Employee referral programs may be one answer to a common retention challenge. According to Hayes, almost half of 2,000 surveyed employees admitted that corporate culture had pushed them to look for a new position. If employers don’t act to improve employee morale, they may see a high volume of expensive employee turnover. Employee referral programs enlist employees in the task of finding top talent. Here are 3 ways you can build a successful one.
1. Utilize Great Incentives
Your program will only be successful if it has attractive enough incentives to get employees on board. Be generous with your rewards. Remember, you’re asking employees to do some extra work on your behalf. Hayes recommends offering a monetary bonus, additional paid time off, or even a combination of both. You may also want to consider allowing employees to choose their own rewards from a catalog of options.
2. Keep the Program Simple
The process for referring new candidates should be as streamlined as possible. If it’s too complicated, employees will be less likely to participate. Employee referral programs should be easy to understand and all necessary information should be readily available to staff. When employees give referrals, have a designated point of contact within your organization who can follow up and provide updates on the status of their referrals.
Further simplify things by automating parts of the process with referral software. One option, EmployeeReferrals.com, allows employees to refer candidates directly from their LinkedIn network. This not only saves time but also ensures that you’re only considering high-quality candidates.
3. Promote the Program
Your employee referral program won’t be successful if your employees don’t know about it. Make sure to promote the program through email, company-wide memos, or even posters around the office. The more exposure the program gets, the more likely employees are to participate. Whenever you hire someone new, make sure they receive a thorough overview of the referral program during onboarding.
An employee referral program is a great way to improve employee retention and find top talent. By offering attractive incentives, keeping the program simple, and promoting it throughout your company, you can set your employee referral program up for success.
