When you’re looking for candidates to fill your vacant positions, employee referral programs are a boon. Along with broadening your access to talent, the quality of the recommendations is often higher than what you find when using job boards. Plus, referred candidates have a better chance of meshing with your culture, as the existing employee knows what kind of person is a solid fit.
However, those aren’t the only reasons why referrals are excellent ways to find new hires. Here’s a look at how referrals can help your workforce grow into 2024 and beyond.
What Are Employee Referrals?
In the simplest sense, an employee referral is essentially a candidate recommendation presented by an existing member of your workforce. How they’re collected may vary from one organization to the next.
In some cases, employees may be encouraged to contact hiring managers directly if they know someone who could meet an existing need. Alternatively, companies may use portals that allow their current employees to submit referrals for current openings or potential future needs. At times, workers may facilitate connections using social media platforms like LinkedIn, essentially introducing a prospective candidate to an appropriate decision-maker.
Regardless of the method, employee referral programs are a simple way to enhance a company’s reach. The employee referrals give the organization direct access to the presented professionals, allowing for a strong initial connection.
How Referrals Can Help Your Workforce Grow
Streamline Recruitment
When your company welcomes employee referrals, you streamline part of your hiring process. Your existing workforce is functionally serving as your advocate, extolling the virtues of your organization as an employer to show others why your opportunities are worth considering. Essentially, their efforts are what draws people in, and that can make candidate sourcing far more efficient.
Additionally, employees aren’t likely to recommend a job seeker unless they have the skills and experience you’re after. As a result, your company spends less time shifting through resumes to find suitable fits, further expediting recruitment.
Reduce Recruitment Expenses
Posting vacancy announcements on traditional job boards usually comes with a fee. Additionally, time spent creating the various job ads, getting them listed, and monitoring them for applications takes time away from other profit-driving activities.
With an employee referral program, you may have less of a need to pay fees to get your openings listed on job boards. Additionally, you can get solid results with less effort on the part of hiring managers, allowing them to focus their energies on responsibilities that support overall productivity and profitability.
Increase Candidate Quality
Employees typically won’t refer a candidate unless that job seeker will reflect well on them. They understand that if a referral is a poor fit, it could harm their reputation.
Additionally, your current employees understand what knowledge and skills are necessary to perform various roles successfully. They’ve had an inside look at not only their positions but also many others within your company.
Employees typically only refer job seekers with skills and experience that align with the company’s needs. Since that’s the case, referred candidates are typically of higher quality than the average of what you’ll find using broader sourcing techniques, such as job boards.
Improve Retention
Employees who refer candidates have an in-depth understanding of what it takes to thrive as a part of your workforce. Since that’s the case, they’ll only recommend job seekers they believe can genuinely excel in the role and as a part of your culture. That means referred candidates are often stronger overall fits, and that leads to higher new hire retention.
Additionally, when employees know they can refer candidates, that can boost their engagement. It shows them that their opinions and support are valued, and when someone they recommend is hired, that can lead to a sense of accomplishment. In turn, your workplace culture remains strong, and that can further improve retention.
Speed Up Acclimation
When a new employee comes on board, it takes time for them to acclimate to the environment. As a result, it will be a while before they reach full productivity.
However, when you accept employee referrals, the time required to acclimate is often shorter. The referred new hire already has a connection in the form of an existing employee, giving them a source of support and guidance. In turn, they not only have a reliable resource when they have questions about your workplace, but they’re also often more confident. As a result, they’ll typically become comfortable faster, allowing them to reach full productivity in less time.
Boost Diversity
Most company leaders understand the benefits of having a diverse workforce but connecting with candidates from diverse backgrounds can be challenging when organizations rely on more conventional recruitment methods, like specific job boards. Fortunately, employee referrals can help in this area. By encouraging team members from a wide array of backgrounds to refer candidates, they’ll tap into their personal networks, which are often similarly diverse. In turn, the company gets access to a more diverse candidate base, making it easier to achieve diversity goals.
Do You Need Exceptional Candidates Quickly? Burnett Specialists Can Help!
While employee referral programs are an excellent resource for finding the right-fit candidates, they aren’t always the fastest hiring solution. If you need exceptional candidates to fill immediate openings quickly, partnering with a recruitment agency is often the best choice.
At Burnett Specialists, we make finding the top talent you need simple. Our team will spend time learning about your organization’s unique needs and will use that information to source right-fit candidates who can start working right away. Plus, our team will advocate for your company while offering an exceptional candidate experience, both of which boost your employer brand.
If you need to find exceptional candidates fast, the recruitment team at Burnett Specialists makes the process as easy as possible. Request more information to learn more about how our team can streamline your hiring process and help you connect with the talent you need efficiently.
