Most employers know the benefits of current employees recommending potential new employees. They, however, use the referrals more in external than internal recruitment, which this is wrong. That is at least claimed by John Sullivan, world-renowned consultant in the field of human resources and current professor of management at San Francisco State University. In his article on ere.net, he summarized the benefits of using employee referrals in internal recruitment and also five action steps to implement an internal referrals program.
Why to use employee referrals for internal recruitment?
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Most current internal recruitment programs need to get more efficient.
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You will get more internal candidates for open positions.
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Internal recruitment is cheaper.
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Filling vacant positions within the company increases employee retention and contributes to their further development.
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You will find high-potential candidates you might not notice otherwise because they are not in visible positions.
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You will find high-potential candidates who would not apply themselves.
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You can enhance the diversity of your teams.
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You will increase awareness of the vacancies available in the company.
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You can support recruitment across business units.
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You don't have to have a team of recruiters specialized on internal recruitment because they will be replaced by other employees.
How to use employee referrals for internal recruitment?
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Decide whether your internal referrals program will be a separate one, or whether it will operate under the auspices of the external referrals program that already exists in your company.
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Select rewards for employees whose recommendations will lead to successful hires. It doesn't have to be anything expensive, but you should find out what would make your employees happy in advance.
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Determine which employees will be allowed to provide referrals. Define the rules for participation as well as exclusion for specific groups of employees.
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Also focus on how to minimize the risk that employees will recommend you their friends who don't really have the necessary knowledge and skills. Require employees to specify their relationships to the recommended and guarantee their quality.
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Prepare to deal with the situation when two or more employees recommend the same person. Decide whether you will divide the reward, or whether it will cover only the first employee in the row.
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