The win-win scenario for retention and quality of hire is internal referrals. Your company benefits by hiring a quality employee who is more likely than most to be happy with their position and stay. The referrer benefits by helping out a friend.¹ As an added benefit, people referring others feel that they are part of the company and will likewise stay at the company longer.² Are you doing all you can do invest in your greatest hiring resource?

1. Make referring others rewarding and fun. A cash bonus added to an employee’s paycheck is always appreciated, but data shows that employees appreciate physical prizes even more.² For example, at InMobi they awarded a motorcycle for a successful engineering manager referral. The motorcycle was on display for everyone to see the days and weeks before the contest end.³Obviously, not all companies are in a position to offer such an expensive reward, but prizes rule!

2. Make sure everyone in your company knows that you have a referral program. You need to market your referral program as you would any product. Use your newsletter, emails, and posters among other things.

3. Make referring others simple. In your marketing, be sure that it is clear to everyone how they go about referring others, and make the process as simple as possible.

4. Make contributors known companywide. In addition to prizes, people want to be recognized by others for their contribution. Let your company know who the top referrers are.

5. Make your company a great place to work. If your employees are happy with their job, they will be happy to refer their friends and associates.⁴

^{1 http://www.eremedia.com/ere/10-compelling-numbers-that-reveal-the-power-of-employee-referrals/
2 https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/2015/08/5-reasons-employee-referrals-are-the-best-way-to-hire
3 https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/employee-referrals/2016/6-creative-ways-companies-keep-their-employee-referral-programs-top-of-mind
4 http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2015/01/23/the-truth-about-employee-referrals/#21206e3f1f13}