Employee referral programs are becoming more popular as an effective recruitment tool that enables employers to utilize their existing employees’ network in order to find qualified candidates. With the many available recruitment tools and strategies, as an employer, you might question the need to implement an employee referral program. The short answer is that you definitely need to! ZenHR provides you with 5 reasons why you should start implementing an employee referral program right away.
One of the main benefits of employee referral programs is the fact that referred candidates are pre-qualified by your own employees. When one of your current employees refers a candidate, he/she will be very selective as the quality of the candidates they bring in will make them look good. In addition to this, the fact that your current employees are familiar with the company culture and the requirements of the open position, they will be more likely to attract candidates who are suitable for your vacancies.
Employees will most likely refer like-minded candidates who have similar values and work ethics. The recommendation won’t be only based on the candidate’s skills and qualifications, they will definitely consider the company culture by referring acquaintances that they don’t mind seeing and working with on daily basis.
Hiring referred candidates speeds up the hiring process by eliminating the need to advertise the vacancy on job boards or to go through hundreds of CVs. Referred employees will also be familiar with your hiring and on-boarding process. Once the time-per-hire is decreased, the cost-per-hire will consequently decrease.
When you empower employees to make decisions and allow them to be part of your hiring process, they will feel more involved, which will increase their level of engagement. You should also consider providing incentives for quality referrals so that employees feel more motivated to promote your jobs.
Reaching out to passive candidates who are currently employed and not seeking a new career opportunity can be extremely difficult, however, when they hear about a suitable job from a trusted friend or relative, they will feel more encouraged to apply!