Employee Referrals are one of the most effective ways to find potential hires, and with the possible benefit of semi-vetted talent, it’s a strategy that you can’t afford to overlook. Here are four ways you can make Employee Referrals a powerful and continual resource for top talent:

Make it Part of Your Culture

Integrate employee Referral Programs so that they aren’t an afterthought. Make new employees aware of it when onboarding, reiterate it during management training and more than just spreading the word, educate your employees on how to identify top talent. For instance, particularly if you want them to keep their eyes open for other departments, make information such as open positions and required software skills available on your intranet.

Keep Employees in the Loop

Employees who make referrals often may be personally interested in how their referral is faring – if they were called in for an interview, are being considered for a position or even if their referral did not make the cut.  Keeping your employees in the loop keeps them from wondering, and also helps them respond to their referral’s inquiries. More importantly, it makes them feel that they are part of the process of adding valuable and needed talent to the company.

Make Referring Easy

Sometimes even employees who are the biggest fans of the company have a hard time selling how great it is to work for your company. Help them make a strong case by creating a marketing piece. One idea is to provide them with postcards that lists “Top 5 Reasons for Working with Us.” As an added bonus, you can make this piece work even harder by including compelling company images (branding, employees having fun, evocative graphics, etc.) and online and contact info.

Make it Rewarding

Last but not the least, even your staunchest champions would appreciate receiving recognition for their referrals. From thanking them in the company newsletter to giving them public kudos during meetings to presenting them with a gift card, these tokens of gratitude go a long way towards further referrals. If you wish to up the ante, you can have a quarterly or yearly raffle for bigger prizes to build excitement and encourage healthy competition.