Case Study: Michael Hill achieves 24-hour turnaround and fraud protection with Xref

How Xref Adds Protection Against Reference Fraud Michael Hill

Michael Hill, a retail employer, faced an inefficient, manual reference-checking process that consumed up to 80% of one person’s time, left many references outstanding, and didn’t suit the industry’s non‑9-to-5 hours. To address this they trialed and then adopted Xref’s online reference‑checking software to speed up checks, ensure consistent questioning, and allow referees to respond outside traditional business hours.

Xref automated Michael Hill’s reference workflow, delivering reports in around 24–36 hours and with roughly half of references completed outside normal hours, which freed the dedicated staff member to support broader HR work. Xref also introduced consistent benchmarking and fraud protections (IP checks and a multi‑touch fraud algorithm), increasing confidence in referee authenticity and improving recruitment speed and accuracy.

Michael Hill