The Social Referral
A RolePoint Whitepaper by Bill Boorman

INTRODUCTION
The fact that you are reading this paper means that you probably already recognize the
benefits of leveraging an employee referral program for hiring. In May 2012 Dr. John
Sullivan wrote in ERE about the top 10 benefits to referral recruiting:
Hard data on the value and impact of employee referrals
1. Hire volume - Referrals are the #1 source in hiring volume. 1, 3
2. Hire quality - Referrals are also the #1 source for new hire quality. 1
3. Speed (application-to-hire time in days) - Referrals are the #1 fastest recruiting method (29 days for
referrals, 39 days for job boards, and 45 days for career sites). 2
4. Average length of employment of all initial hires after one year (retention) - Referrals are #1 at 46%
retention after 1one year(compared to 33% from career sites and 22% from job boards). 2
5. Average length of employment of all initial hires after two years (retention) - employee referrals are #1 at
45% retention after two years (compared to 20% from job boards after two years and 14% after
three years). 2
6. Percentage of all applicants - Referrals are only 6.9% of applicants. 2
7. Percentage of all hires - 46% of all hires at top performing firms are referrals4, while for all firms, they
range between 28%3 and 39.9% of all hires. 2
8. Applicant-to-hire ratio - Referrals are #1 and are hired at a rate of 1 out of 3 applications for
top-performing firms and 1 out of 10 at average firms. Compare that to an average applicant to hire ratio
of 1 out of 18 from all sources. 4
9. Cost per hire - Job boards hires cost on average $1,671 versus referral hiring costs of $2,306 (only $635
more). 4
10. Diversity impact - Despite the old myth that referrals have a negative diversity impact, referrals were #1
as the ‘most productive’ source for diversity hires, well ahead of major job boards, company affinity
groups, and diversity career fairs. 3
1 Source — Staffing.org 2011
2 Source — Jobvite index 2012
3 Source — CareerXroads 2011 – 2012
4 Source — Dr. John Sullivan and Associates research 2008-2011
When you look at the data, and it has been well documented, it is easy to see why there has been a clamor to implement
Employee Referral Programs. The most common way of doing this was to offer cash rewards for hired candidates introduced by
employees. Given the cost of agency fees, which average between 20 and 25%, companies could offer significant cash rewards
and still show a big reduction in the cost per hire. Attracted by this methodology, corporate companies set up schemes but
reported problems with long term adoption. This paper will identify some of the barriers to widespread adoption and what can
be done to break them down.
RolePoint Inc © 2013 1 The Social Referral

REFERRALS IN THE OLD SCHOOL The most common employee referral programs involve
making open jobs visible to employees and asking for
Defining referrals used to be simple; a referral was a recommendations. The process requires the employees to
recommendation, and people only referred the people they provide potential candidate details, usually a resume or
knew well and probably worked with. This was driven by LinkedIn profile, and to have gained permission from the
memory, little black books and personal relationships. candidate to submit. Successful hires are rewarded with
Volumes of referred candidates were low, but conversions cash payments, commonly after the completion of the
were high because employees matched on skill, experience probationary period. As payments are involved, there is a
and knowledge, and were recommended as a fit in all these due diligence process to qualify for payment.
areas.
There were pros and cons to the old school methodology:
Pros Cons
- High quality candidates with a good fit - Low volume of referral candidates
- Endorsed skill level and employability - Geared towards new starters
- Employees accountable for candidate fit - Admin heavy systems
- High level of employee influence with the - Time taken to complete most referral
candidate programs
- Low cost of referral hires (even after bonuses) - Due diligence of referral rewards
- Low conversion ratio of applied to interviewed - Asking employees to have the matching skills
and interviewed to hired of recruiters
- Diversity
- Speed of hire
- On-boarding and new starter mentoring
through friends
- Opportunity to reward employees
RolePoint Inc © 2013 2 The Social Referral

The benefits to referral recruiting are undisputed, with the submitted information reported that it took 10.4 referrals
pros easily outweighing the cons, not least cost of hire. per hire, where as the other sources were in excess of 100.
However, the low volumes of referrals means that even the
most successful programs result in no more than 35% of all Given this data, which comes from a respected source of
hires. The 2012 research into source of hire in the US, research, it is easy to see why companies place ERPs at the
conducted by consultancy CareerXroads, identified that center of their recruiting efforts, and that
28% of hires among the 200 companies surveyed were the recommendations from employees provide the most
result of referrals. The full data list is displayed in the chart valuable source of hire. The challenge companies face is
below. finding new ways to increase the volume of referred
candidates, maintain the quality of referrals and sustain the
The remaining 55% of hires were attributed to internal flow of referrals on an on-going basis.
transfers and promotions. The other interesting data to
come out of this research is that the companies who
SOURCES OF HIRE
Referrals
Job Boards
Company Career Site
Recruiter Initiated
Rehire
Social Media
3rd Part Recruiters
Print ad
Other
RolePoint Inc © 2013 3 The Social Referral

THE REFERRAL KILLERS and comments added etc. it is a common comment that “as
much as I want to help out, I have a job to do.” The process
It is easy to see why the best referral you are going to get is behind the ERP needs to be simple and quick, enabling
when the referred candidate is known by the employee and employees to contribute without interfering with the time
they have worked together. In our research in to how most available to do their real job. The more time involved in
companies employ traditional employee referral schemes, searching, matching, communicating with potential
there is a big emphasis on asking new starters. A number of candidates, recruiters and admin, employees will be less
companies gave the example of sitting down with new likely to continue taking part. A successful ERP needs to be
starters during their on boarding with a blank pad and admin light and built with the employee
asking them to write down the contact details of former in mind.
colleagues and friends who might be of interest to the
company. The reason given for this is that new employees
are most forthcoming with names, and usually of former 4. Not Their Job
colleagues. The new employees are also keen to impress,
and motivated by their new employer. Logic also follows Whilst an accountant might know plenty of accountants,
that as this candidate was successful, former colleagues will their main job is working the numbers, not recruiting staff.
likely have a similar skill set and experience. The more the accountants are asked to be recruiters and
exercise judgment over which candidates to submit, the
I have been involved in trouble shooting employee referral less confident they are in taking part. The volume of
programs that are not generating the expected results. The referrals can be a good indicator of staff morale and the
common denominator in these programs is that the ‘not my job’ attitude, so where there is little buy in, why
company offer large cash rewards, but are confused why refer? It can also be a result of employees lacking
this is not generating the volume of hires they are confidence in making judgment calls, linked to
expecting. When speaking to the employees about why accountability. When employees are not required to make
they are not taking a more active part in the ERP when the selection choices, ERPs go up.
potential cash rewards are high, I have discovered that the
most common barriers are:
5. Line Manager Buy In
1. Accountability
Line managers need to see the ERP as being important to
When an employee makes a recommendation, they take a their team, and the most effective way they can recruit. The
risk on their personal reputation andthere is a risk that the communication of the ERP internally often focuses on the
recruiters or hiring managers feel that their time has been benefit to the company and often misses out on the
wasted. If the referred candidate is hired, there is the benefits to the individual employees of working with the
additional risk that the candidate will not work out, and will best people they can, and the part they can play in it. Where
always be known as their ’guy’, particularly given any time and resources areis invested in getting line manager
financial rewards they may have been paid. buy in, they are far more willing to include conversations
about referrals in team meetings, one to ones and more.
Where referral figures are included in performance
2. Transparency reviews, then the ERP is kept front and center.
This is probably the most common one. Where rewards for
referred hires are high, there is a high level of due diligence, 6. Uncomfortable Approaching Friends About Jobs
as well as tax implications. Examples I have been given for
not paying the expected rewards are that the candidate Some employees feel uncomfortable approaching their
was already known to the company and in the ATS, the friends about jobs with their employer and are unsure how
paperwork was incorrectly completed or the employee did to make the first approach. They also feel that it is
not upload a resume. Where there are cash rewards, there inappropriate to talk jobs with their friends, given the
are plenty of reasons for saying no to a claim. The sense of confidential nature of careers. The best way to resolve this
injustice proves to be a real cancer to many ERPs. To get an is to make the process easy and to offer training in the
ERP to work, the rules need to be transparent and designed referral process and the employer brand. Training and
to reward rather than penalize. When the system is seen as development to support the ERP will lead to success, with
fair and reasonable, employees are far more willing to take employees being more confident in having career related
part. conversations. Consider the training plan as part of the
launch and on-going participation in the program.
3. Time Consuming
Tied in with rewards is procedure, and procedure can be
time consuming when due diligence is a driving factor.
Where resumes have to be sought, uploaded or submitted
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7. Poor Candidate Experience THE SOCIAL DIFFERENCE
When an employee reaches out to a contact, gains their Over the last 3 years, social networks have experienced
interest in an opportunity and gets them to make an exponential growth. Employee networks have grown
application, they have an expectation that they will be accordingly, offering access to structured career data
treated in the right way. Global consultancy business through sites like LinkedIn in particular, and unstructured
Accenture have adopted a highly successful ERP, which data through networks like Facebook. Employees are
places candidate experience at the center. This is driven by continually adding new contacts and growing personal
a service level agreement which sets time-scales for the networks. Job posting tools that share jobs into social
review of referred candidates and for feedback. Whilst networks are often described as social referral tools,
employees do not expect every candidate they refer to get though this is an inaccurate and misleading description. The
an interview or a job, they do expect timely feedback and more sophisticated of these tools create unique links for
due consideration, and when this does not happen, the sharing that enable employers to identify which of their
referred candidate will go back to the employee who employees originated the share. This is useful for
originated the application. Negative feedback to candidate recognition and reward, whilst the practice of sharing jobs
experience will strangle any ERP initiatives. Recruitment in the wider network is to be encouraged in order to reach
processes should be designed to operate referred job seekers who are browsing or using search engines to
candidates as a separate channel, with time scales for identify opportunities. Job seekers are increasingly
review and feedback to both the candidate and the connecting with their peers in organizations they want to
employee who originated the application. work for. Encouraging employees to share jobs into their
networks offers the potential to reach these connections,
but it is only a chance. A direct message is always going to
8. Forgetting the ERP prove to be more effective.
Most ERPs launch with great intentions, publicity and A referral is best defined as a personal recommendation
fanfare but after a few months, employee enthusiasm and from one person to another. The traditional referral
participation weans. There is always a new initiative each highlighted at the start of this paper is a good example of
month, and referrals drop off the radar. This need not be this. The difference, though, between an old school referral
the case with careful planning. When structuring an ERP and a social referral is the potential depth of the
strategy, you need to think how you are going to promote relationship. All networks consist of an inner and outer
the program and keep it prominent in the thoughts of circle. The inner circle, in terms of referral, includes those
employees. These are some of the tactics companies have connections where an offline relationship exists based on
employed to keep the ERP current month after month, year work interactions and personal knowledge. The outer circle
after year. consists of those connections who have connected online
through a shared interest, mutual connections or similar.
- Weekly ’most wanted’ posters and communication This offers access to data for mining and matching, and
- Weekly referral huddles and awards reach for personal messaging via an established
connection.
- Referral points and league table
- Referral T-shirts (Rackspace use the caption: Takes one When you consider the potential reach offered by the
to know one. Certified Racker Referrer) combined population of all of your employees who are
- Weekly e-mail or newsletter willing to sign in to a social referral program, it’s easy to
- Monthly referral picnic/party recognize the potential of operating your ERP around
- Seasonal initiatives, Christmas etc social connections rather than personal address books, as
in the traditional referral. The key here is to enable
- Dedicated referral portal with alerts
employees to weight the referrals they make, giving priority
- Referrer awards and recognition to those in their inner circle whilst leaving the way open to
- Accumulated points and prizes search all connections however distant for a skills and
- Inclusion of referral data in performance reports experience match. The use of data mining technology
- Hot jobs and skills lists enables recruiters to identify potential candidates based on
- On-line referral badges skills and experience of any employee who permits access
by signing up for the ERP.
- Payment to a charity fund for hires
These are just a few examples of how to keep promoting
the ERP by planning out an annual campaign with regular
employee communications. Celebrate successes publicly
with open recognition, plan for on-going communication
and get referrals on the agenda at every management and
team meeting.
RolePoint Inc © 2013 5 The Social Referral

In order to make this method work employers need to: Social data for the U.S, According to SocialBakers.Com:
- LinkedIn users: Mn 74,248, 222
Remove accountability for referrals - Facebook users: Mn 164,958,520
coming from social networks without
personal recommendation.
71.82%
53.20%
Use matching technology and alerts to
advise employees where they can choose
to pass on a referral with one click. 33.20%
23.94%
Leave control of the message (and who to
send it to) with the employee.
LinkedIn Facebook
Penetration of Online Population
Provide reassurance that access to Penetration of Population
personal social networks is for matching
only and no data will be extracted or stored.
WHAT DRIVES REFERRAL PROGRAMS
Having studied successful ERPs, the most common
denominator is a team of departmental champions outside
Remove accountability for referrals of the recruiting team. The ERP team should be the ones
coming from social networks without who drive the program, design rewards and build a
personal recommendation. community of referrers inside and outside of the
organization. The champions should be given the freedom
to design the framework to get the most out of the ERP.
Most companies designing a new scheme assume that
Social referrals create pipelines, provided the matching offering cash is the main driver. We have found that more
algorithm is good, and the messaging relevant. often than not, the complications associated with cash,
from due diligence to taxation, hinders wide scale adoption.
It is better to let the employees determine their own
RELEVANCE OF REFERRAL MESSAGING rewards. These can be cumulative or instant. Small rewards
and team rewards go much further than occasional cash
The difference between a spam message and a worthwhile payments.
message is relevance. Job opportunities and content
shared by referral needs to be a good fit for the recipient, The other consideration in this is what to reward. Whilst
and this means building confidence in the technology most ERPs reward hires only, is this actually what you want
behind the ERP. Whilst potential candidates targeted by to be rewarding when there is only a 1:10 (or greater)
the ERP do not expect to want or be in a position to apply, chance of success, followed by potential due diligence over
they also want to be able to identify why they were process and candidate ownership? The more successful
selected. No point offering a sales VP a job for a junior sales ERPs reward referrals rather than hires. This can be small
clerk. The relevance must be clear to avoid spam thinking recognitions or awards, or gamification, typically by
and to stay connected. The frequency of messaging needs rewarding each referral with a raffle ticket for a big prize
to be left in the control of the employee to ensure buy in. such as a car. Getting rewards right for your employees is
key, and you should never under estimate the power of
reinforcing the desire among employees to get the best
employees (and colleagues) into the company for
everyone’s benefit. Public recognition and celebration can
often go further than hard cash.
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The key drivers to success of a social ERP are: The key is interaction, rather than static. Target candidates
receiving an e-mail want to be able to hit a link and access
- Easy participation relevant content wherever they are.
- Simple process
- Non recruiter champions
MOBILITY AND THE SOCIAL REFERRAL
- On-going communications and visibility
- Celebrations of success The term mobility refers to the way that the explosion in
- Recognition of contribution the use of smartphones and tablets has changed the way
- Transparent rewards program people do things. People message and respond in down
- Automated matching time between work and personal commitments, and they
expect to be able to interact instantly. In the past, online job
- Relationship weighting
search and email messaging was locked by the need to be
- Candidate experience on a PC. For recruiting, this mostly meant messaging or
- Feedback to referrer sending out notifications and waiting a minimum of 24
hours for some kind of response. Mobility has changed all
It is also critically important that employees can opt-in and this, with people using down times like when they are
opt-out as they see fit. The technology aided social referral, commuting, on breaks and whilst watching TV in the
with the addition of a ranking feature based on relationship evening to check in with messages, updates and emails.
(inner/outer circle) retains the benefits of the traditional They are on the move and want to be able to access content
referral whilst adding targeted reach. The best of both easily, viewable on a mobile device. They don't want to need
methods. to navigate from page to page, and they want to be able to
respond instantly. Responding by mobile device means that
The next generation of social referral technology will add candidates are unable to provide extensive information,
the facility for instant messaging and the micro job site. needing a one or two click expression of interest.
This is ideal via social referral where the original profile can
THE MICRO JOB SITE be tagged against the unique URL applied to the job. When
the target clicks their interest, the aggregated profiles used
Potential candidates want to see much more than job ads to match (such as a LinkedIn profile) can be imported from
when considering whether to register interest or apply. the user profile. Receiving the message on a device in your
Research and results show that potential candidates want pocket will incur response times and conversions. Even
to research opportunities before hitting the apply button. social media giant Facebook consider themselves to be a
Active job seekers are suffering from application fatigue, mobile, rather than a social company, and any ERP
after spending time completing applications through the technology not built for mobile can be considered dated.
employer ATS only to disappear in to a black hole and never Mobile referral technology, mobile landing pages, and push
hear back. Before hitting apply, job seekers want to be notifications to trigger referral messaging are all key for
confident that they have enough information to determine ensuring an effective mobile presence.
that they have a reasonable chance of getting an interview.
This means that they are looking to be able to find minimum
requirements easily, with simple navigation to find
information on the job.
For passive job seekers, a job description is not enough to
elicit interest. They want to be able to see rich content in
their choice of media in order to recognize culture fit as
well as capability. The job micro-site should tell the story
behind the job, told in words, pictures and video, with
access to contacts to ask questions and talk about a
company and an opportunity before they are willing to hit
apply and jump in to the process. The micro-site needs to
offer social connections and the opportunity to
communicate in the channel of their choice.
When a potential candidate clicks on a link, they want to
land on the job and find information and content easily. It is
also important to note that 75% of emails are opened on a
mobile device, which means any micro-site needs to be
accessible and easy to navigate across platforms. Mobile
changes the where and the how potential candidates want
to interact with content.
RolePoint Inc © 2013 7 The Social Referral

Mobile data for the U.S. In 2012: Awarding points for activity and outcomes means
employees can accumulate reward points to cash in against
a series of rewards. Adding fun elements to rewards like
spot competitions, bonus points for in demand people, and
4:1 48m vs 4.9m
adding games like spin the wheel to win extra points or
prizes keeps the attention on the ERP in a fun way. The best
Smart phone owners vs
computer owners iPhones vs Macbooks example of this I have seen is where employees achieving a
certain number of points got the chance to spin the wheel,
with prizes ranging from an old pair of jeans to beer for a
year.
A technical business in Boston had great success by
48% 50% awarding a raffle ticket for each referral. They held daily,
of US mobile subscribers Growth in smartphone weekly and monthly draws to win spot prizes such as iPads
own a Smart phone usage from 2011 – 2012 and Kindles. The end of the program was marked with a
draw for a car. The draw was promoted with plenty of
branded content, with ample communication over volumes
and a league table. This resulted in over 30 hires of high
profile IT professionals. The car was a great centerpiece,
91% 2013 and a small investment given the return. Plugging in to
competition, fun and recognizing referral champions
of Americans have their mobile surpass computers
mobile device on 24/7 for internet access
results in a community feel to the ERP, particularly when
combined with other employer/culture branding efforts.
CULTURE BRANDING AND THE ERP
1 in 7 16.9% When we talk referrals, we tend to automatically think that
internet searches are black Monday shopping was this means enlisting the help of employees to share jobs
conducted via mobile a mobile transaction with members of their network who have the skills to fit the
opportunity. Increasingly companies are paying more
attention to culture branding, using social media to provide
a window in to their organization in order to enable
potential candidates to elect in to connect and follow the
94%
Only 20% company and opt out if there is no fit. Potential candidates
of Smartphone users search
are increasingly looking for more information on the real
business services by mobile, of businesses have invested
90% have made a in a mobile device.
values and culture of the company. This marks the shift
transaction. from transactional recruiting on a job by job basis, to
relationship based recruiting, with potential candidates
wanting to get to know an organization before applying.
*All data taken from www.Imomentus.com/Download Feb With so much noise in the social media content in the social
2012. channels, it is easy to lose content and is hard to pinpoint
target audience. Innovative thinking about ERPs uses the
same data mining, matching and referral technology to
GAMIFICATION refer content on a one to one basis to targeted
connections. Personal referrals of content are far more
When we talk gamification, we often get the image of likely to be seen and opened, increasing appeal and culture
Farmville and other online games and game platforms. brand awareness amongst a network of people who rank
Gamification, however, is being widely adopted in to highly on the employability scale. Employability is based on
business practice. Awarding points for referral inputs and skills, experience, culture fit, location and other factors.
outcomes encourage competition between employees and Content connects people with organizations, and referred
teams. Online badges recognize contributions from all content makes sure that these are the right people to fill
employees, and can be tied in to social status and future requirements.
performance review. The greater the recognition from
management, the more employees look to achieve the
standard. Competition is a big driver among colleagues and
teams.
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POPULATING THE TALENT NETWORK THROUGH It is conceivable that as company talent networks grow,
REFERRAL there will be a tipping point where there will be no need to
search outside of this network, and every ’member’ will
Recruiting, for the most part, has been transactional in the have a level of relationship with the company. Referrals
past. Jobs got posted on static websites, job boards and present a great opportunity to build the talent network to
printed media. Applicants applied online and went to an this level.
applicant tracking system, provided information, answered
questions (with some killer questions) and uploaded a
resume. Next step was a degree of selection interviewing. INBOUND REFERRALS
One of the applicants got the job and the rest got rejected.
Records were retained for legal reasons, but mostly As much as your employees have social networks that are
remained untouched, and each time there was a new job it full of potential employees, identified by data mining for
was rinse and repeat. Recruiting and applying for a job was targeted messaging, the reverse also applies. Individuals
win/lose, pass/fail. interested in your company as a potential employer are
connected with your employees. As a potential candidate,
The problem with this methodology was that each time was getting referred has real benefits over applying through
a whole new campaign, and those people who didn't get the traditional methods.
job could be split in to two schools:
- Referred candidates are prioritized for review and
- Those who fitted the culture and had good skills, but feedback
were beaten by a stronger applicant on the day. - Referred candidates avoid the ATS at point of entry
- Those who were a poor culture fit, illegible to work or - Referred candidates come with a degree of
unqualified/experienced against the skill set of the recommendation according to the level of relationship
employees of the company.
Adding a ’get referred’ button to jobs, career sites, content
The growth of employer branding content created two new and social places enable interested parties to see how they
groups. are connected with the company in order to request a
referral. This has real benefits to populating the ERP
- Those who were interested in the company as a possible because the interaction is driven by candidates requiring
employer in the future, but were not yet ready to apply. limited input and time by the employees. You also get to
- Those who were attracted to the company but did not fit overcome the resistance some employees have over
or have an interest in open vacancies. sharing jobs with friends because they feel it is intrusive.
Companies recognized that potential candidates who fitted
into the last three groups formed the best collection of INTERNAL REFERRALS
people to source from. They had all shown some form of
interest in the company and could be tempted to apply When we talk about referrals, we are usually thinking about
again when the timing was right. This marked the external candidates, but the modern ERP has a big part to
development of the talent network. The talent network play in internal mobility. The CareerXRoads data for source
organizes connected people according to their profile, of hire featured at the beginning of the paper shows that
skills, experience and location in order to send them 55% of hires are internal transfers and appointments.
relevant updates about jobs, culture, branding and content Internal mobility goes hand in hand with retention and
in the channel of their choice. From the candidates point of employer branding. The opportunity for advancement is
view this keeps them up to date with relevant information one the biggest motivators in joining a new employer. The
and job opportunities, and the company gets to keep their reality, though, in most organizations is that applying for
talent pipeline alive in advance of requirements. jobs internally is subject to internal politics, and not without
The evolution of the talent network brings a new dimension personal career risk. Sideways moves within an
to the ERP. Employees can employ the same technology organization are also often dependent on noticing an
and methodology to populate the network by setting opportunity on the intranet or notice board. Direct
profiles for the types of people that would fit with possible approaches by recruiters within the organization are quite
future requirements and asking employees to send out rare, meaning internal moves and promotions are usually
invites to join the talent network to their social driven by the company. Internal referrals, where employees
connections, based on data mining. Recruiters can also can refer jobs to colleagues and refer them to hiring
populate the talent network by adding a one click sign up to managers with a recommendation opens up internal
all content and jobs. Joining the network needs to be mobility and have a big impact on the quality of hires.
simple, with data coming from social profiles such as
LinkedIn to keep messaging relevant. This results in every When facilities management giant Sodexo introduced their
update from the ERP presenting an opportunity to connect mobile app in 2012, more than 28% of candidates who
with potential future employees and to start engaging. The applied for jobs via the mobile app were internal applicants,
more relevant content and jobs go to the right targeted resulting in 55% of their hires.
audience, improving the culture and employer brand
awareness.
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The mobile app delivers different content if you are a EXTERNAL REFERRALS
Sodexo employee, presenting all employees the
opportunity to apply for jobs or refer colleagues. As mobile It is easy to think of the ERP being the domain of employees
adoption continues to grow, and mobility changes job current and past, but given the right marketing and
search, so internal referrals have the potential to form a positioning, anyone with an interest in the business should
critical part of your ERP and make internal mobility a be able to join and benefit. People want to help friends and
reality. contacts, and if a job is not of interest to them, why
wouldn't they let a friend or contact know if you have made
it easy to do so. External referral networks benefit from the
THE BOOMERANG COMMUNITY same gamification and recognition features as the ERP,
although you might want to consider different content and
Most people leave companies because the time is right for a different user experience. This can be controlled by filters
them to take up a new challenge, or an opportunity at entry point on both web, mobile and mobile app entry.
elsewhere is just too good to resist. Increasingly, companies External referrals may want more access to company
are recognizing the pool of ’good’ leavers as a great source information and different rewards. All shared content
of hire. They are known to the company, their skills are should contain a simple invite to join the talent network and
tested, and they already have relationships and the referral network with one click. The big consideration
connections in the company. These connections can be here is communicating that you will not mail any one of
utilized to prioritize referrals and filter searches and their contacts, or scrape or store data. This will need more
referrals by: detailed explanations because internal employees will have
a greater level of trust. Trust and transparency is the key
- Internal candidates factor in gaining access to a network.
- Ex-employees
- External candidates
Whilst not all ex-employees will be ready to come back, the
vast majority will have had a good experience as an
employee and would be willing to recommend you to
others. Since leaving, they will have added to their inner
circle of social connections through new colleagues and
contacts. Invite all the good leavers to join your extended
ERP because this gives you access to their social networks,
and a recommendation from a leaver endorses the
company as well as, or better than, one from an employee.
CONTRACTOR NETWORKS
The world of work is changing, with more and more jobs
moving from traditional full time employment contracts to
contingency. Contractors are well connected with other
contractors of a similar type because of the transient
nature of their work. Contractors have mixed experiences
when it comes to their basic needs like finding interesting
work, getting paid correctly, accommodation etc.
Contractors look to other contractors for
recommendations from peers. If you work with contractors,
consider building a contractor referral portal. This could
include other services and recommendations useful to
contractors as well as open contracts, combined with a
talent network, rewards and competition. This is
particularly valuable to third party contract recruiters who
need the benefit of referral but have traditionally found it
hard to maintain.
RolePoint Inc © 2013 10 The Social Referral

SUMMARY
1. Referrals are changing, driven by social networking, online profiles and content marketing. The term
‘program’ suggests project or short term, when a real ERP should be built on creating different referral
networks with different content according to status.
2. ERPs should be built around employees, taking into consideration their concerns in order to boost
participation in improve the number of high quality candidates.
3. Access to networks and data mining means you can take a targeted approach to sharing content according
to referral and reference.
4. Only part of the content is about the job. Employer and culture brand content creates brand awareness,
and a talent network takes recruiting from transaction to relationship.
5. Rewards need to be transparent with simple rules, built around participation rather than hires, and
gamification of the network will drive participation.
6. As relationships have changed, so referrals need ranking according to working knowledge. All referrals
need timely review and reference regardless of suitability and accountability needs to be taken out of the
referral process.
7. The networks, matching and messaging tech, combined with employer and culture branding initiatives can
become your principle source of hire and populate your pipeline when you get your methodology,
technology and messaging right.
Now is the time to get serious about referrals.
RolePoint Inc © 2013 11 The Social Referral

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