If like a significant number of employers you find it a
challenge to source the right calibre of personnel for your business and have
exhausted all the traditional avenues such as advertising, recruitment
consultants and social media, there is another initiative you may wish to try.
Employee Referral Schemes have become increasingly popular
UK-wide and, says the Institute of Personnel and Development, 47% of UK
companies run them.
How Employee Referral Schemes Work
The schemes work by encouraging employees to refer potential
candidates for vacancies. In exchange for a successful introduction, they are
rewarded either with a financial bonus, or other benefits such as additional
holiday.
One of the key benefits of Employee Referral Schemes is that
they are less costly than traditional recruitment methods. Additionally,
employers tend to find that new team members recruited through this avenue will
be especially motivated to perform to the very best of their ability as they
will be mindful of how this will reflect on the person who referred them.
Advantages & Disadvantages
And then there’s the fact that new recruits that join a
business through employee referral are likely to need a shorter settling in
period because they already know some of the existing team.
When an existing employee discusses a referral with a
potential candidate, they are always going to give them an honest view of the
company that could become their employer. This will start the new recruit off
on a good footing as their expectations will be realistic.
So far so good but, as with anything, there will be
disadvantages. Firstly you have to consider what would happen if things do not
work out with the new employee, and how that would affect the relationship
between you as the employer and the referring member of staff. Employee
Referral Schemes can also limit the flow of fresh ideas into the business
because referrers and referees will tend to be like-minded.
What Makes a Good Scheme?
The best Employee Referral Schemes are well thought through
so they catch employees’ attention. Finding out what employees really want in
return for referrals is essential: Cash? Days off? Gift vouchers? Of course
what you offer needs to be cost effective.
Keeping the scheme simple is also important. If it’s not
understood, employees won’t engage with it. You’ll also want to keep its
administration straightforward too so that it doesn’t drain your resources.
So you have your scheme, now you need to tell your staff
about it. The more reminders they have, the better. So aside from an initial
email, fix posters in the kitchen, by the water cooler and anywhere else they
tend to gather. Encourage them to use their social platforms to network any
vacancies. LinkedIn is probably the most effective, but Facebook and Twitter
can be just as good.
And finally, once there has been a successful referral, make
sure everyone knows about it. This will serve to inspire others to do the same.
If you’ve been thinking about introducing an Employee
Referral Scheme into your business and would like to discuss in more detail how
it would work in practice, why not approach your local bookkeepers for advice?
