Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing
  • Login
  • GDPR
  • Create a Free Account
Return to PRWeb homepage
  • News
  • Resources
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All News Releases
      • Multimedia Gallery

      • All Multimedia
      • All Photos
      • All Videos
  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace, Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads and Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking and Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalization
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls and Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil and Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers and Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines and Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics and Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture and Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewelry
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks and Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels and Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Advocacy Group Opinion
      • Animal Welfare
      • Congressional & Presidential Campaigns
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Domestic Policy
      • Economic News, Trends, Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • FDA Approval
      • Federal and State Legislation
      • Federal Executive Branch & Agency
      • Foreign Policy & International Affairs
      • Homeland Security
      • Labor & Union
      • Legal Issues
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Patent Law
      • Public Safety
      • Trade Policy
      • U.S. State Policy
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PRWeb provides efficient communication tools to continuously engage with target audiences across multiple online channels
  • Create a Free Account
    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us


      11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday

  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • News in Focus
    • Browse All News
    • Multimedia Gallery
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR

New Study Demonstrates Why Employers Should Also Check References from Co-Workers – Not Just Managers
  • USA - English


News provided by

Sloane & Company

Jun 28, 2017, 09:00 ET

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX

Berwyn, PA (PRWEB) June 28, 2017 -- SkillSurvey, the provider of cloud-based reference checking solutions that deliver faster, more reliable insights, has completed a first-of-its-kind academic study which finds that when professional references are providing open-ended feedback, managers emphasize task-related behaviors (e.g., meeting deadlines, working independently) while co-workers emphasize interpersonal behaviors (e.g., helpful, compassionate, listening). The research was presented by the SkillSurvey Analytics team at the annual conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) which took place in Orlando, Fla., April 27–29, 2017.

“In today’s workplace, where soft skills matter more than ever, these results really drive home the importance of a holistic reference check, where feedback from both former co-workers and managers is taken into consideration,” said Ray Bixler, SkillSurvey’s CEO and President. “While managers may be able to speak to a candidate’s abilities, a co-worker may provide more insights about a candidate’s office presence and effectiveness as a teammate which has the potential to impact customer service, company culture, and organizational success.

Analyzing a sample that included 20,000 references for 5,000 job candidates (4 references per candidate), the SkillSurvey team identified the most notable differences between what managers and co-workers provided in their open-ended responses:

Areas of Improvement:

Co-workers
-Too Helpful

  • Handling Stress
  • Perfectionist
  • Works Too Much

Managers

  • Experience
  • Proactive

Areas of Strength:

Co-workers

  • Understanding
  • Listening
  • Experience
  • Confidence/Assertiveness
  • Compassionate/Caring
  • Friendly
  • Knowledgeable
  • Helpful

Managers

  • Dependable
  • Reliable
  • Meets Deadlines
  • Works Independently

“This study continues to build on our extensive research on feedback provided by multiple references per candidate, as we now are investigating the differences and similarities in narrative themes provided by former managers versus co-workers,” said Dr. Cynthia A. Hedricks, SkillSurvey’s Chief Analytics Officer. “We are excited to have discovered that while managers hone in on more traditional themes such as task performance, experience and knowledge, co-workers are more likely to emphasize interpersonal behaviors.”

Using SkillSurvey’s online, automated reference system, recruiters enter a job candidate and then choose a job-specific survey from a library of hundreds of options, which map to thousands of job titles in the workplace. Candidates enter their professional (work) references, and confidential feedback from the references is submitted to the online system – typically in less than two days. In addition to numeric ratings on job-specific competency behaviors, references can provide additional feedback in the form of optional, open-ended comments on the candidate’s top three work-related strengths and areas for improvement.

Methodology

These new data were gathered through SkillSurvey’s massive text analytics study of open-ended narrative comments, focused on a candidate’s strengths and areas for improvement. This feedback came from a total of 20,000 references who provided quantitative (numeric) and qualitative (narrative) data on one of 5,000 job candidates. Specifically, feedback from two managers and two co-workers per candidate yielded a sample of data from 10,000 managers and 10,000 co-workers (25 different job-specific surveys x 200 candidates x 2 manager references x 2 co-worker references). These 5,000 candidates were applying for a job in one of 34 different industries, represented by 636 different companies.

About SkillSurvey®

SkillSurvey is the leader in online reference checking, sourcing and credentialing, providing immediately useful insights to help employers make better hiring decisions. SkillSurvey speeds hiring for commercial, higher education, healthcare, and staffing and recruiting organizations. Its cloud-based referencing, sourcing and credentialing solutions answer vital questions that help organizations hire the right people for every role.

Pre-Hire 360® provides insight into past job performance and is proven to predict future turnover, hiring manager satisfaction, and performance ratings. An unmatched library of scientifically-designed surveys produces job-specific data employers can trust. SkillSurvey SourceTM, an extension of Pre-Hire 360, helps recruiters source, engage and manage a more robust candidate pipeline through references and referrals. SkillSurvey Credential OnDemand® provides healthcare organizations with a credentialing engagement solution that simplifies and enhances the credentialing experience for all participants. SkillSurvey makes the referencing, sourcing and credentialing process more efficient and effective — helping employers save time and money, grow revenues, and bring employees onboard faster.

Visit SkillSurvey at http://www.skillsurvey.com, and on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

SkillSurvey®, SkillSurvey Credential OnDemand® and Pre-Hire 360® are registered trademarks of SkillSurvey Inc. or its affiliates and are registered in the U.S. and other countries.

© 2017 SkillSurvey Inc. and its affiliates.

Media Contact:
Stephanie Sabath
Sloane & Company
(212) 446-1873
ssabath(at)sloanepr(dot)com

Stephanie Sabath, Sloane & Company, +1 (212) 446 1873, [email protected]

Modal title

Contact PRWeb

  • 11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday
  • Contact Us

About PRWeb

  • About PRWeb
  • Partners
  • Partnership Programs
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Resources

Why PRWeb

  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing

Accounts

  • Create a Free Account
  • Log in
  • Contact Us

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via [email protected] 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact Cision

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Online Member Center
  • ProfNet
Cision Distribution Helpline
888-776-0942
  • Legal
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 Cision US Inc.