Hi, Jennifer - I feel that reference checks are an outdated practice.  There is too much liability on all sides.  Also, how can you guarantee that the person you are talking with is legitimate?  I have found that a better alternative is to allow the candidate to shadow prior to making an offer.  Let me them experience the environment firsthand and get some of your rock star employees involved in the process.  This is much more telling as to how they will perform and ensure fit compared to the information gathered from a reference check.  

Hi Jennifer! We still do reference checks, either through our background check process or contacting references directly. Each hiring manager does it differently; some make the time to call references, some just allow the background check process call the references. I've heard the gamut of rationale for why or why not. Candidates will give references that will speak highly of them, but we ask some probing questions to better understand the person we are looking to hire. We have gotten really good development information for some folks that we have hired. Our position is that we want to go into this relationship with our eyes wide open....so conducting references is important for us.