Employee Referral
While many recruiters may think that the best way to find qualified candidates for an open position is to search resumes and comb through their talent pools, there is another simple and effective solution for sourcing talent: the employee referral. Employee referrals save recruiters time and effort in finding qualified candidates. When a current employee of a company refers someone from their network for a position, the recruiter gets a candidate that already knows about the company, has a higher probability of being qualified and will need less onboarding. Here are some of the reasons why employee referrals are the recruiter’s friend.
Expanding Your Network
Current employees of a company are a great source not only for candidates, but for business contacts of every type. Even if an employee referral doesn’t result in a new hire, that contact can stay in your network. You never know, that person might be perfect for another position somewhere down the line, or they may be able to give you another referral for another position. By utilizing referrals, a recruiter can expand their network exponentially and find good contacts within the industry.
Better Fit of the Applicant
An employee referral will often result in a job candidate that is a better fit for the company than an applicant found on a job site or employment ad. Generally, employees know people that are similar to themselves, and their referrals will often have similar qualifications and career plans. When employees make referrals, they are also doing the pre-screening for the recruiter because they won’t refer someone who doesn’t have the right qualifications or wouldn’t mesh with their company. Employees often refer people they would like to work with, and this already sets these candidates apart from others.
Less Onboarding
Candidates that are referred by a current employee are often more knowledgeable about the company and the corporate culture than a candidate picked by a recruiter. Business contacts often chat about their jobs and share information, so a referral will usually already have heard about the company before they even talk to a recruiter. This can result in less onboarding time and effort because the candidate is already familiar with the work environment.
In general, recruiters shouldn’t be intimidated or feel threatened by employee referral programs. Companies aren’t trying to replace recruiters with these programs; they are simply trying to get better quality employees. Recruiters should embrace referral programs as a way to make their lives easier and get positions filled faster, while also increasing employee loyalty.