Power of One-to-ManyEmpowering your Employees to be Brand Ambassadors

Michelle RifeBrightEdge, Sr. Director Global Talent Acquisition

Agenda• Introduction • Power in Numbers• Getting Started• Do’s and Don’ts – Best Practices• Referrals and Employment Brand• Looking Ahead• Q & A

INTRODUCTION

“ Recruiting usually requires more than you alone can do,

so I've found that collaborative recruiting and having a culture

that recruits the A players is the best way. “

Steve Jobs

Michelle Rife• 20 + years in Talent Acquisition• Specialty: pre-IPO, growth companies• 1 IPO ; 2 Acquisitions• Building Global Companies / Global Teams

• Leader in SEO and Content Performance Marketing • Company Founded 2007 • Came out of Stealth Mode June 2010• Top VC Investors - $70+ MM in funding• 300 Global Employees 2015• 8,500 Brands / 1,000 Customers 2015• Unique Corporate Partnerships

Quick Facts -

:

Question -

Employee Referrals are your best Recruiting Tool – are you

leveraging them today?How are you doing?

POWER IN NUMBERS

By the NumbersApplications by Source * Hires by Source *

* Source: Jobvite Index 2014

Employee Networks

Employee Networks - Size Matters

10,000 Employees = 4,000,000 Contacts

1,000 Employees = 400,000 Contacts

100 Employees =

40,000 Contacts

According to LinkedIn: The average employee has over 400 contacts across their professional and social networks

Power of “one”

1 Recruiters

100 employees

40,400 potential

candidates

“Employees hired through Employee Referrals are hired 55% faster than those who came through a career site.”

Jobvite Brand Index 2014

What Employers are Saying

Less Time to Hire Less Expensive to Hire Better Cultural Fit Hire Ratio / Yield Better Quality of Hire0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

67%

51%

70%

20% or 1 in 5

88 %

Employee Referrals

Employee Referrals

* Source: Jobvite

BrightEdge – By the Numbers• # of Employees Referrals hired 2014:

16 (10% of all hires)• # of Employee Referrals hires to date 2015:

20 (40% of all hires)• How did that Happen? …..

We embraced the following Best Practices

GETTING STARTED

“Successful Employee Referral Programs must be strategized and socialized like

any new initiative before launching to ensure your messaging is

properly aligned with your overall Employment Strategy.”

Employee Referrals: Policy vs. Program

Policy• Who is eligible• What is earned• How much is paid • When it is paid • What are the rules

Program• What are the Goals• How you Measure

Success• How you Follow up • How you Communicate• Tools you use

Employee Referrals: Starting Point• Most referrals are activated when a candidate

reaches out to the Employee• It is seldom the Employee who triggers the

referral process through their own networks• If you can revert the typical referral process

and fuse Social Media, you will have an Army of Employees acting as Mini-Recruiters

Goal: Make everyone a Recruiter

Referral vs. Recommendation• Referral = any name, contact info, profile • Recommendation = someone the Employee

knows and believes is a great culture fit for the company

• Does it matter?– Not really, both can result in a great hire – But, preference is to the recommendation

DO’S AND DON’TS

Communication is Key • One of the reasons Employees don’t often refer their

talented friends is because the company isn’t communicating the importance of the Employee Referral Program

• In fact, studies show 60% of Employees expressed willingness to participate in an Employee Referral Program*

• However, only 23% actually do so, because their company doesn’t actively promote the program*

* HR Magazine Article

Basic Rules of Engagement - #1There are certain rules you need to follow to ensure everyone gets on board and stays there:Getting Started:• DO: Get new hires involved right away • DO: Meet 1:1 with Employees to show they matter to go over their

networks• DON’T: Make it complicated, keep it simple, without too many rules• DO: Make it easy to submit Referrals• DO: Encouraging everyone’s participation• DON’T: Require participation• DO: Include everyone, in the ERP eligibility, regardless of position

(Manager level & below)

Basic Rules of Engagement - #2After the Launch:• DO: Provide feedback on all Referrals, whether successful or not• DO: Publicly recognizing those Employees who provide

successful Referrals – do it regularly and enthusiastically!• DO: Promptly pay, if financial incentives are involved• DON’T: Get discouraged if it takes time to get going• DO: Keep reinforcing with Execs, Manager and Employees• DO: Leverage Social Media• DO: Make it FUN!!!

Leverage the Tools you Have• Jobvite Publisher - Every Employee • Company LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter• Company Website - Make it easy to apply• Email / Inmail Campaigns - Promote Referrals• Internal Teams & Recruiters - A players know

other A players• Management Team Support

Always Remember

When Employees allow you to tap into their Social Networks, they are

trusting you with one of their most valuable assets –

their reputation…guard and respect it

as you would your own

REFERRALS AND EMPLOYMENT BRAND

Exposing your brand, through Employees, to their networks,

is the Holy Grail of recruitment

Leverage Employee’s Social Media to Promote the Brand

Brand Ambassadors Social Media plays a huge role in launching

a successful Employee Referral Program

by transforming your workforce into “Employer Brand Ambassadors”, throughout the Social World,

reaching their relevant contacts and the Passive Talent Market

Promote the Brand • Having your brand talked about on Social Media is every company’s

dream• Even if your Employees fail to bring in any qualified leads, they are still

spreading your Employer Brand – This is GOOD!• Encourage Employees to regularly publish Company Updates, News,

Blogs etc. to LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to get the conversation started

• If your Employees are committed to the program, they will:– be actively trying to sell your company as an Employer of Choice – because they are on the inside, speaking from experience, they are more likely

to be taken seriously vs. any recruitment messages you produce yourself

LOOKING AHEAD

Employee Referrals = Retention

Referrals = Cultural Fit

Referrals = ROI & Low Cost per Hire• 88% of Employers rate Employee Referrals above

all other sources for generating the best return on investment *

• Average Cost per Hire:– Employee Referral Hire = $3,000 – $5,000 per hire– Agency Hire = 20% - 25% (average fee) or $20,000 - $25,000 (based on base salary of $100,000)

*Source: Jobvite

Referrals = Increased Length of Employment

*Source: Jobvite

Key Benefits of Employee ReferralsEmployee Referrals can benefit the organization by:

Reducing Time to Fill: Shortened by 10+ days Reducing Hiring Costs: vs. other methods Increased longevity of Hire: 47% of referrals stay 3+ years more vs.

only 14% of those hired from Job Boards Strengthening Company Culture: Referrals are better cultural matches Building Employer Brand and Credibility: More exposure to Social

Media Getting Employees more Engaged: Improved Retention &

Commitment

Ultimately achieving Company Goals and Scaling the Business

Key Things to Remember• The Social Network belongs to the Employee - not the company

– Be respectful if someone does not want to participate• Not all Referrals will be qualified

– Regardless, speak with them• Encourage “A” players to reach out to their Network First

– “A” players know other “A” players• Not all Connections are “close” Connections

– Recruiters may have to do the “heavy lifting” to connect and qualify• Try and gain as much info about the Referral up front

– Helps to pre-qualify• Candidate Experience for Referrals is even more critical

– Treat them with respect and timely follow up Be Transparent and Communicate with Employees

throughout the process

Finally…

Celebrate Employees who Refer Candidates!

Your Name HereCompany Name Here, Position Title HereEmail Here

THANK YOU!

Contact Information:Michelle RifeSr. Director Global Talent AcquisitionBrightEdgemrife@brightedge.com

Questions and Answers