Refero launches online solution for secure and simple employee referencing

Refero Ltd announces the launch of its secure Reference Database Management System (sRDMS), a highly efficient employee referencing solution which uses the internet to enable employers to store employee references securely and permanently. References are easily accessible by future employers, while former employees are confident that a fully authorised and accurate record of their employment is available.

sRDMS helps employers manage the provision of core employment information without compromising data security or raising data protection issues. When an employee leaves the company the employer uploads a single, comprehensive, password-enabled reference. The password is accessible only to the ex-employer and the former employee. The web-based interface enables a new prospective employer or an intermediary recruitment agency to obtain feedback quickly and accurately from an authentic, reliable and secure employment source. The authenticity of the reference source is verified by Refero which checks company registrations and verifies the upload of any reference with the companyís designated authority, such as the Human Resources Director.

Isaak Badru, Non-Executive Director of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation London Region (REC) says
ìMy role at the REC means that I uphold very high standards and lead all agencies in my region in best practice.î Mr Badru has also deployed sRDMS within his own organization, The Carrington Blake Group: ìUsing Refero allows my agency to improve our performance for clients and I look forward to the day when all consultants in my region have Refero references, eliminating fraudulent references given by dishonest candidates.î

sRDMS provides significant benefits to Human Resources managers, who until now have had a time-consuming task to provide references by post, email, phone and fax, often repeating this task several times for a particular former employee. sRDMS saves time, money and effort by ensuring that a reference requires articulation only once, and is provided only through approved channels. Bringing referencing under control makes it more manageable and avoids potential issues that may arise from allowing individual managers to contribute personal comments on demand.

sRDMS is predicted to be popular with recruitment consultants. Under recent legislation they are required to verify the identity and veracity of their candidates more rigorously (Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003). sRDMS will provide the ability to obtain verification of employment background within seconds, streamlining a previously manual process. Refero provides companies and agencies which use sRDMS with an official logo to place on websites and literature, to help them demonstrate their professionalism in candidate checking.

ìRefero helps organisations to improve their HR and recruitment performance by applying smart technology and even smarter thinking to real-world business HR problems,î said Henry Chuks, Managing Director, Refero Ltd. ìFor example, major high street brands can hire anywhere up to 5000 temporary contract staff over Christmas and New Year. If such retail giants do not have a system to manage the referencing process when casual staff leave, they are looking at a huge and unnecessary expenditure of time and energy in the following months.î

sRDMS is launched at a time when background verification is of intense interest for a business community acutely aware of corporate security matters and potential liabilities. Employment histories provide a vital link in the chain for every employer. While not yet a legal duty for all employers, certain vertical sectors such as aerospace, education and financial services are being directed in various ways to formalise references by their governing bodies, a trend which is likely to continue.

Refero intends sRDMS to become the standard platform for storing and retrieving employment references. It has structured the service to scale to the needs and resources of all sizes of business:

ï SMEs may post references at no charge and a fee of 2.75 will be charged to retrieve a reference

ï Organisations with more than 100 staff will pay an annual license fee starting from 275. Bespoke license fees can include the price for annual reference retrieval allowances

ï Companies can buy retrieval credits in bulk and benefit from significant discounts, potentially reducing the per-reference retrieval cost to as low as 1

ï Refero will work directly with larger enterprises that employ more than 3000 staff to develop bespoke solutions and licensing

ï Refero provides free licenses to Educational organisations and charities

The sRDMS service initially will be available only through an online interface, providing a quick and convenient access method for all types of business. To complement this, Refero is also developing alternative access services including fax retrievals, postal retrievals and other versions to be implemented at client sites.