3 Ways to Grow a Successful Employee Referral Program

Posted On: March 27, 2015

Great employees refer great candidates. If you’re not asking your current team for their suggestions when it comes to new hires, you’re probably missing out. This is the perfect opportunity to create a good referral program to offer incentives for suggesting talented people. Not only can a referral program bring new employees to your door but it will also enhance productivity and cut your hiring costs. Here are three ways you can grow a successful referral program.

Performance based referral programs.

There will always be a hiring process even with a referral but how do you know if they will be a good worker for you in the long term? Don’t make it too easy for your employees to get money for referring someone. Tie it into the new hire’s overall performance. Don’t pay the bonus until after 30 days on the job. Or, you could split the bonus paying a portion at the time of hire and the rest after three months on the job. This will force your team to only suggest the very best candidates for your open jobs.

Listen to employee suggestions.

You may not always need to hire a new employee but don’t disregard a candidate’s suggestion even when you’re not. Meeting new people when the situation isn’t urgent can give you a better perspective. You may decide that this person needs to be on your team or that you will follow up with them for the next time you’re hiring. This also demonstrates to your employees that you’re taking their referrals seriously and not brushing them off.

Make use of the internet.

A referral program doesn’t have to rely on word of mouth to make them successful. In today’s internet age there are so many more opportunities to connect it is easy to become overwhelmed. Your employees are already tapped into social networking so make use of their connections. Add them to your LinkedIn network and review their new connections from time to time. Give them authority to be a positive brand manager on Facebook or other social networks.

Looking for additional tips on growing your workforce?

Contact the experienced team at Anserteam Workforce Solutions. The only WBENC-Certified alliance of independently-owned staffing companies serving all of North America, we have the experienced team on hand to assist you with your hiring initiatives.