Solving Problems for the Three Pillars in Referrals

For a well-functioning referral program, you need three pillars — employee, candidate, and recruiter. 

 

And it is essential that these people do their part well for balance to prevail in the hiring process. Let’s observe the roles of these three users and their challenges.

 

 

1.  Employees

 

Here’s the list of challenges faced by the employees during referrals.

 

Lack of consistent feedback to the employees

 

Employees after referring their friends will anticipate being informed about the progress of the referral. But most often, employees are not informed, and this really disappoints them. They are pushed to an extent where they start feeling like not to refer anyone anymore. The Employee Referrals — Problems to Solve blog has it covered for you.

 

Ignorance of the referral program

 

Many a time the employees will only know that a referral program exists and will not be interested to explore more, or the referral platform would have not created awareness for the program that it duly deserves. Whatever the reason be, it is not okay for the employees to remain ignorant about the referral program. The recruiters should build a system that will inform employees about the open roles and how to refer. Read the blogs on Employee Engagement Initiatives and Creating Awareness to know how to keep your employees well informed and attract them to contribute to the referral program.

 

 

Inconsistent communication about referrals

 

No one likes to hear different versions of facts. Knowing this, the recruiters should refrain from saying one thing and doing something completely different. Employees tend to become judgmental about the whole gamut of referral when they hear inconsistent versions about the referral program. To avoid any sort of confusion, a recruiter can set up a system that keeps the employees aware of the referral program, and where there is a ‘go to’ place to infer when they have doubts or concerns.

 

Poor employee experience

 

After referring their friends, employees should live happily ever after isn’t it? What if, that’s not the case. Many employees don’t feel valued for their contribution. Sometimes, both the recruiters and the person they referred make them feel unhappy. Appreciation and motivation are the ways to indulge employees in referral programs. Only when they are recognized and appreciated the employees will bring in more friends to work for your organization. So, give it all to create a lasting experience for employees to add value to the referral programs.

 

What do employees expect?

 

Employees expect a referral system in place and a referral tool will just do wonders. It will aid in easy referring, sending timely emails with the current status or updates, providing consistent feedback, appreciating employees’ contributions, acknowledging, and announcing the top referrer of the month, sending gift coupons or special gifts for top referrers, and finally crediting reward payout on time.

 

2. Recruiters

 

Recruiters have their set of challenges like:

 

Good resumes are not identified

 

Recruiters fall short of candidates, as they do not realize good resumes are lying in their inboxes for a longer time. They are left with no time to check the profile to weigh if the profile is good, or if the candidate will be suitable for the requirement. The issue is they receive too many profiles and their inboxes are flooding with emails where good resumes are lost. The best alternative is having a referral system, where the resumes can be streamlined, good resumes shortlisted, and processed for the right job.

 

Outreach vs referrals

 

Recruiters should avoid outreach and instead seek referrals. They should understand that there is a high joining ratio through referral programs. So instead of beating around the bush, recruiters can campaign their referral programs for the best hiring results. Investing in good referral programs is the best decision taken by any organization. The power of referral programs will directly contribute to the revenue of the organization.

 

No call no show

 

After the painstaking process of referral, interviewing, and hiring, candidate ghosting is the least any recruiter would want to face. No shows results in significant revenue loss. An employee referral system can largely reduce and help you prepare for any such unforeseen scenarios. Stay in touch with your employees throughout the recruitment process and it can definitely reduce candidate ghosting.

 

Eliminate junk

 

Collecting profiles that are not suitable for the job opening in bulk equals to collecting junk. Recruiters need to be mindful and shift their focus on efficiency than effort. They need to rely on a good referral program, where the candidate’s qualification matches with the job opening and makes it easier for the recruiter to close the job opening.

 

What do recruiters expect?

 

 

A recruiter expects quality profiles and no junk, they do not want to reach out to employees and solicit referrals, they want automation, where communication, awareness, and status updates keep coming day in and day out. A good referral software not only helps the recruiter to be more productive but also helps them to create and nurture long-standing relationships with existing and potential candidates.

 

3. Candidates

 

Let’s check out the challenges faced by the candidates.

 

Poor candidate experience

 

Candidates are left aloof in employee referral programs, they can only ask their friend in the organization about their referral status, otherwise, they never get to know if they are shortlisted or rejected. To provide a better candidate experience, the referral system can send emails about the profile status to the candidates. Based on the status updates, the candidate can plan for the rounds of interviews or look for job opportunities with other employers.

 

Lack of feedback

 

When candidates complete their interviews and await to hear the golden word ‘selected’, they get to heat everything other than that. Most often, the interviewer will not give a candid reply instead they will have template answers like:

 

- “We’ll get back to you or will keep you posted.”

 

- “We’ll review the other profiles received for this position and contact you via email.”

 

- “We’d love to have you as a part of our talent community, and you can apply for similar job openings in the future.”

 

These monologues or phrases are least expected and will keep the candidates confused about their chances of being hired. To make the candidates feel lighter, the referral system can send automatic status mails, such as ‘selected for the position’, or ‘profile is on hold’, or something relevant so the candidates are not kept waiting in the dark.

 

Candidates are taken for granted

 

It is important that the candidates receive some form of communication, an email, text message, or phone call from the recruiter until they are officially on board. Provide them with necessary information about what they need to do in the waiting process or submit their documents for background verification. Never take candidates for granted, value their time and patience. Remember, they have a career ahead of them. A referral tool will be significant for communicating with the candidates.

 

Potential candidates are overlooked

 

Even the most experienced recruiter can have setbacks while evaluating a candidate. Due to mind block or bias thoughts, relevant candidates are overlooked. The recruiters need to streamline their thoughts and look for potential candidates who are hidden behind the curtain of unconscious bias. Acknowledging biased attitudes and embracing recruitment software can resolve this issue and bring forward all the best talents across industries.

 

What do candidates expect?

 

The candidates expect consideration — the ability to be considered for the right job, the ability to choose the job, a huge appreciation if their employee pool gets in touch with them, that’s it! A referral tool can provide all this and fulfill candidates’ expectations.

 

Understanding the challenges faced by the three pillars, the key users of the referral program, we now know what they expect. For the balance to prevail, it is critical that you have a referral tool that enables the balance by doing the following:

 

1. Auto-posting jobs and communicating with employees and the candidates
2. Employees can recommend candidates or send jobs to candidates on their networks in a jiffy
3. Candidates can pick up the right job and apply
4. Employees are updated on the status
5. Employees engage their friends and keep them updated on the status
6. Recruiters only process their candidates and close positions quickly

 

If you have any more pointers to add, feel free to share them with us. Looking forward to your comments and feedback on this elaborate blog.