Employee referral programs always work. After all, "Good people know good people." What could be the best, direct way to bring skilled or performing employees to your organization? When you introspect or dive deeper, the answer is within your organization, the top-performing employees will know people like them and can add more value to your company by just referring their friends. Ain't that simple?

Money is a limited motivator when it comes to the employee referral program. It is a nice way to say ‘thank you’ to the employee. But, it’s not the foundation on which employee referral programs are built. A lot of organisations find this surprising.

Aug 20, 2020. It was 11.30 pm at the night. Our phones did not stop ringing. When a customer calls you at that time, it usually means that all hell has broken loose. And, all hell did break loose. None of us had slept. Our WhatsApp channels were swamped with messages until 1.30 am. And the messages and calls continued throughout the day.

Corporates drive referral programmes on social media.

Ever wondered when and how employee referrals came into being? Around the 4th century B.C., there were a lot of jobs to be filled in the Roman army, yet there were not enough candidates and many were poorly qualified. Staffing an army where wars were common wasn’t easier. They needed a consistent pool of soldiers and other support staff like carpenters, doctors, and engineers to keep the army going.

Poof! Gone! He/She is not picking up my calls any more. Aunt, Uncle, Mother are in the hospital. Or god forbid, in the mortuary.

Out of good intentions, organisations put out a referral process. While this seems fairly simple and easy, it is definitely a road to disaster. Let me reason it.

Organisations that are constantly hiring best talent are getting their employer branding right. Because they have realised that employer branding is more than just a pretty careers page.

Time to fill is the most important metric for a recruiter or a talent acquisition professional. Business opens up a requisition. And, more often than not, they wanted the person to join as of yesterday. It invariably means that finding a good candidate and getting them to join becomes critical. And, doing so superfast is important.