Representative to pull the individual's personnel file for review. If a reference on a candidate is problematic, you should check with other sources to confirm.