Make Everyone a Recruiter

By Rick Dacri, Dacri & Associates LLC

It gets pretty tiring to be constantly looking for linemen, engineers and supervisors. Placing ads—hoping, praying that someone--anyone will apply. The persistent pressure of running short. The steady questions from employees, from trustees, as to when you’re getting some help on board. Unless you’re the human resource manager, you’re dealing with this on top of your regular job. You’re probably thinking, “I never signed up for this!” But as much as you lament your wretched plight, finding good people has to be done and you’re the only one who can do it.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a silver bullet that will solve this predicament. You can’t run your business without people and you don’t need to hear any more reminders about how the availability of people is going to get worse before it gets better. What you need is relief. You need help—now.

Step back from your recruitment role and ask why are you doing this? Consider this: when it comes to finding linemen, who knows more about where linemen “hang out” than other linemen? Same for engineers, customer service reps and yes, even general managers. Take engineers. They belong to the same associations, go to the same meetings, read the same professional journals, and probably frequent the same taverns. So why aren’t you asking your engineer to help recruit engineers for you—engineers that he already knows.

Your existing people can be your best recruiters. In fact, studies show that employee referrals generate the best candidates at a fraction of the cost of traditional recruitment methods. Your employees will do much of the screening, providing the candidate with the low down on your organization—both the good and the bad. Either way, when the candidate becomes an employee, he’ll come in with his eyes wide open, already knowing your culture, without any surprises. So, it only makes sense to start an Employee Referral Program today.

Here are some tips to make your referral program a hit:

1. Promote the program big time: educate your workforce about what you’re looking for. Build a campaign around your needs. Make your referral program highly visible and fun. Use posters, payroll stuffers, fliers, etc.

2. Make it worth it: pay out big bucks. A referral bonus of a couple hundred dollars is not going to turn heads. When it comes to referrals, money talks. Consider this: a 2 inch display ad in the Sunday Boston Globe will cost $2,000, and there is no guarantee anyone will see it, never mind send a resume to you. So why not give the same money to your employee when his referral is hired? Remember, you only pay with a guaranteed hire.

3. Pay all at once: Avoid payouts that are staggered over time. You’ll get more referrals when you pay out all at once—on the day the new referrals comes to work.

4. Make it a big deal: never include the payout as part of a regular pay. Cut a separate check and then personally deliver the check to the employee when other people are around to see the payout. You get to be the “good guy” who delivers the big bucks; the employee gets recognized and rewarded, while your other employees view this and wonder how they can reap similar rewards. Talk about a win-win-win. And watch the increase in referrals after your first payout.

Make all your employees recruiters with an Employee Referral Program. You will get better candidates. The program will save you money. And you can finally focus on running your business. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Rick Dacri is an organizational development consultant, coach and featured speaker at regional and national conferences. Since 1995 his firm, Dacri & Associates has focused on improving the performance of individuals and organizations. Rick can be reached at rick@dacri.com or www.dacri.com