Employee Reference Request

Reference checks conducted by phone or through unstructured email exchanges produce feedback that varies in depth, consistency, and comparability across candidates. Some referees volunteer detailed assessments while others provide only basic confirmation of employment. Without a structured form, the quality of a reference depends entirely on how much the referee chooses to share, and there is no consistent basis for comparing references across multiple candidates for the same role.

The Employee Reference Request template for SharePoint, built with Infowise Ultimate Forms, provides a structured reference form that captures referee details, employment context, five competency ratings, open-ended assessments of work ethic and interpersonal effectiveness, a recommendation decision, and a signed confidentiality declaration. Every completed reference is stored as a reviewable, comparable record in SharePoint.

How it works

Referee details

The form captures the referee's full name, position, company name, email address, and full mailing address. These details establish the referee's professional identity and give the HR team the context needed to assess the credibility and relevance of the reference before reviewing its content.

Candidate and employment details

A dedicated employment section captures the candidate's full name, the referee's relationship to the candidate, the candidate's contact details, the dates of employment from and to, the candidate's job title, and the reason for leaving. The position the candidate is applying for is also captured, allowing the reviewing team to assess the reference in the context of the specific role without needing to cross-reference the candidate's application separately.

Working relationship

Two fields capture how long the referee has known the candidate and whether they worked directly with them. The duration of direct working relationship provides important context for interpreting the reference, particularly where the referee's familiarity with the candidate's day-to-day performance is less extensive than their overall acquaintance.

Competency ratings

The form asks the referee to rate the candidate across five professional competency dimensions: communication skills, problem-solving abilities, teamwork and collaboration, leadership skills, and adaptability and flexibility. Using a consistent rating scale across all five dimensions makes it straightforward to compare competency profiles across multiple references for the same candidate, and across candidates for the same role.

Open-ended assessments and recommendation

Two open-ended fields ask the referee to describe the candidate's work ethic and dedication, and to assess how well the candidate interacted with colleagues and clients. A final recommendation field captures whether the referee would recommend the candidate for the position they have applied for, providing a clear summary judgment alongside the detailed competency assessment.

Confidentiality declaration and e-signature

The form closes with a confidentiality declaration through which the referee confirms that the information provided is confidential and will be used solely for the purpose of the candidate's employment evaluation. The referee's e-signature and the submission date are recorded within the same form, creating a signed, dated reference record without any paper-based process.

What you get

• A structured reference form capturing full referee details, candidate employment history, and relationship context
• Five-dimension competency rating covering communication, problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, and adaptability
• Open-ended assessments of work ethic and interpersonal effectiveness alongside a formal recommendation decision
• Confidentiality declaration with referee e-signature and date captured within the same record
• Every reference stored as a complete, comparable record in a standard SharePoint list
• Filterable by candidate, position applied for, or recommendation outcome for efficient reference review
• Free for all Ultimate Forms customers, installed automatically with a single click

Built on standard SharePoint lists

The Employee Reference Request system is built entirely on standard SharePoint lists. There is no external data storage and no custom interface. All reference records stay inside your SharePoint environment, governed by your existing permissions and data policies. The system can be extended or adapted at any time in the browser by the administrator who manages the site.