Did you know that Elvis Presley and Kevin Bacon share a network? They both worked with Eddie Asner! Personal networks are amazing for connecting professionals in similar fields. So it’s not surprising that employee referrals are the best way to get high-quality candidates. According to Dr. John Sullivan, 88% of employers cite referrals as the #1 best source for above-average applicants. But how can you increase company referrals?
Automate Your Referral System
To increase the number of referrals you receive, you need to make the referral process as simple as possible for your employees. Filling out forms, following up verbally months later, or personally introducing someone are all barriers to you getting the best referrals for your company.
One step towards making your referral system easier is by creating a survey. You can use sites like SurveyMonkey to create an employee referral survey, asking the same questions you might ask in a job application plus a simple “Who referred you?” at the end. A best practice is to share the survey link with your employees so they can forward it along via text or email.
Tip: A great way to increase the number of quality referrals is to offer your employees a monetary bonus for their referrals that get hired! Try a stepped approach so that employees are incentivized to refer applicants for the long haul. For example, $100 if they are hired, then another $100 after they are with the company for three, six, or 12 months.
Implement Referral-Specific Software
Not only can software help organize and speed up your hiring process in general, but a lot of software helps organize employee referrals as well. When it comes to blue-collar hiring specifically, speed is everything. According to HR technologist, referred candidates are 55% faster to hire compared with employees sourced through career sites, so it's important to have your employee referrals organized in order to reach out quickly!
Team Engine's employee referral software makes referral tracking a breeze by sending a text with an auto-generated link for your employees to fill out with their referral's contact information. The software texts your employees the survey link and occasionally sends follow up reminders (fully customizable to your preferences, of course).
From there, our software automatically reaches out to screen potential applicants for you, so when you’re ready to start interviewing, you have all the information you need. We help you speed up your hiring process, so you can continue to focus on all your other tasks.
Are you looking for other ideas on how to improve your employee referral program, or maybe just getting ready to start one from scratch? Watch our webinar on-demand with Desiree Grosman where she goes over the Do's and Don'ts for an Effective Employee Referral Program.
