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If It Feels Good, Do It: Top 3 Upsides To Employee Referrals

Love is a mystery, as is hiring. The former: we can talk about that complexity some other time. The latter: at least, given the rise of analytics and Big Data, is far more able to be quantified now that we can send in the Cloud and conjure up scopey benchmarks and juicy reports. But there’s no guarantee of success: will that brand new star on the 14th floor, lured with chunky compensation and incentives, want to actually stay? Tech talent has a 1.5 percent unemployment rate and competition is fierce for their hands. Bouncing out of one position with grass-is-greener fervor — and sometimes there is a lot more green; poaching up to the C-suite — is it any wonder we’re an anxious bunch?

Think about it: what makes people stay? Love. And money. And tribe. Retention can’t necessarily be bought without risk, but translate this into HR speak and you may well have your magic bullets, at least for the duration. So no more holding back. Perhaps we’ll find in the near future (parsed by analytics, no doubt conjured up by some promising young software brain) that there is one key phrase that keeps people and one key moment that is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. In the meantime, it surprises me is that we’re still asking if employee referrals are worth it, whether as a full-on, incentivized, company-wide programs or targeted to bring in high-value talent. So let me give you the top 3 ways they’re key right now.

1) Old school is new school.

Retro is in. It sells jeans and artisanal chocolate. Retro gives a sense of substance. And there’s nothing more old school in terms of hiring practices than word of mouth. In a survey of the best practices among 300 top U.S. firms (the Inc. 5000), how to search for talent was a key issue. The top two highest ranked methods of finding new talent were co-worker and peer referrals (33%), and then referrals by others — customers, suppliers, and former colleagues (27%).

Given that in the new normal of work, everyone’s either a potential hire or a potential return, the second category is a close cousin of the first. And interestingly, next on the list was social media, e.g., sites like LinkedIn (15%).

2) Transitions are smoother.

The employee who made the referral not only gets to feel like a rock star, but gets to play unofficial mentor. Among the most-preferred methods to get new employees into the mix in that same survey — 48% said informal mentoring was the best way to get new hires acclimatized. The personal investment the employee has in their pal getting the job tends to bleed into wanting to see them thrive and succeed for obvious reasons: we shine in the light of those we stand closest to. From the employer standpoint, two more advantages: the employer brand is palpably represented during the entire process (and best of all, has a familiar face); and there may be a slight reduction in onboarding cost and investment.

3) The tribe is the glue.

The holy grail once known as company loyalty is far more subtle and social. We’ve all learned, and talent discussions tend to focus on the arm wrestle between company retention and a hire’s loyalty to her own career (it’s a trend). But there’s more on the mat than that. Corporations may indeed want to consider themselves people, but they’re not: the glue that binds us is a compelling admixture whose focal point is a sense of community — as well as culture and competition.

For the sake of argument, let’s accept that one aspect of career success is a perceived sense of a worthy tribe — in which one feels recognized and valued. Now, take another look at the value of an employee referral. Among hires brought in as employee referrals, 46% stayed at least three years. Compare that to job board hires, of which only a paltry 14% stayed that long. Again, it’s a win for everyone if incentives are part of the structure: that same employee who referred the new hire may well look at the bonus and go, “Hey, I think I may know a few more.” It reflects a sense of transparency and authenticity on the part of the company as well: we value people enough to put our money where our mission is.

Employee referrals are not even the cutting edge anymore: there are certain firms that now so value their talent that they pay them to hang out rather than see them depart. The emotional intelligence behind that is pretty sharp. But for those of us stuck on earth, with, you know, budgets, that’s not necessarily possible. But if indeed we’re going to follow the best practices of our leaders, there’s no downside. Employee referrals are just plain good for everybody in this world of work, and given its global, multigenerational, transitional state right now, that’s no small thing.

A version of this was first posted on Forbes.

#TChat Recap: Why Sourcing Referrals Can Improve Retention

This week the TalentCulture team discussed why sourcing referrals can improve retention with this week’s guests: Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR, President/CEO of Xceptional HR, author, speaker, HR professional, and workplace social media expert; and John Sumser, Principal Analyst at KeyInterval Research and editor at HRExaminer.com.

You want brand advocates! If an employee is satisfied at work, whose performance is consistent, and of course is rewarded fairly, then he or she is much more likely to suggest referrals.

Listen to the recording and review the Twitter chat highlights below to learn more.

What’s Up Next? #TChat returns Wednesday, Oct 14th: #TChat Radio Kicks Off at 1pm ET / 10am PT — Our radio show runs 30 minutes. Usually, our social community joins us on the Twitters as well.

Next #TChat topic: Three Steps to Selecting the Right HR Technology – Wednesday, Oct 14th, 2015 — Our halfway point begins with our highly engaging Twitter discussion. We take a social inside look at our weekly topic. Everyone is welcome to share their social insights.

Join Our Social Community & Stay Up-to-Date! The TalentCulture conversation continues daily. See what’s happening right now on the #TChat Twitter stream in our LinkedIn group, and on our Google+ community. Engage with us anytime on our social networks or stay current with trending World of Work topics through our weekly email newsletter. Signing up is just a click away!

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#TChat Preview: Why Sourcing Referrals Can Improve Retention

The TalentCulture #TChat Show is back live on Wednesday, October 7th, 2015, from 1-2 pm ET (10-11 am PT).

Last week we talked about the neuroscience of what keeps leaders up at night with Dr. Nicole Lipkin and this week we’re going to talk about why sourcing referrals can improve retention with Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR, President/CEO of Xceptional HR, author, speaker, HR professional, and workplace social media expert; and John Sumser, Principal Analyst at KeyInterval Research and editor at HRExaminer.com.

If an employee is satisfied at work, whose performance is consistent, and of course is rewarded fairly, then he or she is much more likely to suggest referrals. They become a brand advocate!

#TChat Events: Why Sourcing Referrals Can Improve Retention

TChatRadio_logo_020813#TChat Radio — Wed, Oct 7th — 1 pm ET / 10 am PT

Join TalentCulture #TChat Show co-founders and co-hosts Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman as they talk about why sourcing referrals can improve retention with this week’s guests: Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR, President/CEO of Xceptional HR, author, speaker, HR professional, and workplace social media expert; and John Sumser, Principal Analyst at KeyInterval Research and editor at HRExaminer.com.

 

 

Tune in LIVE online Wednesday, Oct 7th

#TChat Twitter Chat — Wednesday, October 7th — 1:30 pm ET /10:30 am PT Immediately following the radio show, Meghan, Kevin, Joe and Ivan will move to the #TChat Twitter stream, where we’ll continue the discussion with the entire TalentCulture community. Everyone with a Twitter account is invited to participate, as we gather for a dynamic live chat, focused on these related questions:

Q1: Why are employee referrals consistently the better talent pool? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Q2: Employment tenure is only 3-5 years, but why is job hopping still stigmatized? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Q3: Can a better candidate and new hire experience translate into greater retention? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Until then, we’ll keep the discussion going on the #TChat Twitter feed, our TalentCulture World of Work Community LinkedIn group, and in our TalentCulture G+ community. So feel free to drop by anytime and share your questions, ideas and opinions. See you there!!!

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Join Our Social Community & Stay Up-to-Date!

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ERP, Collaborative Recruitment And Getting Employees Involved

Your recruiting team isn’t alone when it comes to attracting new talent. Your organization can get some employees involved by instigating and maintaining an Employee Referral Program. ERPs help employers find like-minded candidates to add to the team they already have. Combining the power of an ERP with collaborative recruitment gets employees involved in the workplace. Here are best practices and the tools you need to sustain an effective ERP.

Make Your ERP Work

Your team is already incentivized to find great people to work with, but why not sweeten the pot by offering rewards or cash for getting that perfect candidate to apply? Forty percent or more of best-in-class new hires are acquired from referral programs. Furthermore, those referred by current employees and acquisitions are 20% less likely to quit their jobs. This saves the company money and creates a more cohesive team in the long run. Because ERP programs are fueled by current employees, ambassadors know the cultural fit and the functional fit needed in the workplace and can refer people they know will make them look good and stay longer than a few months.

Create A Culture of Sharing

Workplace harmony is dependent upon the quality of communication among team members. Including current employees in the hiring process facilitates a culture of communication. Creating a sharing community around the office brings this mentality full circle. Communicating hiring perspectives with the current employees and hiring managers perpetuates this notion of teamwork. Start with an environment that fosters a sense of knowledge sharing. From that, a more collaborative and effective ERP will emerge. Diane Berry, Chief Knowledge Evangelist at Coveo says:

“The old adage that ‘Knowledge is Power’ needs to become ‘Sharing is Power.’ When employees openly share their knowledge, the entire organization becomes more powerful.”

Ultimately, you can use this mentality in the company’s ERP program. By integrating a “sharing” attitude into the organization, a collaborative recruiting program will surely emerge.

Organize With An ATS

It might take a little research, some demos, and maybe even some trials to find the Applicant Tracking System that best fits your company. Taking time to find the right ATS for your organization versus rushing into the least expensive option is better for you and your team in the long run. Robust recruitment software provides yet another way for your employees to get involved in the hiring process.

The easy access of candidate files is essential for organizations that want to implement a collaborative recruitment strategy among their employees. When pulling in other departments for recruitment support, keep in mind that you’ll need a system to track and manage all referrals and the easiest way to do this is often through email and calendaring software. Look for recruitment software that works without forcing your entire company to log in to the back end. Simply put, make it easy for them to help you!

Additionally, organization is crucial for the sake of legal compliance. Without organizational tools like an ATS, maintaining and sending important paperwork can be difficult to keep track of. Each ATS is sold by seat, so the organization will pay for each user. This way, candidate files can’t be accessed with abandon but rather with purpose by designated users.

Employee referral programs have a higher success rate than recruiters simply reaching out to potential candidates. The employee ambassadors reaching out to the candidates already have developed relationships with them, so there is a pre-established level of trust. Meshing a sharing environment into the office atmosphere fosters not only the development of employees, but the growth of your qualified talent pool. With all of this information, the team will need a way to track it all. Using an ATS to enhance the already-in-place ERP will help your team make the best, educated decision in adding talent. A well-fitted ATS keeps your recruitment department organized so you can efficiently share information with the employees who are involved in the hiring decisions. With these robust tools and practices, your organization can begin the change to a collaborative recruitment process.

About the Author: Raj Sheth is the CEO and Co-Founder of Recruiterbox.com, web-based recruitment software that helps growing companies manage their incoming job applications.

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Employee Referral Programs: How To Expand Your Circle

Written by Ziv Eliraz, CEO, Zao

There’s a reason why employee referrals are touted as the #1 hiring source. Each referral is a credible thumbs-up from a trusted member of your organization, confirming that the candidate is qualified for the job and will fit-in with your culture. Plus, when tons of people are responding to your job postings, referrals can be an effective way to separate the good from the bad, while accelerating time-to-hire.

It’s all good. So, why not expand that model?

Traditionally, referral programs have been built around an organization’s internal network, with employees identifying likely prospects. However, smart companies understand that their external network is filled with potential sourcing allies — business partners, vendors, professional peers, college connections, even former employees. It just takes a different approach to get them on board.

Four ways to extend your referral program reach:

1) Incorporate Rewards

Relevant rewards can be a powerful incentive. Plus, they work. Research shows that when companies offered rewards to trusted members of their external network, 41% of referral hires came from those non-employees. As a result, referral hires were 69% higher than through employee channels, alone.

Tip:  Make sure the value of the reward is calibrated to the business result. For example, a token gift card or social recognition could be given to acknowledge a hot lead — while cash compensation would be more appropriate when a referral is interviewed or hired.

2) Go Mobile

Consider contractors and other virtual contributors members of your workforce. Although they may not be employees, they can still provide value through referrals. However, because many operate from remote locations, your referral program should be accessible on-the-go — through smartphones, tablets, or other mobile devices. This lets your external network easily refer candidates wherever and whenever the opportunity strikes.

Tip:  Create an employee referral app or a mobile-accessible portal that is tailored specifically for external network members. This helps them feel like they’re part of the program, and makes it convenient to participate.

3) Automate The Process
While your external network can make a significant contribution to your referral pipeline, recommending candidates is an added duty they must perform without immediate reinforcement. Try to make the referral process as quick and easy as possible by automating the process. New technologies can automatically compile jobs, sending relevant reminders to the correct people at the right time, and recommending appropriate next-step actions. Automation not only keeps the referral program continuously active, but also guides your external stakeholders in their role.

Tip:  Rolling “push” communication is a smart idea. For example, you can automatically share job updates every Wednesday at 3 p.m., or whenever your network is most active. That way, your program participants learn when to expect information. Also, it’s wise to personalize message content — sending relevant messages to the right people. This avoids frustration for participants, who would otherwise have to search for information they need.

4) Incorporate Game Dynamics

Gamification uses game-based strategy, learning and mechanics to increase engagement in non-game systems. While it may seem like an uncommon strategy, 70% of the world’s top 2,000 public companies will have integrated gamification into at least one business application by 2014. In this case, it can be a fun way to involve external parties in your referral process, using quick feedback, creating friendly competitive challenges and other methods that keep your participants engaged.

Tip:  A great way to introduce game dynamics is through a leaderboard or a point-based tracking system. Members of your network can see how they’re contributing to the overall referral process, and see how they compare with top performers. This not only creates a sense of friendly rivalry, but also offers ongoing feedback that helps remind participants that their recommendations are not being ignored.

Tap Into Your Full Sourcing Potential

Of course, employee-only referral programs aren’t a bad idea. However, at some point, there is a limit to how many people an individual employee knows directly. While your internal network can provide some excellent referrals, your external network can amp up the quality and diversity of potential hires. Although you may not think of external allies first, they can be a great referral resource because they understand your organization’s culture, they know your business needs, and they often have a vested interest in your success.

What do you think? Do you involve your external network in the employee referral process? What kind of results have you seen?

Ziv Eliraz-001 (About the Author: Ziv Eliraz is Founder and CEO of Zao, social employee referral platform. Connect with Ziv on LinkedIn and Zao on Twitter and Facebook.)

(Also Note: To discuss World of Work topics like this with others in the TalentCulture community, join our online #TChat Events every Wednesday, from 6:30-8pm ET. Everyone is welcome to participate; or join our ongoing Twitter conversation anytime. Learn more…)

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The 3 "Rs" of Hiring "A" Players

Recruitment + Referrals + Retention

If you want to attract top talent, and keep those high performers on your team (as I assume every employer does), it’s important to create a virtuous cycle. You’ll find it in cultures driven by passion, where employees are treated with respect, and candidates are treated like employees. There’s a continuous loop of positive reinforcement.

It sounds simple enough. So, when companies miss the mark, where do they go wrong? I think many organizations approach recruiting as an isolated objective. But the most effective talent strategies are built on three components that work together to complete the loop:

1) Recruitment

Today the employee experience starts long before the first day at work. With the growth of Glassdoor and other “talent marketplace” sites, anyone can comment about you as a prospective employer, even if they never receive or accept an offer. Your reputation is critical in attracting top talent, so it’s essential to treat candidates with the same level of attention and respect that you extend to employees.

2) Referrals

Unhappy, disengaged employees typically don’t refer friends to their employers. On the other hand, smart employees won’t refer weak candidates to an employer they like. That psychology naturally favors referral programs for organizations devoted to employee success. With the right structure and nurturing, a referral program can help develop a vibrant culture, where people are committed to working toward a common purpose. You can empower your workforce to select for cultural fit, while dramatically reducing recruiting costs, and decreasing the time needed to help new employees achieve peak performance.

Check out the SlideShare presentation below for more insights about the power of referrals.

3) Retention

When building your recruiting strategy, don’t neglect your organization’s current workforce realities. For example, is your employee turnover rate unacceptably high? If your company faces a retention problem, accelerating recruitment is like shoveling water out of a sinking boat. It’s smarter to focus on plugging the hole. If you address the problems that cause employees to leave, you’ll not only have fewer positions to fill, but you’ll also attract top performers more easily. Savvy candidates quickly sense a toxic or chaotic culture. On the other hand, passion and engagement are contagious, and will draw qualified candidates to your door.

Integrated Approach = Business Benefits

WR_247Recruit_SM_404x404

Attend the on-demand webinar now

In HR, we know better than anyone that the quality and commitment of people on your team are the foundation of business success. If your talent strategy considers what happens before, during and after every hire, you’ll create a sustainable framework for top performance.

For more talent acquisition and retention advice, listen now to Achievers’ recent “24×7 Recruiting” webinar, featuring TalentCulture founder Meghan M. Biro.

Image Credit: Stock.xchng

The 3 “Rs” of Hiring “A” Players

Recruitment + Referrals + Retention

If you want to attract top talent, and keep those high performers on your team (as I assume every employer does), it’s important to create a virtuous cycle. You’ll find it in cultures driven by passion, where employees are treated with respect, and candidates are treated like employees. There’s a continuous loop of positive reinforcement.

It sounds simple enough. So, when companies miss the mark, where do they go wrong? I think many organizations approach recruiting as an isolated objective. But the most effective talent strategies are built on three components that work together to complete the loop:

1) Recruitment

Today the employee experience starts long before the first day at work. With the growth of Glassdoor and other “talent marketplace” sites, anyone can comment about you as a prospective employer, even if they never receive or accept an offer. Your reputation is critical in attracting top talent, so it’s essential to treat candidates with the same level of attention and respect that you extend to employees.

2) Referrals

Unhappy, disengaged employees typically don’t refer friends to their employers. On the other hand, smart employees won’t refer weak candidates to an employer they like. That psychology naturally favors referral programs for organizations devoted to employee success. With the right structure and nurturing, a referral program can help develop a vibrant culture, where people are committed to working toward a common purpose. You can empower your workforce to select for cultural fit, while dramatically reducing recruiting costs, and decreasing the time needed to help new employees achieve peak performance.

Check out the SlideShare presentation below for more insights about the power of referrals.

3) Retention

When building your recruiting strategy, don’t neglect your organization’s current workforce realities. For example, is your employee turnover rate unacceptably high? If your company faces a retention problem, accelerating recruitment is like shoveling water out of a sinking boat. It’s smarter to focus on plugging the hole. If you address the problems that cause employees to leave, you’ll not only have fewer positions to fill, but you’ll also attract top performers more easily. Savvy candidates quickly sense a toxic or chaotic culture. On the other hand, passion and engagement are contagious, and will draw qualified candidates to your door.

Integrated Approach = Business Benefits

WR_247Recruit_SM_404x404

Attend the on-demand webinar now

In HR, we know better than anyone that the quality and commitment of people on your team are the foundation of business success. If your talent strategy considers what happens before, during and after every hire, you’ll create a sustainable framework for top performance.

For more talent acquisition and retention advice, listen now to Achievers’ recent “24×7 Recruiting” webinar, featuring TalentCulture founder Meghan M. Biro.

Image Credit: Stock.xchng