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As hiring goes, your referral program is a pretty big deal. It’s one of those gifts from the recruitment gods but to tap into its talent-luring wonders you need to be ready to take it serious and then some. It’s said that employers are around three times more likely to hire a referred candidate than one sourced through different channels - that kinda says it all.
If you have an employee referral program good for you, but before you sit back too much, take a minute. If it’s not producing a nice flow of talent and being utilised by your employees then it all means nothing. Your RP is your talent baby, it needs love, care and parental guidance to grow into something you can be proud of.
So, how can you make sure that your employee referral program is doing the business for you, and even more importantly, your lovely talent-sourcing team? Here’s a few Health Check pointers to keep it healthy and happy.
#1 - Treat your referrals extra special.
All candidates are important and deserve quality care but given that you’re a chunk more likely to recruit a referred candidate, you should probably take extra special care of this lot. It doesn’t take much to make a massive difference, why not find some way to make your referral’s journey through the hiring process that extra bit swifter and sweeter...A simple tag can make these chaps easier to spot in your ATS and quicker to action. Now’s the time to make sure that HR is in tip top condition and ready and able to offer referrals an exceptional experience. Vanquish any communication black holes and create a flawless process that’s timely and employer brand-friendly.
#2 - Create a consistent story.
If you want your current employees to send talent your way you need to make it easy and engaging for them. Simply saying “Send us some referrals” over email will not inspire action or excitement. Give your team the tools to sell your culture and brand, have a great strategy in place that they can get on board with and promote. A short social promotion workshop could run over the what, how and why of reaching out to potential referrals, as well as investing a sense of pride into your team. Make your referral process easy, trackable and rewarding.
#3 - Cough up those rewards fast!
If your employees receive a bonus for each successful referral then deliver that bonus straight away. Let’s face it, your employees will like working alongside great talent but they love a juicy cheque even more. Don’t be stingy or slow with their incentives. The faster you take care of them, the more quality talent they’ll bring your way. Make sure that you maintain a standard of quality, educate your team on what a ‘quality hire’ is and be sure to give them feedback on the standard of referrals they provide you with. It’s about culture as much as cash.
#4 - Always be in hiring mode.
Great talent waits for no man. Be ready to process a hire any day, week or month of the year. If you only use your referral program when you have a position open it goes stale and disrupts your team’s focus and drive to find referrals.
#5 - Master a better system.
No employee should have to scour your job listings for open opps they can fill with talent. Invest in a system that connects the dots and checks in with your employee’s connections. Your system should do all the hard work leaving your team the time and creativity to personalise the referral process. Get social and give your applicant tracking system a makeover to meet your referral needs/potential.
You really do get out what you put in when it comes to a referral program. It’s running and success is dependant on everything from process ease, reward invention, loyalty building and employer brand savvy. Take the time, effort and commitment it demands or you’ll lose talent, employee engagement and so much more.
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