5 Top Tips To Increase Participation In Your Employee Referral Program
Employee Participation is the primary factor in the success of any employee referral program.However this is also the most challenging part of implementing a referral program. Assuming that employees will automatically refer people is grossly wrong and can make the entire referral plan fall flat on its face. The trick lies in first getting employees interested and engaged in the employee referral program and then motivated to participate and refer. For that the program needs to resonate with employees and meet their expectations to deliver what was promised as part of the program.
Getting employees to participate in the program can be made easier if the basics of the program are in place. Ignoring any one of the basics can prove to be detrimental to the success of anyemployee referral program. What are some of these basics of the employee referral program is the next big question.
Below are 5 top tips to increase participation in your employee referral program and for making it a game changer for your organization in the war for top notch talent.
Communication and Responsiveness isthe key to employee participation in the referral program.Ensure that the referral program is well marketed to draw attention to the program and its many highlights. This also includes workshops to take employees through the referral platform and the process steps involved in referring someone and earning rewards. Responsiveness of the program is another big requirement for employee participation. Responding to employee referrals within stipulated timelines gives your employees the confidence to keep referring in the future as well.
Motivation through rewards and incentives is another technique of ensuring participation. A well designed reward program with compelling incentives, in cash or in kind can rev up participation from employees. Recognizing employee contributions in referral program on an everyday basis through small appreciation notes or gift cards are also big motivators in driving employee participation.
Integrating social media into the referral program can give a big boost to participation. Social is the buzz word as more and more people connect to each other in the virtual world and maintain an active social life in the online community. Providing employees social media integration in the program means that employees can easily share jobs online with their social connections and can also tap these connections easily through linking skills required with skills available with their connections.
Gamification is the next big driver of employee participation and is becoming increasingly popular due to its quick adoption by employees. The use of game mechanics like the referral leaderboard feature of Zalp lets employees compete against each other in a bid to reach the finish line first building up excitement and competition till the very end. Reward points are associated with each successful step forward keeping people involved and excited.
Last but not the least is the need to give continuous feedback to employees on the quality of their referrals and what they need to do to be able to refer better quality applicants. Feedback, both good and bad, helps drive home the fact that the organization is serious about its uses and needs employees to participate in the program more meaningfully to make the program successful.
