subject: Perfman HR: BUILDING A REFERRAL NETWORK [print this page] Perfman HR: BUILDING A REFERRAL NETWORK Perfman HR: BUILDING A REFERRAL NETWORK
"Employee referrals are the single best way to find more top peopleat least 50 percent of the people you hire should come from this group." Lou Adler, author of Hire With Your Hea.
BUILDING A REPUTATION
Some companies don't have to advertise openings. Their reputation as a great place to work precedes them, and they often get unsolicited resumes. If you're not getting your share of those, make it part of your recruiting strategy to raise general awareness of your company. Mark Nowlan, a columnist at Entrepreneur.com, advises small businesses that want to raise their visibility to issue news releases to publications read by the people they're trying to reach. While you can distribute news releases yourself, the most reliable way to broadcast news about your company is to use a newswire service, such as BusinessWire or PR News, Nowlan says. Even when your business is not making news, your executives can become known as experts by making themselves available to reporters looking for experts to quote in articles about industry trends.
BUILDING A REFERRAL NETWORK
A surprising number of job seekers land their positions by networking with friends and family. Finding new employees through such referrals has many advantages, not the least of which is cost. Beyond that, many companies find that new employees who come to them through networking with current employees are more qualified and have a low turnover rate. Start publicizing job openings with the people who know your business bestyour employees, customers, and suppliers. Asking customers to help you find talented employees shows that you value their opinions and can be a good way to strengthen your relationship. Your suppliers also have an interest in your success, because it could result in more business for them. Therefore, they are likely to go out of their way to help you find good job candidates.
Employee Referrals
One of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to recruit candidates is through your own employees. They have a vested interest in the success of your company and are unlikely to recommend people they wouldn't want to work with. Because these referrals tend to yield such strong candidates, an increasing number of companies have instituted referral reward programs, offering money or other incentives. Awarding employees when someone they recommended was hired is a proven tactic and works wonderfully. In some companies, upto 40 percent of the company's new hires have been referred through employees. If your company currently has such a program, make sure your people know how to make a referral and what the rules and rewards are.
Whether or not you hire a referral, follow up with the referring employee. If you don't, you may find your staff much less likely to recommend another friend. Remember, a strong referral program turns every employee into a recruiter for you. But running such a program takes time, manpower, and a budget. At some larger companies, dedicated employee-referral recruiting teams investigate each person who is referred. Depending on your company's size, you might find yourself doing a lot of the legwork yourself during the referral process yet the rewards could be worth it.
REACHING OUT TO EMPLOYEES
Traditional employee-referral recruitment efforts encourage workers to recommend family and friends. International pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly & Company recently developed a three-part strategy to recruit more aggressively. Current employees are invited to human resource roundtables, where they identify the top performers in their field, after which human resources designates an individual to reach out to each of them. When a new employee comes aboard, they also are asked to list the best people they've worked with, and someone is assigned to make contact with them. Lilly's third step is to invite supervisors to "share your Rolodex" meetings, where they are encouraged to recruit strong prospects from their networks outside the company.
SOURCE: "What's Wrong with Employee Referral Programs?" by Peter D. Weddle, CareerJournal.com.
THE BOTTOM LINE
IMPROVING YOUR EMPLOYEE-REFERRAL PROGRAM
Set measurable goals, such as increasing the number of hires from employee referrals by a specific percentage. Second, announce the details of your program online and include the guidelines and forms. Third, offer rewards. Although cash awards are popular, some small companies give T-shirts, personal organizers, and other items for referrals. Finally, continue to promote your referral program, as well as any new job openings, through e-mails, an online newsletter, and other company publications. Don't forget that new hires can be a good source of referrals they all have friends and business contacts from their previous jobs.
SOURCE: "Improving your Employee Referral Program and Justifying your Investment" by Dave Lefkow, Ere.net.
