Employee Referrals: Program or a Lifestyle?
In the past few months I have seen a number of articles written and been in a number of discussions surrounding the idea of “Employee Referrals.” Often times, the discussion focused on the importance of employee referrals and the true value they bring to a company. In addition, many of the articles and discussions focused around the “how-to” of building a program, implementing it, it ROI (return on investment), costs, and all of the other pieces of a “program.”
My question is why employee referrals need to be a program at all? When looked at objectively, should this not be a lifestyle? I have heard time and time again that all employees need to be recruiters. I fully agree with the statement, but why is there the need for incentives for employees to act as recruiters, or incentives to speak to others positively about your company?
If it is focused on and supported by senior leadership, a company can transition from an employee referral program to a lifestyle of attracting top talent through referrals. Take a moment and think about the last time you purchased a car. When you were speaking with your friends, colleagues, family, etc, about what type of vehicle you should purchase, every person you spoke with had an opinion. In fact in a majority of cases their opinion probably reflected the type of vehicle they owned. Now think of almost any other decision you make or item you purchase – from a home, to what state to relocate to, to the type of furniture or type of TV you should buy. I bet that in almost every case, the people you spoke with had an opinion and generally influenced you either toward or against the type of product they own or use. In this same fashion we can transform our workforce to respond similarly when discussing job opportunities with their friends and family members.
What shapes a person’s opinion?
There are several different factors that shape a person’s opinion, but really it comes down to this. Do they like it or not. Sure, there are factors that contribute to their decision, but when asked about your home, neighborhood, job, car or any other tangible item you either have a favorable or a negative impression. Product-based companies spend fortunes on shaping the way customers view their products. Similarly, in our work environment, we need to view our employees as the consumers and the jobs as the product. We need to focus on job quality, our commitment to develop our employees professionally, recognizing employees for their good work, treating them fairly, rewarding workers for their contributions, and lastly, providing an environment where the employees are excited about their work, their peers, and their company.
There are several articles written about each of these points, and a lot of theory, but the bottom line is, are you doing it? Once you can confidently answer, yes, you have a solid product that you are excited about marketing, and your employees are excited about sharing as well. Many of the items discussed above take time and resources to implement, but there are a few very subtle things employers can do right now to turn employee referrals in to a lifestyle.
When we are out in the community we receive questions about our vehicles, apparel and a host of other items. Many of these questions begin with, “Where did you get that?” You can fill in the blank. Along these same lines we can put our employees in a position where they are asked, “What is it like to work at …?”
Now you are asking yourself, how do I prompt people to ask me about my work? In order to tell others where you work, it is a matter of your employees becoming a brand for the company. In a couple of recent surveys employees indicated they did not want to be a walking sales board for their company. When they were asked why not, the number one answer was they wanted to separate personal time from work. The second most popular answer was that they didn’t feel strongly enough about their employer to speak about it or show any loyalty. Several companies sell apparel with their logo on it, and I think this is great, but make the apparel a part of your recognition program. Base it on work and earning it with real measurable results. This way, only a select few get to wear the company jacket and it becomes an item they work for and are proud of when they get it.
There are literally hundreds of ways to make your employees ambassadors for your company, but if you take away nothing else remember these points:
- Make referrals a way of life for your employees
- Remember, your employees are the consumers and the company is the product
- Make it a privilege to wear the company brand.
If you work toward this goal as recruiters you will find you not only have more candidates, but more passive candidates as well, more quality and, in all honesty, a more exciting culture and atmosphere at your company.
Article by Ryan Loken and courtesy of Kenndy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional
