Comments on: Improving Referral Program Performance by Avoiding “They Found Me” Referrals

By: Gerry Crispin

Gerry Crispin — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 01:14:21 +0000

This is one of those times John, when you need to supply data not anecdotal statements like that folks ‘you’ve worked with’ have come to these conclusions. ‘Show me the data’ and I’ll buy your premise. Until then I consider it an unproven hypothesis.

This is one time a peer reviewed journal article would answer the question. My hypothesis is that a large portion of candidate initiated referrals have critical value. And certainly better than no referral at all.

The question in this increasingly social world isn’t whether “I found you” or “you found me” but the quality of our connection. Regardless who found who I would submit that if the employee had viewed a sample of the the person’s work in some previous situation, the quality of the referral would be much higher. We need to understand the strength of the connection in relationship between referrer and referral with respect to both the referrer’s demonstrated work practices AND their observation or connection to the referrals work history.

Just sayin

By: Jeremy Langhans

Jeremy Langhans — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 22:36:49 +0000

My favorite part was:

Referrals from highly ranked employees should be looked at first.

By: Dr John Sullivan

Dr John Sullivan — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 06:29:38 +0000

What makes them best practice

There is no best practices approval group. Most of those were ERE award winners

John

By: Merlynn Bertini

Merlynn Bertini — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 22:56:18 +0000

I would disagree with most of this article. Do employees
refer candidates for a bonus–yes, but that is an incentive
for employees to refer candidates. Like any other program
ER programs need to be defined and communicated to employees
so that they understand the how the program works, program goals,
etc.

Personally, I have found ERs to produce very high quality
candidates and very effective. Communication of the ER
program is key.

Merlynn

By: Ty Chartwell

Ty Chartwell — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:32:49 +0000

Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard.

Same old stuff Doc.

By: Keith Halperin

Keith Halperin — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 18:21:08 +0000

Thanks, Dr. Sullivan. You have a link to what you have listed as ER “best practices?” Who determined that these are in fact “best practices,” and how were they determined?
As I’ve previously mentioned, I’d like to see an Employee Referral Con, where best practices are discussed, analyzed, and critiqued.

@Ed: Why do many people suggest that employees should give ERs for free or for only modest amounts of compensation? I find it insulting that a company is willing to pay four or five figures for an agency hire, but unwilling to pay more than a tiny amount for an ER.

As far as motivations, who cares why someone does something that’s beneficial? As a rather similar story to yours, I once worked for a company whose employees were so motivated to get hireable referrals that they placed want ads at their own expense to get people to refer. That’s the kind of employee buy-in you want your ER program to have. If you think that employees should be motivated by altruism as opposed to money, perhaps suggest that sales reps be minimally or not at all compensated for revenue-generating leads, or sr. execs should no longer receive substantial performance-based bonuses.

IMHO, it should be within each employee’s (from Director on down) job duties to refer at least one person/year who is hired, and to be generously financially rewarded for such.
Perhaps I am alone in this, but a large bonus check says a lot more that a company values what I do than any amount of pious hype from HR or Corp Comm does…

Cheers,

Keith “Will Help Organize ERCon” Halperin

By: Ed Newman

Ed Newman — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 14:04:24 +0000

Dr. John –
This is a great article. While I have always believed that referrals are the best source – I have often disagreed with the practice of big bonuses and referral fees – if they do it for the money, you lose the quality. Back when I was in HR, we had an employee who used to pull resumes from the internet and fax them in as referrals – just looking to cash in like a contingency recruiter.

Like with most other things, if you want it done right, you need to educate your employees on how you want them to do it. This article is a great blueprint for going beyond the marketing and awards, and implement a meaningful program.

Well done!