How to Build an Effective Employee Referral Program

How to Build an Effective Employee Referral Program According to Glassdoor, only 10 percent of candidates come in from employee referrals. And yet, that 10 percentaccounts forthe highest quality hires. If your recruiting team is searching for a way to bring in better candidates, look no further than employee referrals. But how do you build a dependablepipeline of employee referrals? The answer, of course, is to create an employee referral program.An Employee Referral Program Can Be Your Best Recruiting ToolEmployee referral programs (ERPs) are often wildly successful for organizations after all, who best to tap for quality hires than the very people who already make your company great? That being said, ERPscanpose a problem when a company is looking for a constant source of quality referrals, theres no guarantee that employees will always have great referrals to fill the talent pool.This is whyre cruiting teams have to departure thinking like marketers. What would prompt employees to refer qualified acquaintances and friends, rather thanevery Joe Shmoe they know? Lets examine some simple options that can produce some big resultsOffer a Prize if an EmployeesCandidate Is HiredIt may sound hokey, but people love to win things. If an employee stands to gaina few extra bucks or a gift certificate to a local restaurant, theyll be mora encouraged to refer qualified candidates. Since the prize is conditional on the employees referred candidate actually getting hired, this will cause employees to think hard about who they refer, discouragingemployees fromreferring poor candidates. The name of the game here is quality,not quantity.Create a Wall of FameIf an employee refers acandidate, they earn a spot on the Wall of Fame. The person who refers the most hired candidates can hold a spot of honor on that wall.Recognition can build goodwill among employees and give them asense of pride in the work theyre doing. Imagine how tickled clients and vendors will be as well when they come into the office and see the kind of recognition your team receives Engaged employees are often a part of the employer brand itself. With a Wall of Fame in place,the recruiting team gains a pipeline of referrals and employees gain a sense of belonging. They get to represent the brand in a more meaningful way.Throw a Networking PartyNetworking events are great ways to show off your companys culture and meet employee referrals. Parties are nonthreatening environments where people feel free to mix and mingle. Try to incorporate some employee recognition into the event, too, as thiswill communicate to the referral candidates in attendance that your company values itsstaff . This simplesolution can help build an effective employee referral program that produces quality hires right out of the gate.Just AskNo room on the wall? No room in the budget? How about your recruiting team just asks employe es if theyve got anyone great to refer. This method may not seem exciting, but employees who knowtalented individuals theyd like to work with will respond with referrals. This method isnt about creatingavalanches of referrals in fact, it may only produce one quality referral but that referral may be your organizations next great hire.Get Creative and Think Like an EmployeeTo develop a thriving employee referral program, you have toabandon the recruiter mindset and start thinking like theaverage employee. In your mind, its clear what the employer brand is and why employees should refer candidates, but that may not be as clear in the employees minds. To establish a successful ERP, you may need to start by communicating your employer brand message more clearly to existing employees.No matter your method of encouragement, its helpful to start with the basics and ask yourself whether youd want your friends to work at your organization. If the answer is no, you may need to lay some impor tant cultural groundwork prior to asking employees for referrals. Once this groundwork is in place, your team has ample opportunity to think outside the box and start athriving employee referral program.