Employee Referral Programs: Here’s What You Need to Know

Employee Referral Programs: Here's What You Need to Know 1

You want top job candidates to join your business. Thus, you may consider employee referral programs. Before you implement one of these programs, however, it pays to consider the pros and cons of doing so.

Advantages of Employee Referral Programs

The benefits of employee referral programs include:

1. Seamless Access to Prescreened Candidates

With an employee referral program, your workers can connect you with exceptional candidates. Therefore, you can enjoy fast, easy access to a large collection of prescreened candidates who can fill roles across your business.

2. Extensive Pool of Quality Candidates

Only the best candidates will suffice for roles at your company. Fortunately, an employee referral program makes it simple to connect with quality candidates. It gives you access to an extensive pool of candidates with experience, skills, and education that aligns with your job requirements.

3. Improved Employee Retention  

Research indicates candidates who join a company via employee referral are more likely than others to stay with a company for an extended period of time. So, your employee referral program may help you boost your business’ retention levels.

Disadvantages of Employee Referral Programs

No employee referral program is perfect. In fact, there are many reasons why companies avoid employee referral programs, such as:

1. Employee Isolation

There may be times when an employee referral program leads to cliques across a workforce. In these instances, certain workers may feel isolated from their peers. Over time, cliques may even lead workers to pursue opportunities elsewhere, too.

2. Significant Costs

Developing and implementing an effective employee referral program is unlikely to happen overnight. Oftentimes, a company needs to commit significant time, energy, and resources to build and launch an employee referral program.

3. No Guarantees

A carefully planned and well-executed employee referral program does not guarantee success.  Also, if a company does not track and evaluate the results of its program, it risks missing out on opportunities to attract and retain qualified candidates.

Should You Use an Employee Referral Program?

Employee referral programs can be successful if a company develops and executes them properly. As you put together a referral program for employees, here are things you can do to make it successful:

  • Engage your workers. Teach your employees about your program, how it works, and why they should take advantage of it.
  • Established clear guidelines. Provide workers with clear guidelines, so they know what it takes to qualify for program incentives.
  • Track your results. Look at how your program is performing. In addition, collect employee feedback to uncover ways to continuously improve your program.
  • Keep the lines of communication open. Maintain open lines of communication with your employees. This boosts the likelihood that workers will come forward with any concerns or questions regarding your program.

One final thing you can do to stir up interest from top talent: partner with a professional staffing agency.

Contact Ascend Staffing Today

Ascend Staffing is a professional staffing agency that works diligently to connect companies with top talent across their respective industries. We can help your business engage with qualified candidates to fill myriad roles across your company. For more information about our professional staffing services, please contact us today.  

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