When looking to hire more people by way of referrals, many companies consider going the obvious route of using an employee referral program. This isn’t necessarily the best method of attracting more applicants. A different approach that has been benefitting companies already is to strengthen your employment brand. Developing a strong employment brand will help facilitate an environment where your workers love their jobs, meaning they’ll start talking about your company in a positive light and encourage others to want to work there. Here are some ways to start strengthening your employee brand to increase employee referrals.
Improving Candidate Experience
Great experiences start from the beginning. Attracting and engaging your applicants is the very first impression they will get from your company. No matter who applies to the job, being attentive, responsive, and respectful is the gateway to improving this experience. Honesty, transparency, and timely communication all help to ensure the best experience possible. People will become eager and excited to work for a company that they feel is working to help them as well. You may even find that candidates you don’t end up hiring will promote your company to others, thereby referring their peers to your job.
Request Feedback From Employees
Communication is key in all relationships, including those between companies and employees. If your workers don’t have what they need or they don’t feel engaged in their work, you’ll need to know about it before you can fix it. Asking for feedback is common practice among companies with great employee brands. Sending out a survey can help you gain valuable insight into what your team may need, how they feel about their work or environment, and what your employees want and value the most. When you engage with your employees about what they need, they’ll feel respected and listened to, meaning they’ll spread the word about how much they enjoy working for your company.
Boost Awareness of Your Best Workers
If you have a motivated worker that enjoys working for you, encourage them to join networking groups and professional associations. When you have your best and happiest workers representing your company in professional settings, you’ll be improving the reputation of your company. Once active job seekers start to meet and interact with these employees, they’ll be interested in learning more about your company. They’ll be motivated to apply for your positions– or even keep your company in mind for future job searching endeavors.
Creating a formal employee referral program can actually set you back if your employees are referring candidates for the wrong reasons, such as monetary benefit. Should this be the case, you may see high turnover as well as wasted time and resources. Strengthening your employee brand facilitates employees referring candidates without reward, leading to better and more authentic referrals. Implementing these tips will allow you to see improvements in more than just your recruitment process; improving your employment brand means you’ll also see improvements in the team you already have!