Why You Should Help Recruit Talent for Your Company
Note: This post was originally posted on Jobalaya blog by Jeremy Olivier.
Ever wish you had a say in who your company brings on board? Are the employees your HR team is hiring not fitting in well or leaving too soon? You may be surprised to know that more and more companies, both well-established businesses and new startups alike, are finding the value in engaging their employees in recruiting new talent. Even if you are not working in the HR department, there are still a number of benefits you can reap from taking an active role in the hiring and recruiting process. Here are just a few of the perks.
1. Earn a referral bonus or other benefits from your company
Of course, the most obvious thing to gain from helping to recruit new talent is monetary compensation. Many companies have referral bonus policies and employee referral programs. Do you know if yours does? Check with them to see if you can get a special bonus for referring potential candidates that end up being hired by the company. Referral bonuses are generally money awards, but some companies may have other non-monetary benefits, such as paid vacations or gift cards. Other more forward-thinking companies even incorporate games and other fun and innovative means of increasing their employee referrals. If any of this piques your interest, don’t let this opportunity pass you by!
2. Help grow your team
By recruiting new employees, you’re also giving your team a much needed helping hand. Depending on your company’s budget and needs, the HR department is probably consistently on the lookout for new talent. Especially in the case of new startups, growing the team not only expands operations and allows the company to reach a broader client base, it also redistributes the workload, making everyone’s job a little easier. So, give your team the help it deserves by making some great referrals. Employee-referred recruits tend to stay longer in their positions and produce higher quality work than their non-referred counterparts. Just remember to refer appropriately. Your friend Jim may be a great guy, but his lack of experience would not make him a great fit for that marketing position.
3. Allow yourself a chance to maintain existing connections
Doing business in the internet age, despite eliminating the need for a lot of face-to-face contact, is still driven by connections and human interaction. Making referrals not only allows youto gain short-term benefits, but also helps you aintain and strengthen your business connections. By doing a professional contact a favor and referring new talent to another company (or even to your own), you can open the door to future career opportunities. When it comes time to make the next move in your career path, don’t hesitate to call in those favorsThey will probably be happy to help you out!
Additionally, making referrals to maintain professional relationships does wonders for your professional branding. It gives you the image of being helpful and generous, and makes it seem like you’re well-connected in your particular industry.
Consider signing up for Jobalaya and use referrals to strengthen your current professional network. Jobalaya allows users to collect job opportunities they know about in a single place, grant friends access to review these job opportunities, and receive referral requests if their friends are interested in any of the openings. By making referrals easier for professionals to manage, Jobalaya is a great “networking tool” for those who see the value reciprocity.
4. Expand your professional network
Besides improving your existing professional network, making referrals as an employee can help you expand that network as well. By looking for new talent, you’re actively adding valuable contacts to your base, and a larger pool from which you can call on when the need arises. This adds new purpose to attending those dreadful networking events, in that at least you have an idea of what to talk about when meeting new people. Even if you don’t find the best fit for your company’s job opening, you still get an opportunity to meet other professionals that might add value to your career.
Conclusion
From the points listed above, it’s clear that you have much to gain from taking an active part in your company’s recruiting and hiring process. Recommending great potential recruits to your employer can bring both short-term and long-term benefits to both you and your team, so if your company has an established employee referral program, it’s well worth it to give it a shot.
Even if your company doesn’t have such a program, you can still reap some of the non-monetary benefits of being a referrer. Additionally, you can consider talking to your HR team about setting one up, using some of the ideas listed above.
