The Power of Referrals!

The power to change a life.. the power to make a difference.. the power to change destiny.. this is how I see the Power of referrals!

In the current age of automation & AI, one thing that will never change is the good old human touch of referrals. If employees engage & embrace this fully, referral hiring can be the most transformative hiring technique for any organization that wants to grow exponentially. Imagine the heavy dependence on all the social media sites, job portals, recruiters, talent brokers, search engines to actively seek talent & how it can change with referrals? Hypothetically, If every employee of say, an organization with 40,000 employees referred just two qualified candidates every year, the organization would triple its headcount effortlessly. As the employees hired through referral channel have deeper affinity to the organization that they join, there are downstream implications that help optimize Cost of hire, Cost to Company, Attrition, Candidate engagement & HRBP teams needed. Referrals can truly change the entire fabric of an organization in positive ways. As easy as it sounds on paper, it unfortunately is not. This requires painstaking diligence & collaboration between an organization, its employees & candidates that want to get hired. Sharing some insights below on learnings from years of recruiting:

Tips for Employees who want to refer their friends & family:

1. Be a Career coach to potential employees & suggest how a journey with your employer has helped grow your skills, experience & personality.
2. Do not be afraid of having an elevator pitch ready for your prospective hires however be cautious about setting any unreal expectations in terms of work environment, hours, culture etc. Be as real as possible to give your prospective hire the confidence to take the leap.
3. Never discuss compensation with your prospective hires & let the Talent team handle this. This ensures the boundaries between your personal & professional lives are not crossed.
4. Instant messaging platforms like Whatsapp, SMS, Yammer are powerful & agile tools to spread the message & use it judiciously when possible.
5. Frequently share some public domain nuggets of information with your prospective hires to keep them interested about the organization.
6. Think like a recruiter & be a Brand Ambassador for your organization.
7. This is a continuous process. Do not lose heart if your referral does not find a place immediately.

Tips for Employers that want higher conversion of referred employees:

1. Have a dedicated team that continuously prioritizes & does referral job seekers mapping to active jobs.
2. Make it simple for employees to refer profiles on an ATS & also allow follow up with hiring managers on a regular basis. Employees & candidates often find this process less transparent & cumbersome & hence are not motivated to refer more employees.
3. Think beyond just the financial aspects of hiring through this channel as the benefits highlighted earlier are way too many.
4. Promote referral promotions & competitions across all talent & delivery teams (gamify this process). A weekly scorecard across teams to celebrate wins.
5. Encourage townhalls that enable collaboration between different teams & sharing of opportunities
6. A strong referral candidate that has a great attitude, learnability, communication skills & interest in your organization may not have the perfect resume or skill set. Can they fit into the role if given a 1-2 month window? Can you enable learning & coaching for them to ensure success? The single most common reason referral programs do not work in organizations is our hunger for a perfectly matching applicant & resume.
7. Actively involve the CxO community in the referral process & approach.

Tips for Candidates who want to get hired through the referral channel:

1. Tired of unresponsive messages from automated applicant tracking systems? Tired of applying for countless jobs that do not give a response? Seeking a job through an insider is the most accessible mode of job search where you have a voice within the potential employer organization.
2. The referral process is not easy as timing is critical. If an immediate job does not seem to be a good fit, keep trying until you get an interview or are shortlisted. Work with your insider contact to apply for more jobs. They can continue to guide you to the right types of roles.
3. Work through the process to ensure you are mapped for the correct application job code & are present inside the applicant tracking system. This ensures proper visibility across all Lines of business.
4. Ensure your resume presentation & application content aligns to the roles available with the potential employer even if it means upskilling yourself or applying for certifications before you even apply for the job. This can mean a night and day difference of responsiveness from the hiring team on your application. This approach does not hurt as it improves your resume appeal to a larger audience beyond just one employer.
5. Your insider connect can always give you tips about work environment, culture & usual expectations from candidates when they apply for a job. This information can be a game changer for your application vs hundreds of others from the open market.

Do not underestimate the power or referrals, as with a little time & patience, we can transform the entire hiring landscape. Do share your stories on referrals where you have referred someone or have been hired as as referral. Happy Referring!

 ? Siddhartha Lamba Jan 2021