Employee Referral Programs

Bashful · December 2007

Hello:

I am interested in learning about the employee referral programs of other companies as I am trying to implement a less manual and more attractive program for my company. What process do your internal candidates have to follow when referring someone? Is anyone utilizing an employee portal or are you tracking referrals manually? How long until internal associates receive payment and how much do they receive, etc.?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Bashful

HRDir1 · December 2007

We track manually, the new employee's file is tabbed, so that when his or her anniversary comes up, there is a note that the referring employee is eligible for the bonus at 6 month 12 month and 24 month intervals ($100. $200 and $500)

Bashful · January 2008

Thanks for the reply. I did have one follow up question. Actually two. :-) Do you conduct any due diligence as to how well your referring employee knows the person he/she is referring to ensure you are really getting qualified candidates? For example, how does the employee the know the the referral, how long, strengths, etc. What company and/or industry do you work in? I work for a national homebuilder in NJ.

BarbieW · January 2008

I guess I would wonder why you would collect information about how well the referring employee knows the applicant. Presumably, an applicant (even one referred by an employee) has to go through the selection proces including filling out an application, interviews, background checks, reference checks, drug testing, etc. Determining qualifications is the employer's job. The referring employee only gets money if the person is hired.

At our company, the referral bonus is $750 with $250 being paid after the person is hired and completes 90 days, and the remaining $500 paid after one year. In addition to the preemployment screening to make sure the candidate is qualified, the company can make that determination once he or she is on the job before paying the bonus.

Bashful · January 2008

Thanks for your feedback. We do follow all of the channels you mentioned. However, with 5,000+ associates we tend to receive many resumes from candidates who say they were referred by a specific internal associate and that associate does not even know the person. They may have received the name through a friend of a friend of a friend. We are just looking to hold associates more accountable for referrals while trying to find a way to make it more attractive at the same time.

TXHRGuy · January 2008

We got around the tracking issue by requiring the referrer to come collect their prize within 30 days of the referred individual passing their 90th day of employment. The application or cover letter must specify who referred them or there is no award.

6341995 · January 2008

We just changed our referral program...

We pay a referral bonus based on the position after 90 days...Then on the anniversary date of candidate, the employee received the same amount again. Both employees still need to be at our company for the employee to receive the referral bonus. We do this for the length of time both employees are with the company.

Employee Referral Programs

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