How the Internet routes around a damaged HR policy

I was thinking this morning about a number of things.  Specifically, as to why places like LinkedIn are becoming more and more popular.

First, let me step back and explain something. There is an age-old saying, the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it originally made by John Gilmore in TIME magazine (6 December 1993). In Internet terms, 17 years might as well be a century. For better or worse, this is true. It's much like Prohibition, in that you often cannot change what people will do - you really have to change their "wanter". But that's another topic...

There are many companies whose Legal department and/or HR department have a policy that they will not allow management to give references, period. It doesn't matter if someone was the best employee ever, no references. The most that the HR department will do is confirm that someone worked from date X to date Y.

For smaller places without this sort of policy, this is a real potential death-nail. They'll see this cold shoulder as a potential brush-off. They may see it as: Perhaps the manager or HR staff would like to say something negative, but can't. I've been in the vicinity of those phone calls, and I know from my point of view, from what I heard, that is exactly how it came across: even though the person may have been good or just average (but not a bad worker), the phone call sounded like the manager had some bad news they couldn't share.

I see this as flawed. I understand why companies do this - to protect themselves. But it's really not fair to a good former employee. Further, it's not fair to a potential new employer to not get some info that the prospective candidate has been reprimanded for, and potentially even let go for (say for something that is a big potential powder cage, like sexual harassment).

But companies would rather protect the almighty dollar and not get sued. Tort reform is another thing needs to be addressed in the US, but that's a topic for another day...

So, how does the Internet route around a damaged HR policy that censors employee references? LinkedIn professional social networking.

Using LinkedIn, a former employee can show that they've a number of good recommendations from co-workers or clients, even if management is gagged.

Even more, it can help a hiring manager find other co-workers who are connected to a potential new-hire. This can be used for an additional fact check, but also some additional insight about the co-workers personal perspective of the potential new-hire's performance. Naturally it should be taken with a grain of salt, but if you hear from 3-4 co-workers that someone is stellar (or the lack thereof), there is going to be a hint of truth there, or at least a heads up of what you're about to get into.

For the lowly worker-bees who have an interview coming up, it also allows you to check up on your future manager or employer. See what former subordinates have to say. If there are a number of folks who have left recently, perhaps you'd better keep looking, or at least not stop.

So how to get started? Use your address book, and maybe even Facebook contacts to find professional contacts to network with on LinkedIn. It's not an overnight thing, and it takes time. You can't just connect to anyone. You need to have a prior relationship with them. Introductions help with this at times, but are slow.

Once you start making connections, especially with good potential co-worker and former co-worker references, make honest recommendations for them. Give it a week or two, and if they don't respond back, you can hit them up and ask them if they can comment on a project or something you excelled at, and ask for a recommendation back. Don't be bummed if this doesn't work too often - folks are busy, and for many "social networking" sites like LinkedIn or just very low priority. They'll typically have less than a half-dozen connections anyway, at least until they're laid off and need connections, and then this process is too slow to be of much use.

This is my point: be prepared. Schedule one Saturday per month to check in with LinkedIn and look through recommended new contacts. You should look at your existing contacts' new contacts for people you may know and can connect to. Post something about what you're currently working on. Check through for any recommendations you can offer and/or ask for. It doesn't happen over night, but in time you'll have a list of contacts, which then help you reach other contacts in your industry, and can be a real lifeline for references when the time comes.

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not giving legal advise. I'm giving my opinion of what you might use LinkedIn to do. What you can and should do should be run through your HR and/or Legal department. There, I said it. Feel free to route-around