The best referrals for potential job candidates can come right from your current employees. Just think, your staff intimately know what type of person will succeed within your unique corporate environment, as well as the skills and qualifications necessary to get the job done. They also are likely to have positive relationships with other professionals who may be looking for the next step in their career path either through alumni or professional networks.

In the current recruiting climate, hiring managers are often overwhelmed by applicants of varying degrees of talent. Companies count on employee referrals to find the best qualified applicants. The vast majority of applications are received via job boards (43 percent) and career sites (32 percent). But employee referrals generate 40 percent of actual hires. Referrals have proven to start quicker, stay longer, and are a reliable source of high-quality candidates.

If you are not looking to referrals as a source for high-quality recruiting, you really should consider creating a program to encourage the process. Here are a few things that All-Star Personnel suggests doing to facilitate hiring through referrals.

Develop a Plan to Solicit Referrals

Having a system in place is important to encourage existing employees to provide referral candidates for open jobs. If your staff doesn’t know that you are looking to hire, or that you welcome referral candidates, then you likely won’t receive too many recommendations. Part of your strategy should be to incorporate a referral program into your company culture. Make it a familiar and encouraged process. Referral programs should be responsive, timely, targeted, and incentivized. Successful programs are supported by a company culture that thrives on employee experience and rewards.

Create a Reward System

While establishing a good incentive to encourage employee referrals, it’s important to remember that referrals are not just about getting a cash bonus. The program should be part of a larger culture of employee engagement and team commitment. That said, financial incentives are a reliable way to encourage successful referrals. Depending on the size of your company and your hiring budget, you can evaluate how much to reward your employees for a successful referral.

There are also nonmonetary incentive options you should consider as part of your reward system. These rewards can include public recognition, responsive tracking of referral status, lunch with the company leadership to honor employees who make qualified referrals, and positive feedback in performance reviews. If you do decide to financially incentivize employee referrals, make sure that the corporate culture also rewards employees for their contribution.

Recognize Each Referral

All referrals should be recognized (if not financially compensated) to help encourage future referrals.  Even if a referral is not brought on board, taking the time and effort to recognize the effort an employee took in suggesting a candidate can do wonders for creating a culture of confident and engaged recruiters.

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