Starting an employee referral program

Written by 
Dr. Kristin Trostel

Starting an employee referral program

Educators often network with other professional peers — and this gives them access to a large pool of potential candidates. Why not boost your candidate pipeline by implementing an employee referral program? These programs can significantly lower recruitment costs and increase employee retention.

Where to get started?

To begin, you’ll need to determine the goals of the program. We suggest spending the first year of your referral program gaining baseline data on the percentage of new hires that come from your program. From there, set incremental goals to increase that percentage over time. 

Design the process

Keep the process simple. Create a space where employees can share their referrals, and then track whether those referrals apply and are hired. For example, in Nimble, HR can maintain and track these referrals through the Prospects tab. The key information needed is their name, email, phone number, and any other details your employee cares to share. If the candidate does apply, be sure there’s a place for them to denote that they are a referral — for example, in Nimble, you can have them select Employee Referral Program on the “How did you hear about us” drop down. This will be beneficial data to inform your referral program's success.

Incentivize employees

The most common way to incentivize employees is through a one-time lump sum. However, there are other methods to excite your current employees—for example, gift cards, employee recognition, a paid day off, or a raffle prize. The key is to get innovative!

Documenting and clearly communicating your process for your current employees will avoid confusion. When will the money be paid out, and what precisely qualifies as a referral? Does the new employee need to work for six months before the incentive is paid? Are all positions paid out at the same rate, or do harder-to-fill roles have a higher payout? 

Maximize the program

Encourage your employees to refer folks anytime and all the time, even if there are no current openings. 

Communication with referrals is also vital; keep them warm through various outreaches. Also, consider how referrals can be expedited through the hiring process while maintaining an equitable and inclusive hiring process.

Refine with data

Once your program is up and running, evaluate its effectiveness by measuring success towards your goals. Check for areas of improvement or even quick wins that will bring minor enhancements, e.g., talk with the employees with the most referrals to understand why they are so successful; you can then share these practices with others. Remember to continue to learn through data using Nimble’s data dashboards, refine your process, and celebrate your successes!

Dr. Kristin Trostel
Product Marketing Manager