Dive Brief:

• The value of employee referrals may be higher than most employers believe, according to Talent Management.
• The article, in fact, cites recent Glassdoor research that found ignoring employee referral programs for top talent could be a serious and costly mistake, especially considering the high price for employee recruiting that leads to turnover.
• Glassdoor analyzed close to a half million job interview reviews (posted on Glassdoor over 6 years) and found employee referrals boosted successful job matches up to 6.6%, and job seekers brought to the company by employees ended up being hired more than through "staffing agencies, online applications and college or university recruitment efforts."

Dive Insight:

The article noted that even with those impressive results, employee referrals were not being used enough. According to Glassdoor research, just 10% of candidates reported getting an interview via an employee referral program.

Referral effectiveness, according to the article, results from "viral marketing," whereby would-be candidates get an honest evaluation on potential employers from the employee (usually someone the employee knows), and employers in turn get a good sense about the referred person because an employee is taking a risk in vouching for the job seeker.

To maximize employee networks for referrals, the article recommends asking for referrals in the first place, but to also "be specific," and "reward successful referrals."  Bottom line, people are more likely to trust people they already know than an employer, so the latter should "embrace" this mindset and "empower your own people."