In a perfect world, companies could find new workers by taking tips from their current staff through the employee referral program. However, ours is not a perfect world—many employee referral programs don’t go as planned due to several common stumbling blocks. By identifying these frequent pitfalls, you can take steps to avoid them and set your employee referral program up for success. Here’s what you need to know.
Avoid these three common employee referral program pitfalls
Mostly, employee referral programs that fail do so because they’re not properly maintained and they fade into the background. This is due to the following common reasons:
- There’s not enough promotion. If your employees don’t know the referral program exists, they won’t be very likely to use it. Your employee referral program should be a part of your company culture—you should have information available in new hire packets, in the human resources department, posted around the building, posted on the company intranet and website, etc. The more you promote the referral program, the more it will be top of mind with your staff—and the more they will use it when they learn that someone they know is looking for employment.
- It’s not properly administered. Employees will be less likely to use the referral program if their recommendations aren’t acknowledged in a timely manner (i.e., they don’t receive feedback after submission, they aren’t notified of the success of the hire, and they have to wait a long time for their referral bonus). To get around this, you’ll need to establish clear-cut rules and processes for how the program works, with one or several employees assigned to running it. Plus, it always helps to have senior management support and promotion, as well. You can do this easily through a company-wide email or letter from senior management to employees with information about the advantages of the employee referral program.
- It’s not up to date. Most people use a smart phone or mobile device as a main source of contact with the world—either through email, social media or mobile applications. It just makes sense that if your referral program has online or mobile capabilities—rather than requiring employees to download, print and submit a paper form—people will be more likely to use it.
An easy way to find new workers
By making the above changes to your referral program, you’ll give your business another channel for locating potential new candidates. This can help boost your recruitment efforts, as employees essentially scout new workers on your behalf. If it’s well-maintained, a referral program can be a great addition to your hiring process.
Have you considered working with a staffing partner?
Another great way to boost your recruitment efforts is by working with a staffing agency. And if you’re an employer in search of new staff in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area, Snelling Georgia Group can help. We work with employers and candidates to build perfect employment matches—and happy futures. To learn more, contact Snelling Georgia Group today.
