On this page: Key takeaways · Which reference check questions should you ask for a frontline role? · What do you need before you pick up the phone? · Do you need the candidate's permission to contact references? · How much should a reference count in a hiring decision? · What does a good reference call look like? · Which reference check mistakes cause the most trouble? · What does this mean for agencies and frontline employers? · Conclusion · How Radius helps · Frequently asked questions
Key takeaways
- Ask the same five factual questions for every candidate.
- Call only referees the candidate has named, and only with their agreement.
- Keep health, sick leave, pregnancy and private life out of every call.
- Count a reference for the facts it confirms: a 2022 review of the hiring research set reference checks aside for insufficient information.
Which reference check questions should you ask for a frontline role?
Ask five factual questions, the same way every time. For an order picker, driver, cleaner or security officer, the useful facts are few and checkable; opinions about personality are hard to compare between calls.
| # | Question to the referee | What it confirms |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Can you confirm that this person worked for you, and from when until when? | The employment dates on the CV |
| 2 | What was their role, and at which site or department? | Job title and setting |
| 3 | Which tasks did they do on a normal shift? Did they do the task this role most needs, for example reach truck driving, and how often? | Duties, and the one requirement you most need to check |
| 4 | Which shifts did they work, for example early, late, night or weekend, and roughly how many hours a week? | Shift pattern and availability |
| 5 | Would you employ them again in the same role? If not, is there a reason related to the work that you can share? | A plain yes or no, with a reason only if it concerns the work |
Write each answer down in the referee's words, including "I don't know". Leave out health, sick leave, pregnancy, family plans, origin, religion, private life and open questions such as "anything else I should know?". The NVP code asks organisations to use only information relevant to whether someone suits the job (NVP Sollicitatiecode, July 2025).
What do you need before you pick up the phone?
You need the candidate's agreement, a named referee and your questions ready.
- The candidate was told, in the vacancy or the invitation, that you may check references, what you will check and why.
- The candidate agreed to this call, and you noted when.
- The candidate named the referee.
- You call the current employer only if the candidate has clearly said yes to that call.
- Your five questions are written down, with question 3 adapted to the requirement you need to confirm.
- You know where the notes go, who can see them and when they will be deleted.
Recruiting for several clients and sites? See how Radius Hire works for staffing agencies.
Do you need the candidate's permission to contact references?
Yes in practice: tell the candidate first and get their agreement.
The NVP Sollicitatiecode, the recruitment code of the Dutch network for HR professionals, is a voluntary code, not law. Its July 2025 version says that an organisation that wants a reference "vraagt de organisatie vooraf toestemming aan de sollicitant": it asks the applicant first, unless a law or regulation means consent is not required (NVP Sollicitatiecode, section 4.2).
The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP), the Dutch data protection authority, gives calling the references an applicant provided as an example of screening (AP, Gathering information about applicants). Its guidance says screening needs a legitimate interest and must be necessary, and that the employer tells the applicant in advance what will be checked and why, and afterwards what the results were. It adds that applicant consent is usually not a valid legal basis for screening, because applicants depend on the employer and may feel pressured to agree (AP, Conditions for screening).
So the NVP code asks for consent, while the AP says consent usually cannot be the legal basis. For the recruiter, both point the same way: tell the candidate in advance, explain what you will check, and call only with their agreement. Which legal basis your organisation relies on is a question for your privacy officer or counsel. Agencies should also check the Recruitercode, which the NVP code names for recruitment through intermediaries.
How much should a reference count in a hiring decision?
Less than most people expect: use it to confirm facts, not to forecast.
A 2022 reanalysis by Paul Sackett and colleagues found that many widely quoted estimates of how well hiring methods predict job performance were inflated by unsuitable statistical corrections. They set reference checks aside for insufficient information (Sackett et al., 2022), so there is no current, reliable estimate for references; the older figure that still circulates comes from a 1998 review they could not reassess. Structured interviews came out as the strongest predictor they examined (Structured vs Unstructured Interviews).
Our view: give a reference weight only for the facts it confirms (dates, role, tasks, shifts), never for its tone. A number of years says little on its own (Three Years on Reach Trucks Tells You Less Than You Think); eight months of night shifts on a reach truck says more. If a referee contradicts the candidate, let the candidate respond before you decide, as the NVP code asks when information comes from other sources such as social media.
What does a good reference call look like?
A good call checks one claim at a time and records each answer.
Illustrative example (an invented scenario, not a real candidate or company). An agency is filling an order picker role on rotating early and late shifts. The candidate says he picked orders with a hand scanner for about 14 months at a distribution centre, worked early and late shifts, and drove a reach truck. With his agreement, the recruiter calls the team leader he named.
| Question | What the referee said | What it confirms | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Dates | March 2024 until May 2025 | Matches the CV | None |
| 2. Role | Order picker in the ambient goods hall | Matches the CV | None |
| 3. Tasks | Picking with a hand scanner every shift; no reach truck, he used an electric pallet truck | Picking confirmed; reach truck not confirmed | Ask the candidate; check for a certificate before any reach truck work |
| 4. Shifts | Early shifts only, 32 to 38 hours a week | Early shifts confirmed; late shifts not | Ask about late shift availability |
| 5. Rehire | Yes | A plain yes | None |
The recruiter puts both gaps to the candidate: he trained on a reach truck elsewhere but holds no certificate, and he can work late shifts now. The picking placement goes ahead; the reach truck requirement stays open until a document check, which can happen before the offer (Verifying Frontline Candidates). Nothing relied on the referee's opinion of his personality.
Which reference check mistakes cause the most trouble?
Most trouble comes from the wrong question, person or record.
- Asking about sickness or absence. The AP says employers may not ask applicants about illness, disability or past sick leave (AP, Health data during job applications), and asking a former employer instead would get round that rule. Fix: keep health out of the script.
- Calling referees the candidate did not name, or the current employer without a clear yes. Fix: ask for another referee.
- Unrecorded opinions. "Seemed fine" cannot be checked later or explained to the candidate. Fix: record the referee, the date, each question and each answer.
What does this mean for agencies and frontline employers?
Agencies often hold better evidence than a referee: their own records. Our view: for a returning flex worker, placement records from the time may already answer questions 1 to 4, and used lawfully, with the worker able to respond, they say more than a call to a former supervisor. For employers hiring every week, five factual questions make calls shorter and easier to compare.
Conclusion
A reference check earns its place when it stays small: an informed candidate, a referee they named, five factual questions and a written record. Use the answers to confirm a CV and close specific gaps, not to predict performance.
How Radius helps
Radius Hire is an AI hiring platform for frontline roles in the Netherlands. Its AI Interviewer, Match and Radius Passport sit on one candidate record.
The AI Interviewer runs a short, structured voice interview in the language set for the role. Match shows, for each requirement, whether it is backed by a document or a check, rests only on what the candidate said, or is still missing. Where the employer uses Radius Passport, identity and right to work are checked with a trusted verification partner, and certificates are recorded with their expiry dates. Radius is built so that a reference call only has to cover what is still open. Radius never rejects a candidate on its own; a recruiter reviews the evidence and makes every hiring decision.