From the Floor
Why Employees Are the BEST RECRUITERS You Have
By Jeremy Eskenazi , SHRM-SCP
Not every recruiter can be an engineer , or hair stylist , or accountant . They know how to hire these roles , but not how to become them . On the flip side , it ’ s not as hard for every employee to act as a recruiter . In fact , recruiting power in each employee is often unrealized .
There was an incredible program once developed for a service industry . Every manager in this company went through training to both spot and learn how to engage with potential candidates . A calling card was available to hand out to potential superstars and managers could facilitate an introduction to a recruiter . The candidate would always get a call and the managers received a referral bonus if there was a connection with the candidate – even if they were not hired . The company paid managers for this time , and with a 20 % success rate , a fruitful pipeline of high-quality candidates emerged .
What they learned was just giving out the cards wasn ’ t enough – managers needed training to know what to look for ! They needed a little of that magical recruiter eye . If a 20 % success rate using resources you already have isn ’ t convincing enough , here are six more reasons why non-recruiters are the best recruiters you have :
1 . They far surpass your post-and-pray method . We know a lot of companies do this – get the generic job ad posted everywhere , then wait . You may get hundreds of applications , but most of them are not the right fit or don ’ t have the right experience . You end up spending heaps of time reading resumes that aren ’ t the right fit . This is not a strategic or effective approach . You need to do more than passively wait for people to come to you and investing in your untapped recruiting potential is a fantastic way to build your pipeline of better candidates .
2 . Your employees , hiring managers , and top performers have a very clear idea of who they want to work beside and what it takes to be successful at your company .
Once they know what roles you ’ re hiring for , give them tools to help you - train them on how to be a recruiter so everyone is looking for talent that makes the workday , the product , and the customer experience better . Everyone wins when you do this and you become less fixated on referral rewards , and more excited about the benefit of the team . Don ’ t lose sight of that recognition for their efforts to help with recruiting – it is important too .
3 . You can motivate and inspire your own team to help find key talent in personal and visible ways . Who wouldn ’ t want to be celebrated for their part in building a great workplace for themselves and their peers ? One way to do this is to share broadly the talent each employee has brought into the team and thank them for it . Thank them in front of the company and through gestures that don ’ t come with strings – this means you shouldn ’ t hold referral bonuses for months on end to see if the new person works out .
4 . If you can work fast to meet these candidates the non-recruiters bring you , they will want to do it more and feel more credible wearing their recruiting hat . Don ’ t make them go through a long process or wonder if you ’ re going to get back to someone . This will not encourage them to bring you more superstars . Be ready to follow up with every single person the non-recruiters spot and refer !
5 . If they have the time , they can be very effective . Think about the value of giving them one hour away from their day job to find you two more top performers like them . Giving the non-recruiters time to act as recruiters means paid time , or extra time paid to do this work that is so valuable . Asking people to do work that is not in scope is a terrible experience and does not entice them to say nice things about your brand or the culture . It suggests you don ’ t value their time ! Think about a few hours per week that they can be compensated to call people , go on LinkedIn to ask people if
they are interested , or follow up with their professional associations . It will go a long way and help them feel good about helping in this effort .
6 . They don ’ t need a lot to feel appreciated . Make sure you have a planned approach to show them that you value their effort , and that you are happy to have them helping bring the best people to join you . Beyond the splashy recognition that you can get into , take notice of the simple things in being thankful for their effort . They are giving their time and expertise to the process and learning how to be a non-recruiter does take a little bit of investment . Spend your money on a solid program that is easy to work with , giving time and resources to the training , and help you employees develop the skills to look for what you need – it ’ s an easy way to show appreciation for the huge scale you can get in your recruiting efforts .
Jeremy Eskenazi , SPHR , SHRM-SCP , CMC , is the founder of Riviera Advisors , a boutique talent acquisition optimization consulting firm . Riviera Advisors does not headhunt , it specializes in recruitment training and strategy consulting , helping global HR leaders transform how they attract top talent . For more information , go to
www . rivieraadvisors . com .
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