HR managers and recruiters root for referrals and mouth-to-mouth organic publicity for their products and services. But very few treat their recruitments through referrals in the same manner as their regular recruitment drives. Only a few companies actually have a valid referral program in place.

How Is An Employee Referral Program Beneficial?

One of the best human resource practices to make employees feel responsible, a feeling of belongingness towards the company while developing healthy competition between the employees.

Employee referral programs are beneficial to control employee turnover ratios. A referred employee would already be well versed with the company’s system thus lowering the attrition rates.

This is because when an employee who is well versed with the company’s requirements and culture refers to a potential employee, he or she has already considered if the candidate aligns with the company’s requirements and culture.

Moreover, a productive and functioning referral program in place keeps not just the HR but also the existing employees on their toes.

Now, if you’re wondering how this can be done, you are in the right place!

Here are some ways that can help you make the most of your employee referral program:

Host Happy Hours

Happy hours within a company are casual networking events where your employees can call (refer) their friends (potential candidates from within their network) to come and visit their office.

During these happy hours, Human Resources can make a presentation about the company culture and elaborate on their working styles, requirements, and achievements. After a formal presentation, provide time for the attendees to have a few one on one networking sessions which will allow them to judge the company and its culture and assess if they would like to formally apply for the job.

At the same time, the Human Resources team, as well as team leaders and departmental managers, can also subtly observe and look out for the right candidates.

Campus Ambassadors

Students are dynamic, hardworking, and very determined towards their goals. Moreover, university labs still account for maximum innovations across the globe.

For companies that wish to focus on innovation and having a young team, having campus ambassadors who help with various contests and bridge the gap is a great idea!

While many companies do believe in campus hiring and even hire a bulk of their yearly recruits directly through campus placements, it would be great if there was a loyal campus ambassador who could suggest and provide actual feedback about these applicants.

The campus ambassador can refer the smartest minds way before the recruitment processes start. Organizations can then directly approach these students and offer them a Pre-placement offer. This helps eliminate competition at the various stages of campus recruitment.

Employee Referral Incentives

Traditional cash bonuses for employee referrals that complete their probation period is not all that tempting at the higher levels where the bonus amount is potentially immaterial. Also, perhaps every third company your employee knows about is doing this.

It is time to look beyond this cash bonus. Here are some other incentives you can provide to your employee:

Sponsor A Holiday

Who doesn’t love a great vacation? Also, there is a high chance that your employee spends his bonus on a vacation. How about just giving him one. Not only will this get you better referrals but also boost employee morale and make the work environment merrier.

Gift Them Something They Love

Instead of having a one size fits all, get them something they would treasure. Maybe a gadget for the tech team or a camera for the content development team or go down to a personalized gift for every employee within the assigned budget.

Not only does this personalization make the employee feel loved but also creates a perception that the organization respects and preserves their individual passions.

Donate To Charity

Instead of giving something to your employee, give something to his/ her favorite charity on their behalf. The employees will be all the more pumped to refer to when they see how multiple lives can be affected.

There are many ways to make your referral program a success. However to make it a success, remember to pay attention to these details:

  • Being creative in your methods.
  • Acknowledging their referrals and even rewarding them.
  • Keeping them informed about the status of their referrals.

What are the other ways that you think can make the employee referral program a bigger success? Let us know in the comments section below.