Innovations  in  Employee  Referral  Programs  

Kara  Yarnot,  Founder  &  President  recruitDC  

Imagine………  2  

MERITAGE TALENT SOLUTIONS’ EMPLOYEE REFERRAL

TRENDS REPORT

2014

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BENCHMARKING PROGRAM STRUCTURE

Who Has Formal Employee Referral Programs?

of companies report having a formal

employee referral program

71%

4  

86%

plan to launch a program in the next 18

months.

36%

Referrals Continue to be a Primary Source of Hire for Employers with Referral Programs

5  

0%  10%  20%  30%  40%  50%  60%  70%  80%  

76%  

9%  16%  

64%  

0%  9%  

27%  

Referral  Program  Management  Structure  

Currently  have  program  

Planning  to  launch  program  

% of External Hires that are Referrals

27%

0 - 25%

26 – 50%

51 – 75%

76 – 100%

Don’t know

47%  

38%  

4%  

4%  

7%  

of companies with referral programs report that more than half of their external hires come from their referral program.

8%  

of companies report meeting or exceeding their referral program hiring goals.

25%  

of companies don’t actually have hiring goals for their program 25%  

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Increasing the Quality of the Candidate pool is the top goal for companies.

GOALS OF REFERRAL PROGRAMS

10%

0%

30%

20%

50%

40%

70%

60%

90%

80%

100%

Increase Quality Increase Quantity Decrease Time to Hire

Increase Retention Increase Diversity

Other Don’t Know

Currently have program

Planning to launch program

93%

67% 61%

36%

58%

27% 27%

49% 32%

18% 9% 2% 2%

Referral Program Structure

REFERRALPROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Centralized program management is the most common management structure. 0%  

10%  20%  30%  40%  50%  60%  70%  80%  

76%  

9%  16%  

64%  

0%  9%  

27%  

Referral  Program  Management  Structure  

Currently  have  program  

Planning  to  launch  program  

76%

64%

Centralized

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

80%

9% 0% 16% 9%

27%

Decentralized Hybrid Not yet decided

Currently have program

Planning to launch program

7  

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Tools Used to Manage Program

Currently have program

Planning to launch program

64%

55% 50%

18% 14%

27%

3% 0% 18%

Spreadsheets ATS 3rd Party Other Not Decided

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Referral Program Incentives – Cash is King

of companies offer or plan to offer cash incentives for referral hires.

59%  Cash awards to employees for referral hires are the most common incentives employed.

Average Cash Incentive Paid for Referral Hires

Less than $1000

26%

73% 69%

2% 0% 18%

4% 9%

$

$

Currently have program

Planning to launch program

Between $1000 and $4999

$5000 or greater Don’t know

18%

10  

Thinking Beyond Cash

of companies offer or plan to offer non-cash incentives for referral hires.

25%

54% Prize Drawings

35% Others

27% Company Logo Items

15% Vacation Days

11  

Referral Program Enhancements

Social Referrals

Mobile Accessibility

Improved Marketing

Non-Employees

Improved metrics

Complete Overhaul

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PRIMARY REFERRAL PROGRAM TRENDS IDENTIFIED

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Social Referrals - Driven by the implementation of 3rd party Referral Technology

TREND # 1

Types of Social Referral Tools

Broadcast  

Broadcast  &  Discovery  

14  

15  

 All of the 3rd party referral tools are based on social

referral functionality.

Companies planning to launch referral programs are more likely to use 3rd Party Referral Tools.

Currently have

program

14%

Planning to launch

program

27% 27%  All of the 3rd party referral tools are based on social

referral functionality.

3rd Party Referral Tools

How Satisfied Are You With Your Current Referral Tools?

SATISFACTION WITH CURRENT REFERRAL TOOLS

16  

of respondents who are Very Satisfied use a 3rd party solution.

Very Satisfied

Partially Satisfied

Neither Satisfied or Dissatisfied

Partially Dissatisfied

Very Dissatisfied

of respondents who are Partially Satisfied use ATS Solution,

63%

83%

17  

Moving Beyond the “Employee” Referral Program

TREND # 2

18  

Individuals Beyond Employees Included in Program

Customer 48%

100%

Social Media Connections

48% 60%

Other 26%

20%

Alumni 70%

80%

Planning to launch program

Currently have program

Vendor 35% 40%

of respondents with programs already include non-employees in their programs.  

22%

An additional 17% plan to expand their programs to include non-employees.

17%

of respondents planning to launch programs with include non-employees in their programs.

45%

Keys  to  an  Effective  Program  •  Make  it  easy  for  employees  to  refer  •  Educate  your  employees  one  what  makes  a  good  hire  •  Get  execuOves  involved  •  Thank  everyone  who  parOcipates  •  Avoid  the  “black  hole”    -­‐  provide  updates  •  Recognize  individuals  with  referral  hires  •  Pay  bonuses  when  the  new  hire  starts  •  Track  and  report  referral  metrics  

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2015  REFERRAL  SURVEY  IS  NOW  OPEN  

Hand  me  your  business  card  and  I’ll  send  you  the  link  

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THANK  YOU  

Kara  Yarnot  President,  Meritage  Talent  SoluOons  

@klyarnot  LinkedIn.com/in/karayarnot  

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