Employee referral – a way to recruit cheaply and fast

Every employer wants to cooperate with the best trained employees. However, how to reach real talents on the labor market, while minimizing the amount of work and money? The answer comes from the employee referral, a program that, through a network of contacts of currently employed people, helps companies efficiently reach the best candidates. 

Employee referral – table of contents:

1. What is employee referral?
2. Benefits of employee referral programs
3. Employee referral – What is worth remembering?

What is employee referral?

Currently, there is no shortage of job seekers on the market. In order to become as attractive as possible in the eyes of a potential employer and motivate him to hire, they often add color to the facts or their own advantages presented about themselves. As a result, verification of submitted CV’s becomes a very laborious process, and the company, until the new employee starts real work, is not sure about his skills. 

In order to reduce the recruitment risk, more and more companies decide to introduce an employee referral program. This method uses a network of contacts of current employees recommending organizations to particular people whom they think they are worth being interested in. They pass the information to their colleagues about the initiation of the recruitment and sometimes they pass their CV’s. This way the recommending employee becomes an ambassador that introduces the organization to others as the great place to work.

Use of the referral system allows the company to reach qualified employees faster, thanks to which both the employer and the specialist are offered attractive terms of cooperation. In many cases, the recommender himself is also appreciated. For the combination of a company with a valuable candidate, additional financial rewards are often provided. 

Benefits of employee referral programs

In addition to providing the company with talented candidates, this solution also has a positive effect on the working atmosphere or mutual trust. Assuming the role of a brand ambassador, the employee feels that the organization trusts him and takes his opinion into account. At the same time, a new employee introduced to the company in this way can count on the support of a friend who has already worked there and knows what is expected in a given business environment. 

Employee engagement drives the entire recruitment process, thanks to which the employer has a chance to minimize the expenses associated with it. They are the ones who provide the leads for specialized candidates along with their contact details. Therefore, it remains for the employer only to make an appointment with them for an interview. As a result, there is no need to carry out the stage of acquiring and checking candidates, and this is also associated with cost reduction. 

The employee referral system is also an important element of employer branding. By recommending a given company to their friends, employees shape its image and emphasize all the advantages of cooperation. Often, candidates, more than chief executives, trust employees in lower positions. Therefore, it is the recommending employees who have a real impact on shaping the entire team, which at the same time increases their loyalty to the brand. 

No one knows a company better than the people who work for it. Taking into account their own experience, knowledge of the culture, profile or goals of the organization, current employees are able to properly analyze the degree of fit of the recommended professional. Hiring people who perfectly meet specific requirements reduces employee turnover, minimizing expenses associated with future recruitments.

Employee referrals make it easier for organizations to quickly reach real talent, including those normally unavailable in other recruitment sources. In addition, it becomes possible to contact specialists who, although they are not actively looking for a job, are open to new offers. An attractive proposal and a vision of cooperation with a friend often turn out to be factors ultimately motivating to change the place of employment, which also supports the strategy of passive recruitment. 

Employee referral – What is worth remembering?

Not all employees are always willing to engage in employee referrals. Therefore, if a company wants to benefit from this method, it is important that it properly engages the people it employs. In many cases, various types of referral bonuses are used to motivate employees. Such remuneration may be conditioned by the type of position or the length of the period for which the candidate will stay in the company. However, regardless of the very shape of the employee referral program or the forms of bonuses associated with it, it is necessary to accurately describe and present the principles of its operation to all employed people. 

An effective referral program cannot function without the job satisfaction of current employees. It is understandable that people dissatisfied with cooperation with a given company will not recommend it to friends. Therefore, the organization must first take care of the working conditions of the people employed so far, so that those motivated to act willingly talk about the advantages of their work also to others. 

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