8 Most Important Employee Referral Statistics

Here is the list of the 8 most important employee referral statistics you should know!

What’s all the fuss about employee referral programs?

Employee referral programs have become on of the most popular recruiting strategies for finding qualified candidates.

It has been argued that every company should have an employee referral program.

However, implementing an effective employee referral program is not as easy as posting jobs on job boards.

It takes a significantly greater amount of time and effort.

So is it worth it?

Let’s have a look at the data!

List of the 8 most important employee referral statistics

Here is the list of the 8 most important employee referral statistics:

1. Employee referrals have the highest ROI

• 82% of employers rated employee referrals above all other sources for generating the best return on investment (ROI). (Source: CareerBuilder)

2. Employee referrals reduce time to hire

• Referred candidates are 55% faster to hire, compared with employees sourced through career sites. (Source: HR technologist)

3. Employee referrals reduce cost per hire

• Employee referral programs can save companies $3,000 or more per hire! (Source: Recruiter.com)

4. Employee referrals improve the quality of hire

• 88% of employers said that referrals are the #1 best source for above-average applicants. (Source: Dr. John Sullivan research)

5. Employee referrals reduce the turnover rate

• After two years, retention of referred employees is 45% compared to 20% from job boards. (Source: FirstBird)

6. Employee referrals generate more profit

Employees who were hired through referral programs produce 25% more profit for their companies than new hires hired via other sources. (Source: FirstBird)

7. Employee referrals improve offer acceptance rate

Referred candidates are more likely to accept your job offer by a statistically significant 2.6–6.6 percent. (Source: Glassdoor)

8. Employee referrals bonus costs

• 69% of companies offer cash bonuses that fall between $1,000 — $5,000. (Source: Meritage Talent Solutions)

Does your company have the effective Employee Referral Program?

This statistics build a compelling case for having an employee referral program.

Compared with other recruiting strategies (such as job boards, career sites, etc.), employee referral programs have highest return on investment (ROI).

Employee referrals are a great way to improve your time, cost and quality of hire.

If your company still doesn’t have an effective employee referral program, you’re way behind.

But don’t worry, you can get back on track in no time -check out our Guide for setting up an effective employee referral program and start building your own employee referral program today!