How to Start an Employee Referral Program
Posted February 18th, 2020
Your current staff members can be a valuable resource when you need to find top talent. By setting up an employee referral program, you are creating a mechanism that invites them to tap their networks when you need to fill a position. Setting up an employee referral program is fairly simple, as well. If you don’t know how to get one started, here’s what you need to do:
Determine Your Priorities
Before you launch a program, you need to decide when you want referrals. Do you want employees to make submissions for every vacancy or just hard-to-fill roles? Would you like to collect referrals in certain job categories even if there isn’t an existing opening, allowing you to cultivate a talent pool for a future need?
By understanding your priorities, you can develop a referral program that aligns with your objectives. That way, the employee referrals will match your strategy and provide the company with the most value.
Outline Your Expectations
After you define your priorities, you need to create a referral policy that outlines your expectations. Let your employees know why you are seeking referrals, which positions are involved, whether an incentive is offered, and any rules about when incentives are provided.
Additionally, give your staff clear instructions regarding how to participate. Let them know what mechanisms are available for submitting referrals, what format or documents are required, and how confirmation that a submission has been received will be delivered.
Create Concise Summaries
If you want referrals for an open position, develop a concise summary of the role. Include any must-have skills, education requirements, an overview of the duties, or anything else that helps your employees determine if someone is a good fit. Your goal should be to keep it brief and focused.
Add a Referrals Intranet Page
Having a central location where employees can peruse openings can be a smart move. It allows them to review any referrals requests with ease or find information that may have accidentally become buried in their email.
Craft Shareable Messages
If you want to make it easy for employees to refer others, consider building shareable messages that they can use as referrers. You could create sample emails, Facebook posts, tweets, or Instagram-ready images with the right links. That way, an employee has something they can tweak quickly when they want to reach out to a potential candidate.
Communicate About the Program
Your employees won’t refer candidates if they don’t know you want referrals. When you first launch your program, send out an enthusiastic communication that captures the attention of your staff. In it, provide information about the policy, submission requirements, and incentives.
Additionally, when you are seeking referrals for vacant positions, send out an announcement for each job you want help filling. By sending the requests one at a time, you can make your needs clear and concise.
Hire the Right People with Bayside Solutions!
By following the tips above, you can get your employee referral program off the ground. If you’d like to find out more, the team at Bayside Solutions can help. Contact us today and see how our recruitment expertise can benefit you.
