HOW Talent – Talent referral programs reimagined

We were joined by Dave Walstow, a recruitment marketing expert from Creed Comms, to explore the value of employee referrals as a keystone in an organisation’s talent acquisition strategy.

The key talking points were:

- How to understand what your employees want from a referral program
- How to market, launch and deliver the referral scheme to achieve maximum engagement and results
- The benefits of using tech to deliver a referral strategy

We also shared some key statistics that demonstrate the benefits of introducing a referral programme as part of the overall recruitment attraction strategy.

• 82% of employers rated employee referrals above any other source for generating return on investment. (Career Builder)

• The average time to hire for referrals is 29 days versus 39 days for candidates from job boards. (Social Talent)

• Referrals are 3-4 times more likely to be hired than candidates applying directly.

• After 2 years, retention of referred employees is 45% compared to 25% of employees recruited via other sources.

What's the value of referrals within a TA strategy?

DAVE: Research tells us that referrals cost less, referred employees stay longer and ultimately perform better. A referral programme is also a great way to be more creative internally and showcase your employer brand, values, and culture.

Traditionally, companies would approach referrals by asking employees to recommend people who they think would be a good fit for the organisation or be able to fill a specific vacancy. We should now be thinking about referrals in quite a different way. The people working in your organisation are your most powerful marketing asset who can help you reach as wide and diverse an audience as possible. The average person has an average of 400 social connections on LinkedIn, Facebook and other networking sites so for an employer with 1,000 employees, you potentially have access to a network of 400,000 people.

Including an employee referral program as opposed to a traditional ‘refer a friend’ scheme will ensure you receive well-qualified referrals from people who are likely to be a good cultural fit for your organisation, along with higher retention rates and improved performance.

What other information can your employees share as part of a referral program?

Encourage them to share relevant content that promotes and shares a true reflection of the employer brand. Sharing workplace stories and not just specific roles will help to promote the organisation to a wider, more diverse pool of potential candidates.

How to reward employees for referring candidates

The traditional approach of giving a monetary bonus for a successful hire who passes their probationary period could be unfair and it potentially doesn’t encourage the right behaviour. Ultimately as an employee, I have no influence if the candidate I refer will be hired or not, if they will have a positive onboarding process or if they will stay after the first three months.

It is also useful to reward employees at different stages of the referral and recruitment process. For example, a small reward for referring a candidate who completes an application and a bigger reward if the candidate has a successful interview.

If employees recognise that they have been consulted before a referral program is launched if it feels fun and part of your overall employer brand. They are far more likely to buy into the concept and encourage others to do the same.

What to consider before implementing a referral program

Before implementing any referral program, it is important to understand how your employees want to be rewarded for referring candidates. Consider sending a survey to your employees and find out their preferences. Do they want to be rewarded financially or do they prefer to opt for a charitable donation? Would they like to win a car parking space for a week or be rewarded with an extra day’s holiday?

Can technology support a referral program?

There are bespoke referral platforms on the market which include an app that employees can access at any time to share company vacancies and can be shared across social media and messaging platforms. If an application is subsequently made, then this is automatically linked back to the employee’s profile and they can be rewarded as needed.

Top tips for a successful referral program

About Creed Comms

Creed Comms is a full-service, award-winning recruitment marketing agency that builds world-class employer brands, delivers innovative talent attraction strategies, achieves ROI through media optimisation and creates inspiring employee comms.

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