Many businesses rely on networking to find new customers but have you thought about tapping into your staff’s network to find great employees?
In HR circles, it’s known as an Employee Referral Program – an incentive for staff to recommend people they know and believe will be a good fit for the culture of your organisation.
The best thing about including an Employee Referral Program into your regular recruitment processes is that interviewees come pre-screened by your staff. This can save you recruitment costs or time if you are a DIY recruiter. An Employee Referral Program is also great at finding candidates:
- For hard to fill roles
- With highly specialised skillsets or experience
- Who aren’t currently looking for a new job but like the sound of your organisation
Quality recommendations require a quality program
The secret of attracting good quality candidates is totally dependent on the quality of your Employee Referral Program. It needs to be clearcut about when and how an employee will be rewarded for each successful placement.
In the current economic climate, we recommend you offer staff a monetary reward for finding a successful candidate. We also recommend you introduce this program when you are planning to hire in the near to medium future.
Launch and promote the Employee Referral Program via email and during staff meetings. Keep the recruitment process top-of-mind with staff by including small posters or notices in high traffic areas such as kitchen areas, near the coffee machine, on noticeboards or bathroom doors.
Make the recruitment process clear. We recommend you follow the following steps:
Step 1: The referred candidate needs to provide you with a copy of their resume.
Step 2: If suitable, interview the referred candidate.
Step 3: If you hire the referred candidate, pay your established employee a portion of the finders reward in the next pay run – say ⅓ – ½ of the total amount.
Step 4: Once the referred candidate has satisfactorily completed their probation or a fixed period of time (say 6 months), pay your established employee the balance of the monetary reward.
Your best recruiters could be sitting in your workplace
End2end Business Solutions offer a range of recruitment services which includes helping you activate the untapped potential of your staff’s network. Get in touch if you need more people to grow your business or fill a current vacancy.