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What is Xref?

Xref is a best-in-class solution that offers automated reference, pulse and exit surveys. Xref gathers data-driven feedback and actionable insights for confident people management - from candidate to departing employee.

Our user-friendly technology is backed by local support teams, offers multi-language capabilities and meets the highest global compliance standards (ISO27001).

Xref is accessible from any device and integrates with leading HR tools and ATS platforms for seamless workflows.

Who Uses Xref?

Xref is used in 195 countries around the world to support HR and talent acquisition teams from a vast array of industries to gather feedback and insights to recruit, retain and remember talent.

Xref Software - Screenshot of candidate and employment questions asked in an Xref reference check survey
Xref Software - Screenshot of Xref Exit Surveys dashboard used for customising a standard exit survey
Xref Software - Screenshot of Xref Pulse Surveys questions to collect employee feedback
Xref Software - Screenshot of the question library in Xref survey builder for customising surveys
Xref Software - Screenshot of Xref dashboard showing centralised people records to store employee and candidate data safely and easily

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Reviews of Xref

Average score

Overall
4.7
Ease of Use
4.7
Customer Service
4.7
Features
4.6
Value for Money
4.5

Reviews by company size (employees)

  • <50
  • 51-200
  • 201-1,000
  • >1,001

Find reviews by score

5
72%
4
25%
3
3%
Astha
Talent Advisor in Australia
Government Administration, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Great Product

5.0 2 years ago

Pros:

Very easy to use. Great tracking and get notifications if there is suspicious activity, which is a very good feature. Makes life so much easy as a recruiter for me as I don't need to chase the referees.

Cons:

Too many notifications if a candidate has not responded. Sometimes candidates are contacting their referees to check if they will be okay to provide references before providing their details. I, as recruiter would get uncountable emails saying candidate has not responded. The alerts should be delayed for at least 48 hours and then send them if candidate still has not responded for 2 days or more.

Xref Response

2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your review, Astha. It's wonderful to hear that you're making the most of all that the Xref platform has to offer. We agree that one of the significant advantages of using Xref is the ability to flag suspicious candidate activity. With regard to your feedback about notifications, our Customer Success would be able to help you adjust the frequency of the alerts. Please reach out to our dedicated Customer Success team at [email protected] if you would like assistance. Thanks again for sharing your feedback.

Malvika
People Attraction Advisor in Australia
Staffing & Recruiting, 501–1,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Xref Review

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: The software is amazing. Gives you regular updates on at what stage the reference is at for example if the referee has opened the reference and started the reference, etc.

Pros:

It's very easy to set up candidates. Although it only uses emails to collect the references, it keeps you posted on what stages is the reference at like candidate has agreed to the privacy statement, submitted refs, referees have started doing reference, etc.

Cons:

Because it only allows references to be completed by email. Its takes time to get it completed by referees.

Amanda
HR Generalist in Canada
Government Administration, 501–1,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Xref

3.0 5 years ago

Comments: Positive! customer service has been awesome and the company has shown openness to input and enhanced their platform.

Pros:

Easy to use and creates an efficiency in my work flow to avoid the back and forth with references.

Cons:

While it's a fairly straight forward platform there is alot of individual windows that require me to go in and out for each reference on each candidate.

Xref Response

5 years ago

Thank you for your review, Amanda. We're happy to hear you're benefiting from the time saved through the ease and efficiency of the Xref platform. We are always looking to improve our platform and appreciate the feedback. Thanks again for the great review.

Peter
General Manager NSW in Australia
Staffing & Recruiting, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

We recommend XREF!

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: Over the past few years our organisation has been looking at tools and technologies to help improve the efficiency and productivity of our recruitment teams. We selected XREF for several reasons but primarily because it freed up our recruiters to find the next candidate, rather than them chasing referees of someone we had already placed. Our teams love it and as we have integrated the tool with our Candidate tracking system it ensures we maintain our workflow practices and compliance requirements.

Pros:

Ease of use The XREF team can quickly customise templates for us to suit client specific needs Candidate experience is a positive one The quality and detail of responses was surprisingly good from the outset. My team is happy as it makes them more efficient. Reduces the post placement overhead. Provides for greater accuracy and integrity of the reference check process. Excellent support and customer care from the XREF team

Cons:

the concern we had was that we may miss out on leads being generated from the old style reference check. The new feature, People Search, which we have just started using should help alleviate this concern.

Xref Response

5 years ago

Thanks for your feedback, Peter. We are glad that you have been able to save time and benefit from automating your references. It's also great to hear that you have recently started using People Search, we are confident that it will aid your recruitment with a smart and compliant approach to business development. Thanks again for taking a moment to write this review, Peter.

Keira
Human Resources Business Partner in Australia
Nonprofit Organization Management, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Easy to use product

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: Easy to use, and well integrated with my recruitment software.

Pros:

Love the API connection with my recruitment software program, it means initiating a reference check is as quick as pressing a button!

Cons:

Lots of email workflow to the admin user, If I am doing bulk recruitment (20 employees) all undertaking references checking the email workflows are high. Perhaps workflow for candidates who haven't responded and when the total of reference checks requested have been completed only?

Xref Response

2 years ago

Hi Keira, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We're glad to know that you find our online reference checking tool easy to use. Our aim in automating references is to save time and simplify the tedious parts of a recruiter's job. With regard to your feedback about notifications, you can adjust the frequency of those in your settings. Please reach out to our dedicated Customer Success team at [email protected] if you would like assistance. We understand how important it is for account management updates to be shared; thanks for your feedback. We hope to give you the best experience possible for online reference checking. Thanks again for your review.

Anthony
Recruitment Manager in Australia
Nonprofit Organization Management, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Why go anywhere else

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: The systems solves the problem of reaching referees outside of our business hours more so when we need to do an international reference check. The referee can do it when they have time. You will never regret using XREF.
Wow amazing !

Pros:

I have nothing but good things to say, the ease of using this system, so easy to use, nothing is ever too hard for anyone that works at XREF, you can truly see that people love working at XREF and it shows in their customer service. The product is second to none and i will never use another system. As a recruiter for many years , we never like constantly calling referees who might say they are too busy to talk or just not answer for days. XREF takes away the pressure of trying to call referees and gives that time back to do other things. I just dont understand why you would not want to use XREF. You really feel like you are part of the team. Amazing system/Product and people!

Cons:

I cant say anything bad about the system.

Xref Response

5 years ago

Thanks, Anthony! We're so glad you continue to benefit from the ease of the platform and the support of the team. We know how difficult it can be to manage calls with international or busy references, so it's great to hear how the automated approach is helping. We love having you as part of the Xref family!

Kerryn
Talent Acquisition Manager in US
Biotechnology, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Xref - review

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: The experience is positive and one that I would not give up given the many benefits it allows for all stakeholders. It definitely reduces our time to fill given the timeliness of submitting all information.

Pros:

The software is extremely easy to navigate for all parties; employer, referee and candidates. It provides updates/reminders/customization and visibility on when the references have been completed or if there are delays the candidate can follow up with the referee. The document is easy to read and provides "norms" which is extremely helpful when comparing other candidates responses to the market. The template allows enough room for those who want to respond with extensive answers and provides follow up details of the referee if needed. Given the ease of use the references are produced in a timely way and allows us to progress to offers quickly reducing our time to fill.

Cons:

There could be the opportunity for further customization however this does not cause any issues for our organsiation.

Xref Response

4 years ago

Thanks for your review, Kerryn. We are glad to hear that you have benefited from the time saved and the ease of using the Xref platform for your reference checks. We understand how important it is to have a great experience through this vital stage of the hiring process. We would love to discuss your thoughts of further customisation throughout the referencing process. Please feel free to reach out to us at a convenient time and we will take on any feedback regarding this via our customer success team. Thanks again for your great review.

Mike
Recruiter in US
Staffing & Recruiting, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

My experience with Xref

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: I use Xref to find good quality candidates to hire. It helps me weed out the good from bad and exposes a lot of red flags for me.

Pros:

The feature i like most about Xref is that it will automatically send you potentially fraudulent references

Cons:

In the beginning steps, after sending the Xref out, I wish it would tell me if had been accessed by the candidate.

Xref Response

2 years ago

Thanks for leaving us such a wonderful review, Mike. Like you, many of our customers also love our suspicious activity feature. It enables them to dive deeper into the validity of a reference and feel confident in their hiring choices. Xref is passionate about ensuring the right people are recruited into the right roles so we strive to make it as efficient and intuitive as possible to help professionals like yourself focus on the other important areas of your role. Thanks again for your review.

Andy
Head of Talent Acquisition and Mobility in Australia
Civil Engineering, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Ease of use is the best!

5.0 2 years ago

Pros:

We have always been happy with the services of Xref. The ease of use, the automation and customisation are just a few of the many benefits of this platform.

Cons:

I don't feel there is anything we're missing in the software and we are very happy with all the features. The only potential negative is that the product isn't the cheapest.

Xref Response

2 years ago

Thanks for leaving us such a wonderful review, Andy. Like you, many of our customers find that using Xref to automate their reference checking process enables them to become more efficient and focus on other areas of their role that are of more interest or more value for your organisation. Thanks again for your review.

Dorothy
HR/Admin Coordinator in Ethiopia
Human Resources, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

My Experience using Xref

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: In a summarised way, It is a good software to use for references. I have even recommended to my HR friends.

Pros:

It is easy to use and to teach, its is very effective and user friendly. Xref also helps to authenticate the references because it give you the opportunity to know everything that happened around the reference, by tracking every action done on the link. It also saves on time because it gives referees automatic reminders to complete the reference.

Cons:

Non that I can mention for now because to be honest, I really like using the software.

Xref Response

2 years ago

Thanks for such a wonderful review and for being an advocate for Xref, Dorothy. We are happy to hear that you're enjoying the many benefits of the Xref automated platform, especially real-time updates. We strive to make it as efficient and intuitive as possible so that professionals like yourself can focus on the other important areas of your role, as you've mentioned. Thanks again for sharing your review!

John
Talent Recruiter in US
Education Management, 501–1,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Xref is the Way To Go!

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: I've had a positive experience with Xref; it's allowed me to track references and background checks

Pros:

I like the ease of use most. Using Xref allows my team to hire candidates daily.

Cons:

I don't dislike anything about the software.

Xref Response

2 years ago

Thanks for leaving such a fantastic review, John. We're glad to hear you find Xref saves you time and increases the efficiencies of your team. We know how valuable time is for busy professionals and we're happy to hear that you're enjoying the ease and time-saving benefits of using Xref. Thanks again for such a positive review.

Fiona
GM People and Culture in Australia
Hospital & Health Care, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Xref, makes compliance simple

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: Well run implementation that delivered what they promised and on time. Xref were happy to work with our other software vendors to implement streamlined and integrated processes for us.

Pros:

It is a system that gives us the confidence that all our staff are compliant with legislation and takes the administrative burden from us. It makes the employee the star of the process.

Cons:

It can sometimes be confronting for employees with a lack of computer skills go through the process the first time.

Xref Response

5 years ago

Thank you for your great review, Fiona. It is good to hear that you have been able to benefit from the ease and simplicity of the platform. We're delighted that you and your team also feel more confident in your hiring process, having switched to automated references. We do our best to make the platform as user-friendly as possible while delivering a compliant, high-quality service but we appreciate your feedback about the employee experience. Thanks again for the review!

Simon
Talent Acquisition Specialist in Australia
Hospital & Health Care, 5,001–10,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

X Ref is great

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: Very happy with X Ref

Pros:

Easy to use for Users and Candidates. Very straight forward to use. Very few technical issues.

Cons:

I can't really say there is anything about X Ref I don't like. I have used it now in three different organisations. It has great functionality and has saved us so much time and is easy for the referee and very safe and secure.

Xref Response

4 years ago

Thanks so much for this wonderful review. We're glad that you've had such a great experience with Xref across your different roles.

Jessica
Chief People Officer in Australia
Health, Wellness & Fitness, 5,001–10,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

A great time-saver for a usually time-consuming process

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: We have had a good experience with Xref and look forward to full integration with our Recruitment platform in the coming months to ensure a more streamlined internal process.

Pros:

It is easy to use this software and provides us with the information we need to make the best hiring decisions for our business.

Cons:

It has taken us some time to roll out a recruitment system across our multiple businesses so the Xref process has been separate from the current workflows, however, this isn't Xref related.

Xref Response

4 years ago

Thanks for your review, Jessica. It is great to see that you benefitting from the added insight to assist with data driven decision making through the hiring process. It is also great to hear that the gears are in motion to have Xref integrated into your recruitment platform. I'm sure it will help simplify the process even further. Thanks again for your review.

Jessica
Recruitment Coordinator in Australia
Nonprofit Organization Management, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Achieve Australia - XRef review

4.0 5 years ago

Comments: Due to the high volume of applicants we receive and put through to pre employment checks, Xref has reduced a great amount of time the team would spend calling these referees. This has proved to be a beneficial system to the organisation.

Pros:

The updates for potential fraud of references. This provides a great deal of insight of our applicants before even reading the references.

Cons:

The changes to privacy. Ie the need to create a personal account rather than just use the one address.

Xref Response

5 years ago

Thanks for your review, Jessica. We're glad to hear Xref has been able to save valuable time for your team by helping to streamline your hiring process. We also appreciate your feedback regarding the privacy changes. Occasionally we have to make these changes to ensure that we maintain the highest possible standards of data security, for you and your candidates. Thanks again for the great review, Jessica.

AJ
Intern Recruiter in Canada
Computer Software, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

X Ref Review- Recruiter point of view

4.0 5 years ago

Pros:

Easy to use for the recruiter, just move a candidate into a stage and email is sent 1 Step process; no stress about forgetting to do anything Updates about candidates progress Reminds candidates to fill complete process

Cons:

Hard to see the responses give unless you are the administrator. Would be great to have a summary of responses

Xref Response

5 years ago

Thanks, AJ, for this review. We're glad you're finding the platform easy to use and that it is helping you to streamline your process. We can see that you are using Xref via our integration with Lever. As such, to have sufficient privileges to view Xrefs you will need to request login access to our native platform via your account administrator. Feel free to get in touch with our customer success team if you'd like any further assistance with this. They can be reached on [email protected] Thanks again, AJ.

Saskia
Talent Advisor in Australia
Nonprofit Organization Management, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Integral to my job as a Talent Advisor!

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: Fantastic! Honestly, I won't be able to function as a TA without it. Especially doing high volume recruitment

Pros:

It is integrated to our ATS - LiveHire - so getting references for a candidate is just a button away. Very easy to use and saves me countless hours of conducting references verbally. We get them really quickly as well.

Cons:

Sometimes the integration with ATS is broken. But this is the fault of the ATS

Xref Response

4 years ago

Thanks for taking the time to provide this great review. We're glad to hear you're enjoying the platform and that it is saving you time!

Michelle
Talent Acquisition Specialist in Canada
Printing, 501–1,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Head Office - Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Canada) Ltd. - Review

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: Excellent.

Pros:

the speed and ease of using the software. Fast turnaround time.

Cons:

The results of the background check is not available in PDF. I think it would be a good idea from the time the user opens the file to have it exportable into a PDF or word format. As well upon responding to the review. there was no drop down selection for our "Industry Type". I selected "Printing" which is our Old traditional business but we have evolved to Business Solutions.

Xref Response

4 years ago

Thanks for your feedback, Michelle. We are glad to hear you have benefited from the speed and ease of the platform. We are always looking to improve the service we offer and appreciate your feedback. Thanks again for your review.

Shelly
Administration Officer in Australia
Hospital & Health Care, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

Blue Care User review

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: It was a great experience and I have been advised that we will be continuing on eventually to use the system as it was a trial for us originally and I can wait until I can use it again.

Pros:

This is the first time my organization has used online reference checking and it was a great experience as it puts the responsibility back to the applicant so you can tell who really wants the role and who doesn't. It is very time effective for myself who does a lot of reference checking of applicants and it frees up a lot of time for me do other things in my day. It is really ease to navigate and access and I really like the way that the finalized check look and are laid out.

Cons:

I think is is probably just our company's use of the system but I personally like more options of types of reference checks as we only have 1 option for all different streams and occupations at our company and it would be good to have them more specific to roles for each stream.

Xref Response

4 years ago

Thanks so much for your review, it great to hear that you are enjoying the platform. Many of our clients use multiple templates for different roles, it's easy to set up if you'd like to try this out. Feel free to get in contact with our customer success team who can help you set these up.

Rebecca
Senior People Attraction Advisor in Australia
Insurance, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

How did I survive without it?!?

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: Seemless, effecient and friendly.

Pros:

Effeciency and the fraud detection element.

Cons:

The ability to customise it per reference, yet after chatting to Customer Services I understand why this can't be done.

Xref Response

4 years ago

Thanks so much for your great review.

Maree
Account Director in Australia
Hospitality, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Quick and easy to use

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: Overall this product is amazing to use. Streamline our process and is very helpful with large bulk recruitment activities.
Speed of process and to market is one of the best features!

Pros:

I love using Xref for every reference This is a big selling point for our clients as well as a streamlined process for our candidates

Cons:

Referrals can be a bit difficult to navigate when they come through

Xref Response

4 years ago

Thanks for this great review, we're glad to hear you love using Xref!

Joan
Intern in US
Religious Institutions, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

Xref Review JZ

4.0 5 years ago

Comments: I used this to complete a reference for a candidate for another company. It was good, convenient, and easy. There are improvements that can be made and it may be on the company side to utilize the program better but the design was appealing and easy to the eye.

Pros:

I like this way of responding to a reference request. Instead of writing a long letter and making sure it is grammatically correct and professional enough, it was much easier to fill out the form. It also gave me a direct way of answering what they were looking for in the candidate.

Cons:

It was confusing when first starting off using this site. It presented the questions and categories to fill out but only the questions but not how it needed to be answered, like if it was a multiple-choice response or if it was an essay style. When I went to answer I wasn't sure what to expect or how to answer the prompt.

Xref Response

5 years ago

Thank you for your review, Joan. We are glad to hear you had a positive experience while completing a reference using Xref. We are always looking to improve our platform and we appreciate your feedback regarding the candidate referral process. Thanks again for your great review.

Aimee
HR Advisor in Australia
Hospital & Health Care, 501–1,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

Support is wonderful

4.0 4 years ago

Comments: Amazing, have been in constant contact with my reps, they are informative, friendly and helpful! This has saved me a lot of time, especially since we have been busy. The time turnaround for completed references has been amazing as well.

Pros:

Visibility is great, one screen which shows the status of every candidate and where what stage their reference is at.

Cons:

Ability for multiple users to see up to date information. E.g. If I open a reference on the other persons login it shows that the reference hasn't been opened.

Xref Response

4 years ago

Thanks for the review and for your feedback, it's helpful for us to know. We're glad to hear the platform is helping you to save time!

Stephen
People and Culture/Payroll Specialist in Australia
Financial Services, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Xref is awesome!

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: Overall it's a greats system and takes away the 'tooing' and 'froing' that can happen chasing referees.

Pros:

Very easy to use, references are driven by candidate and results delivered electronically. Reminders are not received in set time.

Cons:

It is easy to forget how to set up the requests if you haven't requested for a while but a couple of seconds of reflection and it's all go.

Xref Response

4 years ago

Thanks so much for your review. We're glad to hear you find the platform easy to use.

Carmen
Executive Talent Specialist in Australia
Transportation/Trucking/Railroad, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Executive Talent

5.0 4 years ago

Pros:

Easy to use and easy to navigate, been using this for years. Love XREF.

Cons:

Customer service or technical support some room for improvement.

Xref Response

4 years ago

Thanks for your review, Carmen. We are so happy to hear that you love using Xref. We understand how important it is to have a simple and easy reference checking process readily available. We appreciate your feedback regarding our customer service. We are always striving to be better and we will continue to do so. Thanks again for your review.