What are the most effective ways to use candidate experience data for your referral program?

1 Align your employer brand and referral messaging

Your employer brand is the perception of your company as a place to work, and it influences how candidates and employees view your organization. Your referral messaging is the communication you use to invite, inform, and motivate your employees to refer their contacts. To ensure consistency and credibility, you need to align your employer brand and referral messaging with the data you collect from your candidates. For example, you can use candidate feedback surveys, reviews, and testimonials to highlight the benefits, values, and culture of working at your company. You can also use these data to address any gaps or issues that might deter potential referrals from applying or accepting your offers.

2 Segment and personalize your referral outreach

Not all employees are equally likely or willing to refer their contacts, and not all referrals are equally relevant or qualified for your open roles. Therefore, you need to segment and personalize your referral outreach based on the data you have about your employees and candidates. For example, you can use employee engagement surveys, performance reviews, and recognition programs to identify and target your most satisfied and loyal employees who are more likely to refer their contacts. You can also use candidate personas, profiles, and assessments to tailor your referral requests and incentives to the specific needs, interests, and preferences of your target talent segments.

3 Track and optimize your referral metrics

To measure the effectiveness of your referral program, you need to track and optimize your referral metrics. These are the indicators that show how well your referral program is performing in terms of quantity, quality, and efficiency. Some of the common referral metrics include referral rate, referral source, referral conversion rate, referral retention rate, and referral cost per hire. You can use these metrics to evaluate the impact of your referral program on your hiring goals, identify the strengths and weaknesses of your referral process, and make data-driven decisions to improve your referral outcomes.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?