Why Have an Employee Referral Program
Use it or lose it! You might not have realized it yet, but you have a very effective tool within your own staffing firm that you can use to boost your recruitment efforts. It is called employee referral program, and it is a great way to find great quality candidates faster, less expensive and with improved retention rates. In addition, it enables you to build a company culture that urges your staff to be more engaging and empowers them to help you with recruiting. Consider the following reasons on why you have to implement a staffing firm employee referral program.
Better Quality
When an employee refers a candidate for a position, they acknowledge that they need to recommend someone who has the necessary qualities and skills for the job. This is because they have a good understanding of what is at stake, as well as a clear insight of your company’s culture. Additionally, they know that they need to propose candidates who are going to perform well, since the outcome of their recommendation is going to reflect back on them. With that said, it is clear that referred candidates have clear advantages over traditional candidates and having a staffing firm employee referral program in place is going to deliver better quality candidates.
Higher Speed
How long does it take you to fill an open position? What happens when you need to find a candidate quickly and without reducing your quality standards? Studies have shown that hiring through a referral takes place much faster than hiring through a career site or a job board. The reason is that with a staffing firm employee referral program the hiring process is shortened because parts of it take place much faster. For example, steps like job description, recruiting and applicant screening are redundant, since you can go straight to the interview, minimizing the time it takes for the hire to come through.
Lower Cost
You know it because this is what you do. Recruiting is not an inexpensive hiring method. There is a tremendous amount of time and resources that goes into finding the right person for the job. Job descriptions, advertisement postings, job board costs, resume parsing are just a few of the steps your staff has to take in an effort to locate the right applicant –if they are lucky to find one. A staffing firm employee referral program cuts recruiting costs and it allows you to reward the employees who refer qualified candidates. This ultimately encourages your entire workforce to contribute in tracking down talent.
Reduced Turnover
Another reason to establish a staffing firm employee referral program at your company is that it improves hire retention. According to studies, referred candidates tend to stay at a job longer than candidates hired through job boards and career sites. This is due to the obligation and moral imperative that applicants feel they have to the people who referred them to the job. In addition, candidates have the advantage of knowing firsthand about the culture of the organization they are going to join, as well as about the position requirements for which they are signing up for.
More Engagement
Successful organizations have strong company cultural values in place that produce happy and more productive employees who tend to stay for the long haul. A staffing firm employee referral program helps a company increase the engagement of its workforce, as it allows for their active participation in its success. When a position opens, your staff is able to reach out to their network and identify and refer candidates who they know will be the right fit. This has a great benefit on your firm prosperity. Furthermore, by rewarding your employees for their recruiting efforts, you give them an extra motive to stay engaging.
Key Takeaways for Why Have An Employee Referral Program:
- Current employees know that they need to refer quality candidates
- Hiring through referral programs is much faster
- Referral programs are more cost effective than traditional hiring methods
- When your staff gets involved in your recruiting efforts employee retention is improved
- A staffing firm employee referral program improves workforce engagement
About S.J.Hemley Marketing
S.J.Hemley Marketing is a marketing and sales consulting firm focused on driving tangible results for professional services firms. Brand matters, but not without ROI. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within staffing and recruiting, we have helped to drive successful branding, sales training, lead generation activities as well as defining marketing strategy for top organizations.