If you thought hiring farm employees was hard before, COVID-19 rewrote the rulebook. Nearly every business has a “Help Wanted” sign on the door now. How do you compete?
Research repeatedly proves employee-referred candidates are three times more likely to be a good match for the job, says Mel Kleiman, an expert on recruitment and president of Humetrics, a human resource consulting firm.
Why? Chances are your employees provide these candidates with a realistic and in-the-weeds account of working conditions on your operation.
“As a result, candidates are only likely to proceed with the selection process if they feel they will be a good fit,” Kleiman says. “And because they’re a good fit and they already have a friend or acquaintance in your employ, referral candidates are also much less likely to quit or be fired.”
Kleiman suggests creating an Employee Referral Reward Program. Don’t let the official sounding title overwhelm you. It can be as simple as polling your employees for good candidates. Or you can take it up a notch an offer incentives.
Here are a few ideas from Kleiman to help you get more referrals:
- When you ask for referrals, shrink the pool. “Don’t ask people if they know of anyone who might be interested,” he says. “Ask if they know someone from their last job, someone at church, someone in their contact file or neighbors. When you shrink the pool, it is easier for them to come up with names.”
- Explain why you need new employees and why you are asking them. Try: “Bob, we need some new people like you on our team BECAUSE (because is a keyword) and give them the reason (We are growing so fast; I want to make your life easier, etc.).
- Reward employees after a successful referral. The reward doesn’t have to be money, Kleinman says. The key is giving the reward to the referring person on the new hire’s first day, not three or six months later. “To get the most bang for your buck and generate some excitement around the program, give the reward in public,” he adds.
- Seek referrals from all of your close contacts. You can pay the reward to anyone who gives you a referral (vendors, friends, customers, etc.), not just employees, Kleinman says.
