Dear All

Need Your help. Wanted to know your views on Employee Referal Policy.

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this policies.
2. What points should be considered while drafting a policy.
3. Any suggestions.
4. Monetary conditions.
5. Who should participate and who not if you are working in a multilocation and multi product Organization.

Please send your companies policies and suggestions Immediately.

Cheers

craig

Employee referrals are much debated in smaller organisation but are largely encouraged (and should be) in larger organisations

Advantages - The referers are familiar with the level of competency required in the organisation and the referred CVs will be reflective of this. You would be looking at a much shorter turnaround time for actual hires.

Disadvantages - Nepotism, pressure, 'have-to-hire-because-of-business' cases .. (you know where this is going!)

While drafting the policy - Manpower planning budgets. How much are you actually willing to spend? Does it make more sense to go through a consultant vis-a-vis paying the referer a sum of money.

Non-participant would typically (and obviously) include HR! Though I'm not sure what industry you're in..

Payouts would be based on the level at which the refered person is being brought in (Key referral should be handsomely rewarded). Payment is usually made out only after (and if) the employee completes probation period.

The points I've made may be very generic. I hope they've helped ..do let me know if I need to elaborate.

I am a student of MBA in HR and have a view against referrals. ( Hoping to trigger a discussion in this forum)

As I understand E.R.s, an employee of the company tips his friends about a vacancy and they subsequently go through the normal selection process.

I totally agree ( the disadvantages) when he says that they are rearing grounds for nepotism and other pressures. As a person looking at a career ahead of me, I somehow find it totally sad that one has to know "someone somewhere " to get in there.

Aren't industries losing out on golden talent on those ppl who do not have a internal contact who could tip them about such a vacany???

True, that, costs may be lower, but then, is it socially just to have such referrals?. All I am saying is that probably this has got to be used in moderation and only in cases where there are budget constraints as regards holding a large scale test/selection process.

Referrals, sometimes, becomes the only way to get one's resume across for a job.

I am open to any other views and request all of you to kindly mail me (if not the group) about your views

Warm rgds and it is great being a member of CHRM.

Thanks

Rehaan

Hi all,

I am also a student doing my MBA in HR . I feel that referal policy has its disadvantages and advantages both. Considering the fact that the cost incurred in employing a wrong person to a job is too high compared to the cost of not hiring the right person. Also in todays era, Talent as a requistion to the job is as important as the soft skills that a person needs to display.

Hiring a complete stranger may be an expensive option, if the recruitment turns out wrong. Nowdays more emphasis should also be given to other aspects of the candidate's personality, than mere qualification and, in this case, the background of the person would be better known.

I do not intend to say that referral check is a good option in its entireity but feel that this option should also be exercised. The final selection of the person will not depend on " Someone knowing Someone " but definetly his skills.

What do others feel about this issue? Being a student with not much of work experiance my point of view might be debatable, but I am open to feedbacks.

Regards

Barkha Doshi

Hi Rehaan

You seem to have triggered interesting thought within the group. I would like to respond with some of my views regarding your queries.

The idea behind a referral is not to get people who know people into an organisation. The objective is to shorten the recruitment cycle by using an internal network rather than an external one. To use your own phrase 'knowing someone' does not 'get you in'. There is no compulsion on the organisation to hire a referred candidate. The presumption made is that the employee doing the referral is competent and intelligent enough to know the manpower requirement before making reccomendations.

The point I am trying to make is that there will never be any substitute for the calibre of a candidate to determine his selection into an organisation. Not even a referral. As HR professionals we need to uphold this in our respective organisation.