4 Unwritten Rules of an Employee Referral Program: Recruiters

Just as employees exist at one end of the employee referral program responsible for identifying and referring candidates who can be hired, recruiters exist at the other end of the program to anchor the initiative and ensure its smooth operation. Since they are accountable for the recruiting budget, they play a key role in designing and launching the referral program. Recruiters are the ones responsible for day-to-day running of the program as well as ensuring all relevant stakeholders are kept informed on the latest updates.

Since recruiters play a vital role in designing and implementing the referral program, many of the rules that govern employee referrals are created by them in the interest of ensuring a smooth functioning of the program. Most of the rules that exist in these programs relate to the modalities of payment of referral rewards and eligibility for participation in referral programs. There also exist however an unwritten body of rules, more in terms of expectations that both the organization and employees have from recruiters in the smooth running of the referral program.

Below is a list of the key unwritten rules that pertain to role of recruiters in employee referral projects:

1) Take ownership of the program

Recruiters are responsible for giving priority to employee referrals. This means that referrals from employees need to be fast tracked through the recruitment process through preferential screening and scheduling of interviews, as coming from a trusted source they carry a significantly higher probability of being hired.

2) Be responsive

Recruiters are expected to revert to employees with feedback on their referrals within 2-3 working days. This is a very important but often neglected expectation as recruiters assume that employees will be updated by the referral regarding the interview status. However, an employee still expects to hear the official word from the organization on the status of his referral. Especially in cases where the referral has been rejected by the organization, recruiters simply do not think it important to let the employee know the reasons for the rejection. This leaves the employee second guessing the reasons and leads to employee disenchantment from the program.

3) Value every referral

Recruiters are expected to ensure that referral candidates are accorded proper courtesy and respect when appearing for interview as they come highly recommended from a trusted source. They should take care to inform them about the steps involved in the recruiting process well in advance and ensure that there are no unpleasant surprises in store for them.

4) Pay referral bonuses on time

Recruiters are responsible for ensuring that employee referral bonus is released on time and as per the payment schedule mentioned in the referral program. Any delays in paying out the referral bonus or paying wrong bonuses can create unnecessary confusion leading to employees moving away from the referral program.

It is important for recruiters to be fully aware of the vital role they play in harnessing the employee referral program and ensure that they stand up to the expectations of the role to make their referral program a success.

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