Case Study: Holcim achieves faster, safer automated reference checks with Xref

How Xref makes reference checking safe and secure Holcim

Holcim, a geographically dispersed construction and engineering employer that fills roughly 800 external roles a year with a four‑person recruiting team, faced slow, unreliable phone‑based pre‑employment reference checks that could take days to a month and produced rushed, potentially unverifiable feedback. To address the safety‑critical nature of its roles and the need to hire blue‑collar staff quickly, Holcim evaluated and implemented Xref’s automated reference checking system for faster, more secure reference collection.

Using Xref, Holcim now completes references in an average of 19 hours, with 44% returned outside traditional business hours and an average reference length of 340 words, enabling recruiters to run checks earlier and on multiple candidates. Xref’s platform improved confidence in referee identity (more commercial emails), reduced recruiter bias, offered benchmarking against role competencies, and flagged suspicious activity with a multi‑touch fraud algorithm—delivering faster, safer hiring decisions and a clear operational ROI for Holcim.

Holcim