Dive Brief:
- When it comes to employee referral programs, there may be a strong disconnect between HR and those looking for work, according to a survey by workplace research firm Future Workplace and career network Beyond.
- The Active Job Seeker Dilemma survey found that while 71% of HR professionals say employee referrals are the best resource for finding candidates, only 7% of job seekers surveyed view referrals as their top resource for finding work, according to Hunt Scanlon.
- Despite the reality gap between HR and job seekers, other research has found that referrals, a time-tested recruiting strategy, appear to have the most impact when it comes to retention – a critical data point for HR leaders and managers.
Dive Insight:
According to earlier research from iCIMS, for example, over 50% of referred employees have been in their current position for more than five years – a clear indication that employee referrals may not deliver the most job candidates, but when they work, they work very well. In fact, the iCIMS study found that employee referrals are winners across the board, increasing "quality-of-hire, cultural fit, positive results, and decreases key metrics such as cost-per-hire, time-to-fill, and turnover," Hunt Scanlon reports.
“[A great referral program] allows you to turn your entire workforce into recruiters,” Kara Yarnot, founder of Meritage Talent Solutions, told Hunt Scanlon. “When you only have so many recruiters and so many resources to reach out to candidates, it helps to have a great referral program to empower all of your employees to help in sourcing.”
Referral programs have garnered quite a bit of attention as of late. Gallup recently outlined how employers can effectively use such programs.