An effective referral program is the most effective tool in recruiting.
Most companies have some type of referral bonus program in place but all referral programs require continuous adjustments and energy.
If your company will continue to grow and be effective it must have a successful referral program. An annual revisit of your program is a must for every organization. All dollars invested will result in a minimum of a ten-fold increase.
As a general rule every company should garner a minimum of 40 percent of your hires from referrals.
A-Z steps in rebuilding your referral program
A. Designate a referral manager…Let that person or persons, choose his/her team. Define what a referral is and determine what financial referrals are worth to your organization and how they will be measured. (Keep it simple and flexible) Set dates for your campaign around your cyclical year.
B. Set up a meeting with your top referees…Consider the following questions;
- What works for you?
- How were you able to recruit people to our company?
- Which specific element of your "sales pitch" had a positive impact on their decision to come to our company?
- Which elements of your company had no impact at all or negative impact on candidates?
- Why do you like to come to work?
- Why did you come to work today?
- What keeps them at your company?
- What might lure them away? Have you? If not, why?
C. Meet with the hiring managers of the organization …Engage their input and commitment. Consider a grand prize; Caribbean trip, free golf membership, health benefit, as well as company benefits.
- Southwest’s enlists all their employees to wear T-shirts bearing the message “Work With Me—Fly For Free.”
- General Mills is Nourishing Lives”
- GE’s slogan is “Imagination at Work”
D. Revise your job descriptions to reflect your new marketing language…Come up with a slogan and put it on t-shirts and all marketing pieces. Identify the WOW factors that you have and the features that excite your current employees. Put them in your job descriptions.
E. Measurement and reward…There is nothing that will turn off a referee faster than to have to wait 6-months for a reward. Follow your process, measure the effectiveness and reward the referee as soon as possible.
F. Set up a special day to kick off your referral program…Engage all your employees and teach them how to recruit new employees for your company.
G. Provide monthly updates to your employees
- Include information about major company news
- job openings
- individuals names & picture of individuals with the most referrals
H. Ask for referrals at all interviews… Ask the best interviewees for the names of other good individuals that they know during the interview. If you ask enough interviewees, you will get a pretty good list of top names.
I. Ask all new hires for referrals…On the day they start for the names of good workers at their former facility. Ask them to help you recruit any targeted individuals that they know.
J. Promise an interview…Guarantee potential recruits an interview. Consider giving them a reward (a $10 coffee card) or a free meal if they show up for an interview.
K. Enlist the referee to join in the interview along with fellow workers...When peers know the job, they will be more convincing and more believable than hiring managers.
L. Add a direct mail program. Email or mail programs should emphasize stories of employees and how they take advantage of benefits. Information should also include key employee’s stories of why they enjoy working for the organization.
M. Get your retirees involved in recruitment
-
Recruit key employees back. Offer part-time or off site work
- Compile a database you can call on at a moments notice
- Retirees make great speakers and advocates for the organization. Provide help on where they can speak and let them tell their stories
- Include retirees in your career fairs
N.
Apply and win awards… If your organization wins best practice
or "best place to work" awards, that alone will make recruiting
much easier. If your organization is a great place to work,
the task of recruitment is much less. If it is not a great
place to work, you will need to work much harder.
O. Print recruiting cards the size of a business
card…Use the title, “I love my job” along with key marketing
information and contact information. Print T-shirts with your
title and designate a special day (week or month) in which
they will be warned by all employees. On these days, invite
your guests to join you.
P. Attend school job fairs/career fairs…Almost
every school will sponsor an on-site job fair. Make a list
of all colleges your students have attended and ask to be
placed on their mailing lists. Keep in mind that alumni often
attend these fairs as well. Promise interviews and interview
on the spot.
Q. Include interns as on-campus reps...Ask
your college interns/part time staff to serve as recruiting
representatives when they return to campus. Promise them an
interview. Have a special “Bring your friend to work day”.
Research says fifty-one percent of employers rated internships
as very effective hiring resource, followed by university
career centers (45 percent) and in-person networking (38 percent).
R. Talk with grad-assistants and college
professors…Meet with grad-assistants and college professors
and ask for the names of the best students.
S. Use last year's hires as sourcers/recruiters…Ask
last year's college hires to help you identify and recruit
this year's top students. Encourage their help in writing
letters and making calls.
T. Go back through your candidates from last
year and contact them again. You might find recruiting these
candidates now a lot easier as their preferences change and
they are now more valuable because of their experience. U.
Enlist the involvement of your managers and the CEO Commencement
speeches are wonderful places to start. Having senior executives
present on campus and make presentations to local organizations.
V. Make it a part of every person’s job description…Include
it in the review process and make it a part of promotions
W. Besides referral bonuses offer alternative
rewards…Other instant benefits might include; lunch with the
CEO, preferred parking, and first call for vacations, additional
time-off, gift certificates and gift cards
X. Mailings 2 & 5 years out…Keep a data base
of all strong candidates and keep them in your tickler marketing
file. Send them updated “Big News” reports from your company
and add them to your newsletter. Every 2-5 years, reconnect
with these individuals to see if their interests have changed.
Z. Measure your success…Reevaluate your program
and start fresh again next year.
Don can be reached at Human Resource Staffing.
952 854 6040
Don@HumanResourceStaffingInc.com
Back
to the library
Reproduction
of this article cannot be accomplished without the expressed
consent of Human Resource Staffing. Don Schmitz is a popular
speaker and writer on all aspects of HR and CEO of Human Resource
Staffing. Don holds graduate degrees in Education, Administration
and Human Development.
Contact Don@HumanResourceStaffingInc.com
952 854 6040
