Interviewing candidates before you check references? You’re doing it wrong

yup.

Agreed. Also, this is the currently accepted formal way to present references - that is when they are requested.

Also, nobody will want to be anyone's reference anymore if it requires talking to dozens of people every time the candidate applies for a job. (If employers check references in the early stages of a job application, a reference will have to interact with everyone who doesn't want to hire the candidate in addition to everyone who wants to hire the candidate.)

The article says: "Note the response time — whether they get back to you quickly or not might be useful information in and of itself."

Not replying quickly can mean many things. It might mean that the reference is on vacation, for example.