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Orbon Alija/Getty Images

Orbon Alija/Getty Images

Feature


7 TIPS TO BOOST EMPLOYEE REFERRALS




EMPLOYEE REFERRALS CAN BE A HUGE BOON TO COMPANIES CURRENTLY STRUGGLING TO
RECRUIT NEW WORKERS. LEARN SOME TIPS ON HOW TO BOOST THEM AND HOW TECH CAN HELP.

Share this item with your network:

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By
 * Carolyn Heinze

Published: 30 Mar 2022

Today's competitive labor market requires companies to pursue multiple
strategies for finding and hiring the right talent. HR leaders should improve
their employee referral program to make their recruiting as effective as
possible.



Word-of-mouth can be one of the most effective ways to attract employees, so HR
leaders should ensure their employee referral program makes it as easy and
rewarding as possible for current employees to refer acquaintances.

Employee referrals can result in a lower cost per hire, as well as higher ROI,
said Laurie White, head of talent acquisition at United Services Automobile
Association (USAA), a financial services company located in San Antonio.

"[Referred employees] tend to perform well and stay longer," she said.

However, optimizing an employee referral program requires judicious use of
technology and some creativity. Here are some tips on how to boost employee
referrals for HR leaders to consider.


1. ENGAGE EMPLOYEES IN RECRUITING EFFORTS

HR leaders should ensure employees feel like they're a valued part of bringing
in new workers.

Adam Fitzer

Employees must be engaged in an organization's overall recruiting efforts for a
referral program to be truly successful, said Adam Fitzer, senior talent
acquisition manager at West Monroe, a management and technology consulting firm
located in Chicago. Strategies for bringing about this engagement could include
the following:

 * company recruiters meeting regularly with employees;
 * employees participating in recruiting events;
 * employees helping conduct job interviews;
 * HR staff posting branded messaging about recruiting in the physical office
   space and on the company intranet;
 * a member of the talent acquisition team posting specific hours during which
   employees can approach them with questions; and
 * HR staff reaching out to former employees through the company's social media
   channels.

HR leaders should partner with their marketing and communications teams to brand
the employee referrals program both internally and externally, Fitzer said.

"Think of all of the alums in your network [and] broadcast over social media to
let folks know that … [you're] hiring [as well as] the accolades [the company
has received]," he said.


2. ADVERTISE INCENTIVES

Many organizations incentivize employees to refer candidates by offering a
monetary reward if their referral is hired and remains with the company for a
specific period of time.

Laurie White

Some programs make multiple payments, White said. For example, one payment may
occur at 90 days and then another at 180 days. Regardless, HR leaders should
consider the following questions when determining the amount of these rewards:

 * Does the amount increase based on role level?
 * Does the amount increase if the targeted position is particularly difficult
   to fill?
 * Does the amount increase if the targeted position requires highly specialized
   skills?

If the company must fill a specific position quickly, the organization could
offer an additional bonus to an employee that refers a successful candidate
within a certain period of time, White said.

HR leaders should also be very clear about required candidate skills when asking
for employee referrals.

When USAA is attempting to fill a role with unusual qualifications, HR leaders
ask employees to only refer people who possess those precise skill sets, White
said.

Doing so saves everyone time and prevents employees from referring candidates
that aren't a good fit and then feeling disappointed when their acquaintance
doesn't make it through the process.


3. AUTOMATE THE PROCESS

Features like employee tracking of referred candidates can help improve the
referral process for everyone involved.

Matt Lafata

Applicant tracking systems -- otherwise known as talent acquisition systems --
are the back engine of a company website's career page, said Matt Lafata, CEO of
HRchitect Inc., an HR technology consulting firm located in Frisco, Texas. When
a candidate applies for a position through the website, they can enter the
referring employee's name in a particular field. That employee is then tagged so
the hiring manager knows the candidate came to them through a referral.

In some cases, organizations configure these systems so referred candidates are
moved to the top of the list, Lafata said. They do so because referrals are so
valuable.

> The employees of a company know better than anyone else what it's like to work
> at that company [and] the kind of people they would like to work with. Matt
> LafataCEO, HRchitect Inc.

"The employees of a company know better than anyone else what it's like to work
at that company [and] the kind of people they would like to work with," Lafata
said.

Employees give the best insight into a candidate and whether they would be a
good fit for the organization.

Ideally, the referral component should integrate into the organization's
applicant tracking system, White said. Recruiters can then easily identify and
prioritize referrals, and employees who referred candidates can monitor their
acquaintances' progress as the candidates progress through the recruitment
cycle. This transparency is key for keeping employees engaged in the referral
program.

"One of the things you hear a lot about with employee referrals, if you're not
careful in your process, is … employees refer[ring] people and then feel[ing]
that those contacts are never made, and they're just referring into a black
hole," White said. "[Having] it integrated with your applicant tracking system
is really key."

This tech also helps HR departments manage incentive payouts for employees that
refer candidates because they also track when candidates were referred, White
said. A referral date could help if two employees refer the same person. HR
staff can consult the applicant tracking system to see which employee referred
the candidate first and give them the payout.


4. MAKE IT A CONTEST

Making employee referrals into a competition is one way to potentially engage
employees and make the referral program more popular.

West Monroe has hosted contests in which one office location competes against
another for the most referrals, Fitzer said. The reward is often a lunch, dinner
or party. Other incentives could include extra time off, a trip to a spa resort
or an experience-based incentive, such as a wine tour accompanied by one of the
organization's senior leaders.


5. MAKE IT A PARTY

A fun gathering centered around employee referrals could increase their
popularity as well.

West Monroe also hosts talent sourcing "parties" during which the company's
recruiters meet a group of employees over a free lunch, Fitzer said.
Pre-pandemic, the party took place on-site in a conference room. Now, the
company sends employees Grubhub gift cards so they can order their free lunch
and participate virtually.

During these events, recruiters work with employees to scan their networks, such
as their LinkedIn accounts, for potential candidates, Fitzer said. Recruiters
offer employees "double referral rewards" to further incentivize them, with more
rewards for employees who refer candidates that move to an interview or other
stages.


6. ACKNOWLEDGE EVERY REFERRAL

HR leaders should make sure they're expressing gratitude to employees who make
referrals so the employees feel like their contribution was noted.

Not all referred candidates are hired, but acknowledging workers who refer
candidates is necessary to motivate employees to continue to do so, Fitzer said.
At West Monroe quarterly meetings and companywide town halls, leaders mention
employees who referred candidates. The company also sometimes gives prizes to
employees who referred candidates that weren't hired in addition to the usual
rewards.


7. MAKE CULTURAL CHANGES IF NEEDED

If employee referrals still aren't increasing, HR leaders should examine the
company culture and start improvements there.

"If you're not [creating] that culture where somebody is so passionate [about it
that] they want others to work for you, you're not going to get good referrals,"
Lafata said.



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