Reviewing References

Created by Alex Griffiths, Modified on Wed, 31 Jan at 9:23 AM by Alex Griffiths

An important part of determining if a volunteer is suitable for the role they have applied for is the references they will be given. References can be found in the references tab of the volunteer application.

Buttons

Button	Description
	Manually add a full reference
	Manually add details of another referee. The system will then automatically contact this person.
	Review reference. Allows you to read the given reference and accept or reject the reference.
	View reference activity. See when the reminder emails have been sent by the system and the admin who reviewed the reference.
	Reset status to pending
	Enter a reference from a given referee manually
	Cancel reference request. SignMeUp will stop chasing this reference

Statuses

Status	Meaning
	This reference is being chased by the system.
	This reference has been supplied by the referee but has yet to be reviewed by admin
	This reference has been reviewed and accepted
	This reference has been reviewed and rejected
	This means the referee has failed to provide a reference and the system has stopped sending reminder emails (this occurs 3 weeks after the registration was submitted)

Accepting references

Once a reference has been received the status will change to ‘received’. You will then be able to view the reference. By clicking on the magnifying glass ‘review’ icon you will be able to see what has been reported in each reference.

You will be able to see the name of the referee and their responses to each of the questions they were asked.

They will be asked:

In what capacity do you know the volunteer?
How long have you known the volunteer?
In your view, is the volunteer responsible, reliable and able to work as part of a team?
To the best of your knowledge, has the volunteer ever caused harm to a child or young person?
In your view, is the volunteer suitably qualified to volunteer in this role?

If the referee has answered with a negative response to the question asked (e.g. To the best of your knowledge, has the volunteer ever caused harm to a child or young person? ‘Yes’ Then the referee will be asked to provide further details.

References should be accepted unless you feel the information contained is false, it has been provided by a family member or it has been provided by someone who hasn’t known the volunteer long enough. A reference which is negative, but believed to be accurate, should be accepted and a flag applied to the application in the risk management area.

Once the required number of references have been accepted this part of the application will move from ‘processing’ to ‘pending’ and if all other sections of the application are completed it will be ready to be accepted.

Rejecting references

A reference should only be rejected if you feel the information contained is false, it has been provided by a family member or it has been provided by someone who hasn’t known the volunteer long enough.

It should not be rejected if it contains information which shows a volunteer's unsuitability for the role. This reference should be accepted and a flag added to the application to show that the volunteer has a reference which is deemed to show the volunteer is unsuitable. The application then needs to be risk-assessed to determine if this application can be accepted or not.

A new referee can be added to the application if you would like to generate a deeper picture of the volunteer.