When it comes to pre-employment checks, employment referencing has always been one of the most time-consuming steps.
Teams told us they were spending days or weeks gathering and verifying references. It’s essential work, but repetitive: contacting referees, confirming dates, chasing replies, calculating employment gaps.
It’s vital work that gives assurance about a person’s background, but it takes time away from the work that needs judgment and expertise.
So we built a better way.
By automating the collection of references and the contacting of referees, our goal was to help teams focus on reviewing information, not chasing it.
From chasing to checking
Our automated referencing feature was designed to take care of the repetitive admin so teams could spend their time where it counts – making informed decisions.
It gives assurance about a person’s background; helping organisations meet organisational and regulatory requirements with less effort.
Candidates simply enter their activity history, upload evidence, and share referee details. Referees can be contacted automatically to confirm job titles and dates, and to answer any additional questions you need.
Behind the scenes, Amiqus identifies any unaccounted-for periods and flags where evidence or references are needed, in line with your policy settings.
The result? A clear, auditable record of a candidate’s history, without the spreadsheet juggling or manual follow-ups.
Delivering results at scale
Since launch, referencing has transformed how our clients approach employment assurance.
At Arnold Clark, one of the UK’s largest car retailers, automated referencing helped their pre-employment team move from manually chasing thousands of referees to managing the process in one place. The result was greater consistency, a better experience for candidates and staff, and a two-day reduction in time to finalise candidate files.
That same impact is now being seen across sectors – from public bodies to private organisations – where teams can verify candidate histories in hours, not days.
What we learned and what we built next
Working closely with organisations using referencing gave us clear insight into where the product should evolve next. These learnings directly shaped the improvements we’ve released.
1. Teams want flexibility and control
Learning: Organisations often need to review activities before any requests go out, or correct information submitted by candidates.
We built:
- The ability to edit activities and referee details.
- Reviewing referee details before the request is sent.
- Reviewing and approving each activity independently.
2. Gaps need assurance too
Learning: When a candidate has unaccounted-for periods, teams need a clear way to maintain assurance without manual work.
We built:
- Personal references for gaps, allowing candidates to nominate a person of good standing to provide a personal reference.
- Configurable gap rules and thresholds, so the level of assurance always aligns with your policies.
- Clear visibility for hiring teams so they can see exactly how each gap has been resolved.
Instead of complex back-and-forth, teams gain reliable, auditable assurance on gaps in a matter of minutes.
3. Organisations want to reference more than just employment
Learning: Education and self-employment require the same level of verification as traditional employment history.
We built:
- Referencing workflows for education and self-employment.
- Consistent evidence collection and referee checks across all activity types.
Together, these updates make referencing more complete, more flexible, and easier to manage at scale.
What’s next
We’re continuing to develop referencing to make it faster and more adaptable. We’re currently exploring:
- The ability to customise the number of activities you request a reference for, rather than every activity within a fixed timeframe.
- Instant employment verification through HMRC, payroll, and open banking.
Our goal remains the same: to make background checks faster, clearer, and more human, so teams can focus on confident decision-making, not administration.
To find out how we can help you cut days (or more) off your employment referencing process, read more here, or get in touch with us for a no-obligation demo.
