From Friend to Colleague: How Employee Referral Programs Bring Your Team Together

July 13, 2023 by
From Friend to Colleague: How Employee Referral Programs Bring Your Team Together
Daryl Rico

Professionals in human resources have many engaging activities and one of them is referral programs. It’s no secret that many recruitment teams struggle to reach their recruitment targets. Scouting for the right person for the job takes time and money. On top of these, HRs still need to factor in the quality of their hires. Thus, that is where they put employee referral programs to good use since it is direct and quickly implementable.

Successful referral programs create a feedback loop. They work best in companies with positive company cultures. As a reciprocal gesture, referral programs strengthen the bond and culture of the team. Hiring people familiar with the employees uplifts team morale, which fosters productivity. It also nurtures a supportive environment for everyone. With this optimistic employee work experience, they become brand ambassadors who refer qualified and talented candidates.


Referral Program Success

Why don’t we look at a case study of a successful employee referral program? Aside from being a big name in tech, Intel has also recently garnered praise for its hiring program. Let’s take a closer look at their recruitment hub.

The core principle of employee referral programs is that employees who referred the hired applicant get a referral fee. For Intel, they used this principle as a foundation and then added their own twist. Intel designed its program to double the bonus fee when successful hires come from underrepresented groups in tech. This minority includes women, people of color, and veterans. For a diverse hire, an employee could receive a referral fee of $4000.

But did Intel’s twist in their referral program work? According to a published report from Statista, there was a steady growth in the number of employees. Their team population grew before the pandemic and continues to do so even in the new normal. In the first quarter of 2015, a notable 41% of their new hires were from minority groups. Perhaps the best gauge of hiring success is productivity. Zooming in on their productivity, Intel joins giant techs as one of the biggest names in the semiconductor industry. Last year, it generated a staggering revenue of $63 billion. On top of all these favorable effects of the program, Intel’s referral program serves a bigger, benevolent purpose. Not only does this contribute to their positive company culture. It also opens the doors for the minority and addresses the pressing issue of opportunity discrimination in STEM.

So, the simple answer is Intel’s referral program works!


Bringing Referral Program Success to Your Team

From this Intel case study, we witnessed how referral programs help HRs in recruitment. Additionally, these programs help businesses achieve their long-term goals through improved productivity and a good retention rate. This is because good-performing employees tend to recommend acquaintances with similar work ethics. With quality and tenured employees onboard, companies save recruitment costs big time!

Take a cue from Intel, which obtained a five-star rating on total work experience by 42% of its previous and current employees. Employee referral programs leave a tremendous mark on the company culture and sometimes the whole industry.

Knowing how referral programs significantly contribute to better recruitment and positive company culture is essential. But how are extraordinary referral programs created? Thinking of achieving a great feat such as Intel’s program can be daunting but it is achievable. Payruler provides straightforward ways to draft and start your referral program. Here are the steps that will set you up for success:

  1. You want your program to be impactful.
    • Know why you should have a referral program and how this contributes to the overall success of the team.
  2. Draft the mechanics of the program.
    • From sending referrals to claiming the rewards, provide a clear picture of the process. Aside from referral submissions, this part calls for depicting the incentives. Here’s a tip on incentives: give employees a reward that is valuable to them. A reward is only a reward if it matters to them. Be creative around the guidelines and incentives.
  3. Once you are set, communicate the program details to employees.
    • Be patient with the clarifications of the employees. They are curious and excited to participate in your program.
  4. Now that your program is on the road, be sure to track and measure program performance.
    • Some key performance indicators (KPI) for this program could be lead time and hire quality. Make necessary adjustments to improve the program flow.
  5. A good team becomes a better one when supported.
    • You can support your employees by automating the program. Using employee referral platforms makes the process smooth. But opting for referral platforms integrated into an HRMS is ten-fold smoother.

 

 

Payruler’s Hire module is integrated with the innovative technology of Pasajob, the first long-chain employee referral platform in the country that revolutionizes recruitment for Filipino companies. There are two main reasons why HRs love this feature. First, it effectively utilizes rewards as a motivation where all employees who refer successfully hired talents get a referral fee. Second, it has the capability to effectively scale teams and accelerate recruitment by maximizing the network of its employees. Pasajob’s long-chain referral technology allows every employee who contributes to a successful hire to get a reward. If three individuals referred the candidate, they all get part of the referral fee. In cases where there’s only one employee referrer, he gets the whole fee. Your employee referral program then becomes more effective, with a cost-efficient and time-saving technology driving every successful hire.

The Hire module works in three separate accesses. First is the hiring manager who files a Manpower Requisition Form and logs the details including the qualifications of the candidate and the details of the job. Second is HR who reviews the details, completes the required fields, determines the referral fee, and approves or revises the details placed by the hiring manager. And lastly, the employee who is able to see the details of the job and refer suitable contacts for the role.


Conclusion

Now that we’ve discovered the formula for creating impactful referral programs, it’s time to solidify our knowledge of this HR tool. A referral program is one of the foundations of a team’s success. It’s direct to implement, yields higher-quality candidates, and leads to good retention statistics. A well-executed referral program strengthens the connection between the company and employees, which consequently fosters a sense of community in the team.

Imagine hitting your recruitment target and building positive company culture with one stone, all thanks to the power of automated referrals. Take action today and let Payruler help you tap into this potent source of bright employees.