When we talk to our expert council of HR and talent acquisition professionals, there are a few things that come up again and gain when it comes to buying and implementing this type of software.

• Implementation goes at your pace: Implementing an employee referral program can take a week.  But, it usually takes longer.  Let’s face it, most people in recruiting are super busy filling reqs and don’t have the headspace to take on new initiatives.  So, we highly recommend giving someone on your team time to spearhead this initiative and make sure it gets done quickly.  Or, partner with a company that has a robust professional services org to help you.
• Metrics matter: Make sure that you are tracking where candidates are coming from in your ATS.  If you aren’t, then it may become hard to understand how much value this tool is actually creating.  Most of these vendors make it super easy to do that, but you still need to make sure it’s working.
• Understand cost per hire: The easiest way to say “yes” to this solution is to realize it’s going to lower your cost per hire.  But, do you know your cost pre hire currently?  Make sure you have a handle on your overall cost per hire (and ideally the cost per hire for all your different roles/channels) so that when it comes time to renew the contract, you know whether or not this channel is bringing down your costs!
• Employee Engagement: While the vendors listed above all have built in workflows to get your employees engaged in your hiring, you still need to think through your general philosophy on rewards, as well as how this will all be messaged.  Our advice is to get hiring managers onboard with a short presentation on why employee referrals is worth investing in, and then have the hiring managers re-enforce messaging to employees on a regular basis to keep your hiring pipeline full of high quality referrals.
• Dive In: Companies that are tentative in rolling out their programs typically don’t see high returns.  If you tell employees this is a pilot, they are going to be much more hesitant to use the product, and you won’t get the ROI you’re looking for.  Go all in, even if it’s for a “pilot” for one segment of your organization.
• Be Proactive: Referrals are great when your employees offer them.  But, the companies who are most successful with these programs have recruiters who are reaching out to their colleagues and asking for intro’s.  Use these tools as a sourcing database that has an 80% response rate from candidates vs whatever you’re currently getting on cold outreach.
• Integrations Matter: Make sure the vendor you partner with has easy to setup and maintain integrations with your ATS and HRIS - you don’t want to spend time each money downloading and .csv files.

Don’t get tripped up on these common hurdles, make sure you are thinking strategically about how a tool to boost employee referrals will be implemented and measured.