For camps, youth organizations, charities, NPOs, community and recreational organizations, and faith-based organizations, volunteers are essential to fulfilling the mission. A consistent volunteer reference checking process can help organizations make more informed selection decisions while strengthening their broader approach to safeguarding.
Volunteers are at the heart of many mission-driven organizations.
They coach youth sports, lead summer camps, mentor young people, support community programs, teach classes, organize activities, serve their congregations and help create experiences that bring people together.
For organizations that depend on hundreds or even thousands of employees and volunteers, selecting the right people is an important responsibility.
That is why Harver is proud to announce that Checkster, its automated reference checking solution, is now Praesidium-approved for accreditation.
For organizations serving children, youth and communities, this provides another reason to look at how their volunteer reference checking process can support a broader approach to screening, selection and safeguarding.
Why Reference Checking Matters for Volunteer Organizations
When organizations think about volunteer screening, background checks are often one of the first things that come to mind.
Background checks are an important part of the process. But they are only one piece of a comprehensive screening and selection strategy.
Praesidium emphasizes the importance of comprehensive screening and selection, noting that organizations should consider everything they can about applicants when making thoughtful decisions about people who may be placed in positions of trust. (Praesidium)
That’s where volunteer reference checks can provide valuable additional information.
A reference can offer context about someone’s previous experience, reliability, behavior and performance that may not appear on a resume or in a background check.
For large organizations, however, conducting those checks consistently can be challenging.
The Challenge of Reference Checking at Scale
A small organization hiring one or two people may be able to manage reference checks with a few phone calls.
But consider a large youth organization, camp operator, community organization or faith-based organization managing hundreds of employees and volunteers across multiple programs or locations.
The process can quickly become difficult to manage.
Organizations may have:
- Large numbers of employees and volunteers to screen
- Seasonal hiring and volunteer onboarding cycles
- Multiple locations and programs
- Different people responsible for conducting reference checks
- Limited HR or volunteer administration resources
- Inconsistent reference questions and processes
- Difficulty documenting completed reference checks
- Concerns about the legitimacy of references provided by candidates
The result can be a reference checking process that varies from one candidate or volunteer to another.
For organizations focused on safeguarding, consistency matters.
What Should a Volunteer Reference Check Include?
An effective volunteer reference checking process should do more than simply confirm that someone worked or volunteered somewhere before.
Organizations can use reference checks to gather additional insight into a person’s previous experience and behavior, validate information provided by the candidate and identify potential inconsistencies that may warrant further consideration.
A structured process also helps ensure that candidates and volunteers are evaluated using consistent questions and criteria.
For large organizations, that consistency becomes even more important.
A structured volunteer reference check can help create one repeatable process across different locations, programs, hiring teams and volunteer roles.
Automated Reference Checking Makes the Process Easier
This is where automated reference checking can make a significant difference.
Checkster, Harver’s reference checking solution, automates the reference checking process from the initial invitation through the completed report. It gives organizations a consistent process across employees, seasonal staff, and volunteers.
Rather than asking recruiters, hiring managers or volunteer coordinators to spend hours tracking down references and conducting phone calls, Checkster automates the reference checking process.
References receive a short, mobile friendly survey that can be completed in as little as two minutes.
The organization then receives the responses in a centralized report, making it easier to review information and maintain a record of the reference process.
For large volunteer organizations, automation can turn reference checking from a time-consuming administrative task into a consistent part of the screening process.
Helping Detect Fraudulent References
There is another consideration that is particularly important when organizations rely on references to make screening decisions:
How do you know the reference is legitimate?
Traditional reference checking can make it difficult to verify the relationship between a candidate and their reference.
For example, a candidate could provide a family member or close personal contact and identify that person as a former supervisor.
That creates a problem. The organization may believe it is receiving independent feedback from a former manager when it is actually receiving feedback from someone with a personal relationship to the candidate.
Checkster’s automated fraud detection is designed to help identify this type of activity.
Harver’s proprietary technology can detect common forms of reference fraud, including candidates passing family members off as former managers or attempting to complete their own reference checks.
That gives organizations another layer of confidence in the reference checking process.
The goal isn’t to assume that every reference is questionable. It’s to give organizations the tools to identify situations that deserve a closer look.
For organizations responsible for protecting their communities, that distinction matters.
Checkster and Praesidium: Supporting a Stronger Approach to Safeguarding
Safeguarding isn’t accomplished through one tool or one step in the hiring process.
It requires a comprehensive approach that can include screening and selection, training, monitoring and supervision, policies and other organizational practices.
Praesidium specifically identifies screening and selection as an important component of abuse prevention. Its guidance also addresses the screening and selection processes organizations use for individuals who are working, volunteering or interning with the people they serve. (Praesidium)
Checkster is now Praesidium approved for accreditation, giving organizations another reason to consider how their reference checking process fits into their broader safeguarding strategy.
For camps and youth organizations, that can mean a more consistent approach to evaluating the people entrusted with working with young people.
For community and recreational organizations, it can mean a standardized process across programs, locations, and volunteer roles.
For religious and faith-based organizations, it can support a culture in which thoughtful selection and safeguarding are integrated into the way the organization serves its community.
A Better Reference Checking Process Doesn't Have to Be Harder
A strong volunteer screening process doesn’t have to mean adding more administrative work.
Checkster helps organizations automate reference collection, gather more feedback and maintain a consistent process while reducing the manual effort required from recruiting and volunteer management teams.
Typical results experienced by Harver customers include:
24 hours
Average reference turnaround
6 references
Average references collected per check
1.5 hours
Average recruiter effort saved per check
Checkster also provides an audit trail for the reference process and automated fraud detection, helping organizations make decisions based on more consistent and reliable information.
Building Trust Starts With the People You Bring Into Your Organization
Volunteers give their time because they believe in an organization’s mission.
Whether that mission is providing children with a safe place to learn and play, creating meaningful community programs, supporting families or serving a faith community, volunteers make those missions possible.
Organizations can support that mission by creating a thoughtful, consistent approach to selecting the people who represent them.
Reference checking is an important part of that process.
With automated reference checking, fraud detection and Praesidium approval, Checkster gives large volunteer organizations another way to strengthen their screening and selection process while making reference checking easier to manage at scale.
Because creating a stronger culture of safety starts with making informed decisions about the people you invite to be part of your organization.
Learn how Checkster can help your organization modernize volunteer and employee reference checking.
