The importance of employee referrals as a source of recruitment has long been established however most organizations run their referral programs below the optimum output levels.
Here are 12 simple things you might want to consider to improve the results of your employee referral program. Although by no means is this a complete list, if implemented you will begin to see results and reap a high ROI.
2. The good news for you is that with just a little effort
and re-tooling, you can awaken the most powerful
weapon in your recruiting arsenal, and soon your
Employee Referral Program will be your most effective
source of great hires.
Here are 12 simple things you might want to consider to improve the results of
your program. Although by no means is this a complete list, if implemented
you will begin to see results and reap a high ROI.
3. 1. Keep it Simple!
A good Employee Referral Program is clear and precise
about the rules
(who is eligible, who isn’t, the terms of the program,
bonus payouts for different positions, minimum
qualifications needed for a referral to be considered
“qualified,”etc.)
Remember that simplicity and clarity encourage more qualified referrals
4. 2.Set expectations
An Employee Referral Program is a company based initiative
and not an HR project and hence expectations from the program
should be communicated to the employees.
The organization should make sure that the employees
understand the benefits, track the result of referred candidates,
reward successful referrals and discourage referrals spams.
The employees need to realize that these referral programs not only help hire good talent
but will help play a key role in building a great team
5. 3.Name Your Referral Program
A name gives your program exclusive identity and is a
significant step in branding it. We would suggest taking this
to the next level by creating a logo.
This instant recognition is an essential part of getting
employees into the “referral” mindset.
Givethe employee referral program a good catchy name with a tagline and a logo
“ ”
6. 4.Identify prioritizedjobs
Don’t waste employee time and burden your program’s
administration with “junk referrals” and referrals for jobs that
can be adequately filled through normal sources.
The best programs do not cover all jobs and instead prioritize
high-impact and hard-to-fill jobs
Prioritized jobs whenfilled with a great hire, have the highestbusiness impact
7. 5.Use Social Media
to boost your referral program results
Social recruiting is an efficient and cost-effective
way to find qualified candidates
Social networks are free, practically everyone uses
them already, and they’re a good means to
showcase your brand.
Employees can now take open jobs in front of a large pool of qualified candidates
using social media integrated tools available today
8. 6.
Referral Program-specific emails can be sent to
employees or creating a landing page/microsite where
they can learn more about ERP can help.
An automated referral portal which will handle the
entire process from posting jobs for recruiters to making
referrals for employees can drastically help increase
output.
Educate your employeeson “Best Practices” to find and identify top talent
Make it easy for them
9. 7.
Everyone knows referrals through resume sharing. Why not use
social media for referrals?
Provide more touch points to your employees to inturn get in
touch with prospective candidates
Giveyour employees multiple, easy and convenientways to refer candidates
Give them tools
10. 8.
Reward your ERP’s early participants and champions right away.
You’d be amazed how something as simple as movie tickets or a
$10 gift card can boost a referral program.
Don’t forget, many referrals are made because your employees
are anxious to help a friend get a job.
Try to focus on what would appeal to your employees
Thank them
11. 9.
If your employees are working hard to give solid referrals, those referrals
should be processed in a timely manner since it speaks volumes to
employees about how serious you are.
It is important to acknowledge every referral received and is more
important to keep the employees’ updated on the status of their
referrals.
There are many employee referral tools available today like ZALP that come with a
real time referral tracking mechanism
Respondto them
12. 10.
Make sure the referral program stays fresh in the minds of your employees
Remind them
Frequent reminders like company emails and status
notifications are great.
If the terms of the program change, communicate it to your
employees and keep them updated.
13. 11.
An employee referral program is never complete without the metrics
Don’t ignore Analytics
With analytics, you can keep track of your open
positions, see how many candidates have applied, and
even see how long it takes your company on an
average to complete each step of the referral process
14. 12.
A mechanismshould be in place to store unused referral resumes in a centralized
database with tags whichwould be accessibleto all recruiters
No referral is waste!
Every ERP is bound to receive referrals that may not be relevant to
current vacancies.
However every referral is valuable and must be systematically stored
for future use as and when corresponding openings come up .
15. With these simple steps you are sure to see improved results in your referral
program. And if you need a tool that will help you seamlessly achieve all of this,
ZALP is just a click away
You may also opt for a free consultation on improving your referral program
results. Our employee referral specialists would be glad to help.