Introduction
At Hireology, we’ve always practiced what we preach. Much like we advise our customers to do, we focus on applicant sourcing channels that work, follow an efficient hiring process, meet candidates where they are, and always use the right tools. But one year ago, there was one exception: employee referral programs.
We often suggested that customers prioritize employee referral programs — afterall, referrals tend to be more qualified, hired faster, and stick around longer. However, there was a disconnect with what we told customers about referrals and what we practiced internally. Our own People Team found that they weren’t seeing the level of success with referrals as they potentially could. And our sales and customer success teams knew that many of our own customers were also struggling to get ROI out of their programs.
That’s when we knew that we could provide significant support for our customers and our own internal recruiting team by beefing up our own referral management tools within the Hireology app. When done right, referral programs can and should be one of your top sources of both applicants and hires. Read on to learn more about how we adjusted our product offering to help customers build better programs and how we eventually met our goal of practicing what we preach when it comes to referrals.
Hireology's challenge
Like any other recruiting team, the Hireology People Team struggled to drive engagement in our tenured employee referral program. The program was discussed during onboarding and in weekly all company huddles, but the volume of referrals did not reflect an engaged employee base. We typically relied on a Slack channel for referral submission, which made it tough to keep track of exactly who referred which candidate. It was easy to forget to tag folks as referrals and even easier to forget to pay the reward amount to the right person. On top of that, referral submission via Slack wasn’t engaging and folks often forgot the program existed.
With applicant volume dwindling due to the post-pandemic labor shortage, it became clear that we needed a way to excite and engage our team around referrals while providing support for our customers who were facing the same challenges. That’s why we knew we needed to offer our customers — as well as our own team — a new solution to promote open roles via referrals.
The EmployUs solution
Like any other recruiting team, the Hireology People Team struggled to drive engagement in our tenured employee referral program. The program was discussed during onboarding and in weekly all company huddles, but the volume of referrals did not reflect an engaged employee base. We typically relied on a Slack channel for referral submission, which made it tough to keep track of exactly who referred which candidate. It was easy to forget to tag folks as referrals and even easier to forget to pay the reward amount to the right person. On top of that, referral submission via Slack wasn’t engaging and folks often forgot the program existed.
With applicant volume dwindling due to the post-pandemic labor shortage, it became clear that we needed a way to excite and engage our team around referrals while providing support for our customers who were facing the same challenges. That’s why we knew we needed to offer our customers — as well as our own team — a new solution to promote open roles via referrals.
QR codes in weekly meetings
The Hireology People Team features a “role of the week” every Tuesday morning at our all-hands meeting along with a QR for easy submission. Folks can quickly scan the code and follow the mobile prompts to submit a referral. The submission is easy and it doesn’t require a log-in or any resume attachments. Participants simply need to share their referral’s email address along with a brief explanation of why they’re a good fit.
Email campaigns
The Hireology People Team also takes full advantage of EmployUs’ campaign feature. The team sends all-company emails reminding folks of open roles and sends special campaigns for new hires. The emails feature open roles, information about payout amounts, and a link for easy submission.
Referral candidate and payout tracking
EmployUs’ built-in referral candidate and payout tracking system is another feature that the Hireology People Team uses regularly. The team keeps track of who referred which candidate, exactly what the bonus payout amount is, and when the payment is due. The team particularly enjoys the ability to customize payout amounts and timing based on the role. .
Results delivered
Since implementing EmployUs with our own People Team, the Hireology referral program has found a new life. With a weekly role spotlight in our all-company huddle and a strong internal process to manage and celebrate referrals, Hireology team members have reached out to over 190 individuals in their networks to share open roles. Of those 190+, 21 referrals are now working Hireologists. In fact, employee referrals have become our highest converting source from applicant to hire.
Ethan Mendelson, Hireology’s talent acquisition manager, said EmployUs has empowered his team to create a process around referrals that excites the company, drives efficiency, and produces real results.
"
“We have always had an employee referral program with generous bonus payouts. However, we have not always had strong employee engagement. Since ingraining EmployUs into our recruitment process, we have seen overwhelming support of team members sharing roles and driving applicant volume. Employee referrals are now our #1 source for hires and a big part of our award winning culture.”
— Ethan Mendelson
Talent Acquisition Manager
Hireology
