Finding qualified individuals to recruit for a growing business can be challenging. However, one effective way to improve this process is by having an employee referral program in place.

Still, even when you actively encourage your employees to help locate great individuals and continuously improve company culture, it isn’t always easy to get the engagement you’re looking for. In these situations, adding certain incentives to your referral programs can be a great way to improve their effectiveness.

Below, we’ll cover why incentives can be the secret weapon you’re looking for when it comes to significantly improving your recruitment efforts.

Formalizes Recruitment Processes and Shows Importance

Adding an incentive like gift cards to your employee referral programs helps create a more formalized process for your recruitment efforts. This shows employees that their involvement in hiring qualified individuals is an important part of creating a more sustainable business.

When employees view referrals as something worth their time and energy, it shows them just how much their opinions matter. Because of this, it helps build confidence in other areas as well and gets them more excited about contributing to how the company develops long-term.

Provide Motivation to Employees

While some employees may be happy to have a say in who gets hired, others may need more motivation. Incentives help keep everyone excited to take part in the company’s recruitment processes.

Incentives are a universal motivator that everyone can appreciate. They make employees think more about their personal network and who they might refer,  while providing a tangible reward for their efforts.

This is a great way for everyone to have an active share in hiring decisions and drives more action for HR teams.

Increases Program Visibility and Awareness

For an employee referral program to work, employees need to know it exists and how they can get involved. Many times, as companies grow, new employees may not even know that they can receive an incentive for referring a successful job candidate. Program procedures might get buried in a list of documents, or employee handbooks may have outdated information.

Promoting employee referral incentives regularly at company meetings or in one-on-ones keeps your programs top of mind. You could also use your company newsletter as a way to introduce the program to newer employees or leave pamphlets in the office or lunch room explaining how it all works.

Acknowledges Employee Efforts

Employees have a job to do at work, and most of the time, helping with recruitment efforts isn’t at the top of their to-do list. Not to mention, when employees make a hiring recommendation, they put their own reputation on the line. If things don’t work out, some employees may think that their efforts aren’t really appreciated or needed.

Attaching incentives to an employee referral programacknowledgesthe extra effort employees make to vet and recommend  potential job candidates. Providing this type of acknowledgement is key to helping employees find the extra time in their schedules to consider potential recommendations.

Aligns Employee Goals with Company Objectives

An incentive program makes the company’s hiring goals your employees’ personal goals. When your team has more of a personal stake in finding the next hire, it creates a win-win scenario where everyone is working toward the same objectives.

This type of alignment makes employees more invested in the company’s future because they are actively helping to build it. When you can create a shared purpose, it is fantastic for morale. This creates happier employees and can play a significant role in helping to increase employee retention long-term.

Encourages Higher-Quality, Better-Vetted Candidates

Asking your employees to refer potential job candidates may get a small response, but attaching an incentive to the task makes themthink much more carefully about who they recommend. Instead of just coming up with a list of names, they’ll likely filter their network of past colleagues or friends and try to find individuals who actually have the best chance of succeeding in the business.

This effect is even stronger if you create tiered incentives that increase the longer a new hire stays with the company. Taking this approach also helps to create a natural quality filter for candidates, helping recruiters spend less time sifting through poor resume matches and more time engaging with higher-quality, pre-vetted candidates.

Motivates Outreach to Passive Candidates

The most valuable people in your employees’ networks are often the ones who aren’t even looking for a job. Even though these individuals may not be openly exploring new opportunities, they may have a lot of talent worth exploring, and your employees can be the conduit necessary to reach them. 

Without a real reason to act, however, most employees won’t go through the trouble of trying to persuade someone in their network to join the company, especially if they are uncertain about the role’s prospects. Incentives can be the perfect way to encourage employees to always provide their staffing suggestions to recruitment teams. 

Introduces an Element of Gamification

Most employees respond well to a bit of friendly competition, and you can channel that energy directly into your referral program. By picking different incentives that pair well with leaderboards or other gamification elements, you can turn your referral program into a fun game that all employees can take part in.

This creates more buzz with your incentive program and increases the likelihood that more employees will want to contribute.

Start Increasing The Amount of Employee Referrals You Receive

While adding incentives to your employee referral program requires an investment, it’s essential to view it as a key component of attracting higher-quality job candidates. 

By looking for more ways to incentivize your employees’ contribution to your referral programs, you’ll ensure your HR teams spend less time looking for qualified candidates and more time ensuring your employees’ long-term success.

Author bio:

Cindy Mielke is passionate about the incentive industry. In addition to her role as Vice President of Strategic Partners here at Tango, she is a Certified Professional of Incentive Management who proudly serves on two industry boards. When she’s not working, Cindy enjoys spending time with her family – including three cats, two dogs, and a horse—and sharing her love of nature as a Nebraska Master Naturalist.

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