I spoke to a Captain a while ago who confided that the candidate reference he gave me (for another Captain) was different and more honest compared to what he gave other people.
This is something which comes up on a fairly regular basis. Sadly, when people give verbal references, they can vary from day to day, depending on who they are talking to or even their mood at the time.
In any industry, this can cause major issues in recruitment and retention. Yachting in particular would be in a far healthier state, at all levels, from junior crew to Captains, if people were honest and gave a transparent reference to everyone who asks. No doubt some people will comment that you ‘can’t legally give a bad reference!’. They are incorrect, in the UK at least, because you can legally say if someone has been sacked and why and talk about poor performance in a role.
Being realistic, a crew member who has received a bad reference is going to be very limited in what they can do regarding it, so the reasons to not be honest are limited.
Managing expectations
Unfortunately, in some cases, crew careers will be hindered, but yachts should know exactly what they are getting when they hire someone. The crew member who is average to poor would then have to learn from it, and communicate how they plan to make changes to their performance to prospective employers.
It would also help the industry hugely as it would help to manage some crew members’ often unrealistic expectations, such as demands for 3:1 rotation, busy charters and higher starting salaries. If the candidate in question knew they had room for improvement, and that this would be shared in their candidate reference from a current or former employer, it would probably make them a little more flexible / realistic in their requirements.
I appreciate it can be hard as a Captain or HOD to give a poor candidate reference, especially for someone you like, but the crew member will benefit from knowing that they have weaknesses they have to work on and will be more realistic regarding their next role.
Your reputation
In addition, it reflects on your own integrity. If a Captain or HOD has lied to me about how good a crew member is or misled me about the nature of their departure, more often than not, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. This is especially true if I find out through the yacht to which I’ve submitted the candidate.
As a final point, your references reflect on you. When you tell agencies and other yachts that crew member X is amazing and they aren’t, it taints your own reputation for a) honesty and/or b) judgement. If their new boat thinks they are terrible, what does that say about your ability as a Captain?
Regular reviews give you ammunition
Conducting regular performance appraisals of employees and crew (ideally quarterly, but at least twice a year), will enable you to identify weaknesses (professional and personal) that can be worked on to improve performance and productivity while onboard. When documented, and even scored out of 10 on certain skills and attitudes for example, it can give you something to refer to when giving a candidate reference.
It also means crew members should be aware of exactly what you think of them so they are much less likely to complain when you give them an honest reference which reflects their performance appraisals.
I won’t get into the full details of what an appraisal should cover right now, but it’s beneficial for lots of reasons not least justifying good / bad references, crew retention, improving culture and performance onboard.
Be candid
I am well aware that there are some awful crew out there and giving anything but a negative candidate reference would feel like a lie. In most cases, though, there is probably a lot of constructive feedback to give as part of a reference. For clarity, the crew member should be fully aware of these weaknesses too via regular appraisals as mentioned above.
As a recruiter, I’d be open to submitting a junior crew member to a client who may not be the best at their job (particularly if the client wasn’t able to offer the best package), provided they were aware of their shortcomings and had the right attitude towards developing skills / self improvement.
So when taking a reference, I am looking for…
- Honesty / transparency. This is number one.
- Consistency, so everyone gets the same reference. Not one to an agent, a different one to another Captain and a third to your mate, none of which are the same.
- A handle on the facts – e.g. what timeframe the crew member was onboard. I’ve taken so many references when a Captain or HOD has the details wrong but the other Captain / written reference matches up.
- A focus on specifics – rather than making sweeping statements, provide specific examples to support your feedback. Highlight strengths if they exist as well as areas that require improvement, offering actionable suggestions for growth. For example, maybe some crew would better thrive on a yacht which is significantly quieter. Not everyone can handle or keep up with the pace of a relentless season with constant 24 hour turnarounds.
- Growth potential – even when discussing low productivity or poor performance, can they be framed in the context of growth opportunities? Perhaps some crew are just a little inexperienced but actually have the potential, given the right support, to contribute positively to a yacht’s operation.
- Professionalism – if giving a candidate reference for someone that pi**ed you off, try and maintain a professional tone. Avoid personal biases and emotions. Just give me the facts please.
If you are taking the reference then these are a few brief tips to do it correctly…
- Always open up with asking what their relationship with the candidate is and on what yacht. Why? To hopefully catch out any fake referees.
- Further to that, ‘can you tell me about the program and how the yacht operated?’
- Have a template you follow each time to ensure you are asking the correct questions every time. Some classic questions include: Why did they leave; What was their relationship with alcohol like; What was the biggest issue they had on board with another crew member; Would you hire them again?
- Listen! If there are pauses or hesitations, then probe and ask further questions.
- Take multiple references to try and eliminate any personal biases.
- Always tell the candidates you will be verbally taking their references during interview and use that statement to then ask what they think that person will say.
Be aware that if you take five references and speak to people you know who used to work with candidate X, someone might say something negative or something you don’t like. This doesn’t always reflect poorly on the candidate; sometimes, the person being asked off the record has a personal bias against the crew member, or barely worked with them or isn’t that great themselves, so how can they make a personal judgement on candidate X?
In conclusion, providing honest references would mean the industry is in a much better position and would really improve the quality of the crew as they would be less likely to get jobs with poor references. Hence, they would be more professional and work harder. Captains should also ensure that everyone is in alignment regarding the references. Having three different versions of why someone left isn’t acceptable. One last thing. Remember, you would want honesty if you were the one asking for the candidate reference.
