The document discusses the findings from a 2016 referral review by CareerXroads, outlining statistics on employee referral processes across various industries. Key data includes the percentage of companies using referral programs, their effectiveness, and the satisfaction with current applicant tracking systems (ATS). It also details candidate experiences, referral bonuses, and the overall goals for improving referral programs in the future.

1. Referrals 2016
CareerXroads referral review
Gerry Crispin & Chris Hoyt
CareerXroads | www.careerxroads.com

2. 2016 Colloquium Members
chris.hoyt@careerxroads.com | gerry.crispin@careerxroads.com
AARP AbbVie ADP Amazon AstraZeneca
Avery Dennison BASF Buffalo Wild Wings Campbell’s CapitalOne
Cargill CDK Global Cigna Citrix Comcast
Corning Davita Dell Deluxe Disney
Edward Jones Eli Lilly Enterprise Holdings Ernst & Young FedEx Office
Fidelity Fifth Third Bank GE Genentech Highmark Health
IFF Informatica Ingersoll Rand Intuit Johnson & Johnson
JP Morgan Chase Keysight Kimberly-Clark Lockheed Martin Macy’s
Manulife Marriott International Merck Nationwide Nike
Northwestern Mutual Ortho Clinical Diagnostics PepsiCo Pitney Bows PNLL
QVC RSM Schneider Electric Scotia Bank Shaw Industries
Shell Southern California Edison Sprouts State Farm Stryker
Target Thermo Fisher Scientific Time Warner Time Warner Cable Two Sigma
Verizon Wireless Waste Management Wegmans Wells Fargo Whirlpool
Yum! Brands

3. Back Story
N=130 + 74 =204

4. Industry
Business Goods / Services - 12.31%
Construction - 2.31%
Consumer Goods / Services - 7.69%
Financial - 7.69%
Government - 3.85%
Healthcare - 9.23%
Hospitality / Entertainment - 3.08
Manufacturing - 7.69%
Pharmaceutical - 0.77%
Retail - 2.31%
Technology - 23.85%
Telecommunications - 2.31%
Transportation - 4.62%
Utilities - 0.77%
9.23%
23.85%
Technology
7.69%
7.69%
12.31%
7.69%

5. Universal… US
Do you have a (US) Employee Referral process?
87.6%

6. Global
53.8%
34.2%
53.8%
39.5%
87.6%

7. Distribution of Annual Hires
...but only 723,296 total
employee referrals?
That’s 2 for each
opening!
312,475 HIRES from ALL sources...

8. Referrals… Let me count the ways.
1. Employee Referrals (87.6*, 27.5%)
2. Recruiter Sourced Referrals (78.4%, 18.27%)
3. Vendors (62.3%, 7.5%)
4. Alumni Referrals (62.3%, 9.0%)
5. Candidate Referrals (50.5%, 13.7%)
6. Customers (49.1%, 6.6%)

9. Job Level
Hourly / Non-Exempt
Interns / New Grads
Experienced Professional (Non-Tech)
Experienced Professional (Tech)
Manager / Director
VP / C-Level
No referral hires
Minimal referral hires
Moderate referral hires
Significant referral hires
0 25 50 75 100

10. Frequency
“Spot promotions…
Referral Blitzes.”
“Posters hang
on some of the
walls.”
“We just launched Taleo
social sourcing (Talent
Vine), otherwise it would
be infrequent, at best.”
“Formal communication 1x,
informal talking recruiter to
employee or manager is
ongoing.”
“Notifications are
sent out with new
job openings.”
“Only in emergencies -
need to be better.”
“Intranet posting,
recruiters email
signatures.”
How often do you refresh your ERP?

11. Candidate Awareness
We have no resource available to educate employees about our program.
The “How’d you learn about us” field in the employment application.
Mentioned in corporate blogs.
Company website, career pages or other company social channels.
Source details and #’s published on the company website or social channels.
Discussed during candidate interviews.
Discussed when, or immediately after, an offer is accepted.
Other.
“Mentioned specifically by
the recruiters, calls to new
hires.” “New hire
communication.” “Marketing
Campaigns.”
“As needed by department
hiring or as management
wishes to communicate.”
“Part of our ATS.”
How do candidates learn about your referral program?

12. Program MechanicsHow is ERP participation ensured?
37.40% ...the person referring the candidate takes an action.
12.10% ...the candidate being referred takes an action.
40.10% ...both the candidate and the person must take an action.
8.4% ...other.
“Referrals for us are as
simple as a name shared
with recruiting. Should
the person get hired,
whoever shared the
name gets the credit. At
the same time, if the
candidate mentioned
someone specifically that
referred them, that
employee would be
credited with the
referral as well.”
“The recruiter
drives it and
guides the
employee.”
“We accept either
referrer or referral
taking action.”
“Applied
through our
ATS”

13. Technology
None.
Internally accessible via an employee portal.
Part of (or bolted to) our ATS.
A 3rd party stand-alone tool accessible by candidates.
Internally developed stand-alone software.
Content leading to employee referral built into our career website.
Social media apps specifically used to engage employees as referrals.
Other.
What technologies do you use to augment your referral system?

14. Referral Tech Apps
3.85%
30.77%
42.31%
23.08%
66.7% ATS 7.3% Jobvite
1.0% Avature 2.1% LinkedInReferrals
1.0% Careerify 2.1% Paper/Sharepoint
1.0% EmployeeReferrals.com 1.0% Repify
1.0% EmployUS 1.0% Rolepoint
1.0% Goodjob 1.0% Talent Tag
2.1% Find.ly 7.3% TalentVine/Oracle
1.0% Jalp 1.0% Work4
1.0% JIBE 1.0% Zao
How satisfied are you with your ATS (referral) service?

15. Dedicated Support
None.
Part-time Admin
Full-time Admin
ERP Champ (part-time)
ERP Champ (full-time)
Dedicated Recruiter or team
“There is a recruiter/admin
support but it is not their full-
time job… but it should be.
We receive approximately
1,500 referrals per month and
our program is mostly
manual.”
Dedicated labor assigned to your referral program?
29.4%
19.6%
5.9%
26.5%
17.6%
2.9%

16. The Candidate Experience
68.4%
Yes
31.6%
No
GREAT (quick, clear and simple) 25.9%
GOOD (easy, but could be better) 26.7%
OK (some frustration but works) 29.6%
BAD (confusing and/or time consuming 13%
HORRIBLE (difficult and/or source of dropoff) 4.6%
Rate the DIFFICULTY of submitting a referral to your company.
Do you respond differently
to referred candidates?

17. The Candidate Experience
Referred Candidates are required to indicate the
name of the referring employee in the application
process.
54.9%
Referred candidates are dispositioned faster than
other candidates.
52.0%
Referred candidates are promised an interview. 3.9%
Referred candidates are promised status. 18.6%
Referred candidates can check their own status via
ATS
48%
Referred candidates are informed when rejected. 65.7%
Referred candidates can request and be given
feedback
20.6%
Other 11.7%
Are these CANDIDATE elements part of your ER program?
● Referring team members receive notice if a referral is
selected as well as when the referral is expiring.
● Referral is send a direct link to apply versus going to the
website. Upon completion, they receive a “thank you.”
● Referred candidates are promised an interview in sales
and technology positions.
● Referring employee can see the status of his/her
referrals online.
● Every referral is contacted by either phone or email.
● Referrals are not treated any differently although I
recommend treating them differently.
● Referred candidates are researched more thoroughly
than other candidates.
● Referred candidate are contacted by a recruiter within
48 hours.
● Referrer is kept in communication on all steps of the
recruiting process. Lots of hand holding and teams call
and communicate outside the ATS after a normal letter
is sent.
● Employee referral coach provided throughout the
process.

18. The Candidate Experience
Referring employees receive acknowledgment /
thank you from Talent Acquisition.
78.4%
Referring employees receive acknowledgment /
thank you from their own leadership.
7.2%
Referring employee must submit initial candidate
application for referral to be accepted.
51.5%
Referring employee is surveyed about the quality of
their relationship to their referral.
14.4%
Referring employee is informed of referral status
(interview, disposition) throughout the process.
39.2%
Referring employee’s manager is informed when
referral is hired.
14.4%
Other 11.3%
Are these EMPLOYEE elements part of your ER program?
● Informed post hire.
● There is so much communication; it’s not promised - it’s
just part of our process.
● Employees instruct the referral but they can also send
us a note via email. We do not “make” the referral
upload; we have our admin and recruiters there to help
with the entire process including uploading into the ATS
if necessary.
● The referring employee isn’t really “surveyed” but when
starting the referral process the employee does have to
enter in some notes about how they know the candidate
and why they are being recommended.
● Referring employee is informed of referral status (via
platform/tool.)
● A company-wide email goes out every quarter showing
which employees had referrals hired in that quarter.

19. BONUS: GeneralDo you offer bonuses for employee referrals that are hired?
58.3%
Yes, EVERY
referral hire
has a reward.
21.3%
Sometimes -
only certain job
class and/or
levels are
eligible.
18.5%
Sometimes - it
is decided in
advance if the
job is eligible.
6.5%
Yes, a raffle
or contest is
periodically
used to incent
referral
behavior.
5.6%
Yes, even
those making
referrals that
do not become
hires get
something.
8.3%
No, our
program is a
basic
“Attaboy”

20. BONUS: Non-monetaryExamples provided of rewards that are NOT monetary.
● iTunes gift card and raffle for iPad (for hires.)
● $23,000 Polaris Slingshot given away as grand prize.
● For retail stores, a points system is used so associates can spend
points on gifts.
● Charity donations for senior level people not eligible for monetary
rewards.
● Vacation days.
● Awarded points through Achiever’s program which they can use to
purchase any number of items.
● Trip to Cayman Islands and 3 additional days of paid time off.

21. BONUS: Amount Paid
$0 $100 $250 $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,500 $5,000 +$5,000
Typical Non-exempt position 9.2% 1.2% 15.3% 36.7% 16.3% 6.1% 5.1% 4.1% 1%
Difficult to fill non-exempt position 13.5% 0% 10.4% 32.3% 19.8% 8.3% 10.4% 3.1% 2.1%
Typical Exempt position 12.1% 1% 6.1% 12.1% 28.3% 13.1% 17.2% 7.1% 3%
Difficult to fill Exempt position 5.1% 0% 2% 10.2% 23.5% 14.3% 21.4% 17.3% 6.1%
Director/Executive position 9.3% 0% 3.1% 11.3% 17.5% 13.4% 21.6% 14.4% 9.3%
Contingent or Part-time position 80.2% 4.4% 4.4% 3.3% 3.3% 1.1% 1.1% 1.1% 1.1%

22. BONUS: When It’s Paid
N/A At Hire
Two weeks
after hire
One month
after hire
Three
months
after hire
Six
months
after hire
One year
after hire
More than
one year
after hire
Full Payment: 8.6% 7.5% 3.2% 24.7% 47.3% 8.6% 0% 0%
Partial Payment (Initial) 70.4% 11.4% 2.3% 6.8% 9.1% 4.5% 0% 0%
Partial Payment (Final) 70.4% 0% 0% 0% 4.5% 22.7% 0% 0%

23. BONUS: Tax
85.6%
No
13.4%
Yes
0.9%
Sometimes
Does your organization gross-up the rewards/payments for tax?

24. BONUS: Restrictions
Restricted to Candidates referred within documented
process (ATS, etc.) prior to hire date.
12%
Restricted to the referring employee being in good
standing at time of payout.
7.4%
Restricted to “eligible” employees - certain employee
groups such as HR, Staffing, Executives are non-
participants.
62%
Other 9.3%
● VP or above, referring manager over same
department, retired employees.
● FTE only can participate.
● Must be active employee to receive the bonus.
● TM Referral form required/validate within 30
days of hire and both referring and referred TM
must be active at the 90-day mark.
● Geography - some countries offer a referral
bonus, others don’t.

25. BONUS: Who Pays
26.7% Corporate HR
13.9% Staffing
14.9% Hiring Manager’s Division
33.4% Hiring Manager’s Department
10.9% Other
“The hiring manager’s
division pays bonus for
hard to fill skills in their
department.”
“Referring
employee’s
department
(payroll system
restriction.)”
“Combination, some
business pay and in one
business staffing does.
This is being
harmonized.”
“Referrer’s
manager.”

26. NO
YES
Referral QualityCan you differentiate referrals that are more likely to lead to a
successful hire, higher performance or improved retention?
88.8%
11.2%

27. Yes - We monitor the
quality of referrals from
each employee and we
DO prioritize consideration
for their referrals based on
scores.
Yes - We monitor the
quality of referrals from
each employee but
DO NOT prioritize
consideration for their
referrals based on scores.No - We do not monitor the
quality of referrals in
connection to the referring
employee.
Referral Quality
83.2%
2.8%
14%
Do you in any way track the quality of referrals back to the
employee referring them?

28. Round Table
1. Increasing our ERP hires is a major goal for us this year with several projects planned for 2016.
2. Our program is very new, so I expect some of my answers to change as it matures.
3. We are in the process of launching a new ERP program at [company] and I am the Executive
Sponsor of the project.
4. We are moving to a new ATS and are shocked that these technologies have not created
anything new or special to support referrals.
5. Our focus in 2016 will be to enhance our referral program and recruit more talent through
external/non-employee referrals.
6. We are planning a total re-vamp of our referral program for North America in 2016. People like
working for us so we constantly receive referrals even without a formal program or bonus. It
almost seems like NOT having a bonus makes people more willing to give referrals. It may be
the environment, lots of PhD’s.

29. Round Table
1. employeereferrals.com does a good job of showing the employee matches in their network for
different jobs. The problem is that they have a very loose connection to the ATS, requiring a
manual process to administer the ERP. I also like TalentVine (Taleo/Oracle Social Sourcing)
because of it’s communication capability and integration with Taleo. The best solution I can think
of is to connect these two technologies… give me a tool that integrates with Taleo without
manual administration, a tool provides that provides a strong communication/campaign platform,
and one that prioritizes marketing to employees based on jobs that are most connected to their
personal networks.
2. We’re moving to an Avature portal this year which will make things better, and looking at an
overall program review.
3. We recognize we need to do a better job at communicating our employee referral program.
4. Our program is a bit dis-jointed, as we have 10 different business units, each with their own
program. There is no way for an employee of one business to earn a bonus when referring
someone to another business.

30. Round Table
1. Just instituted the program 2 years ago. Still evolving and we need to up our bonus amounts.
2. This is an opportunity in 2016 and we have this in the budget to improve.
3. This is a great topic and one that we have been discussing. Should we offer a monetary
incentive to our ERP? I am very interested in learning what other large and financially sound
companies offer. This will help us take our ERP from good to great.
4. I am in the beginning stages of creating reporting around quality of hire for referrals.
5. We are implementing an ATS with LinkedIn Referral integration for launch in March 2016.
Hoping to fix our manual and broken system.
6. There is a robust program in place, but the process is confusing and relies on technology that the
majority of our employees are not comfortable using. This leads to frustration and anger at HR
for the program and a drop-off in participation. Individual recruiters tend to be the chief
promoters of the program.
7. We have a sales-focused ERP that gets confused with HR’s and the employees experience
“referral fatigue” when constantly asked for names of potential employees as well as customers.

31. Referrals 2016
CareerXroads referral review
Gerry Crispin & Chris Hoyt
CareerXroads | www.careerxroads.com