Using Current Employees as a Powerful Recruiting Tool

Need to turbo charge your recruiting strategy? Try a TEAM approach by including

your current employees. This strategy can help you increase your pool of

candidates, improve your interview process, increase employee loyalty, build peer

relationships and improve retention rates. There are four steps to the TEAM

approach:

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T Tackle manpower needs,

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E Entice quality candidates to respond to those needs,

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A Aim to use employees to interview and select the best applicants,

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M Mentor newly selected employees into the process.

Teaming with current employees in the process will help you at all stages.

How can employees fire up the recruiting process? Several ways:

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Employees have an understanding of the operations, roles and

responsibilities of the business. Sometimes, in fact, they know more about

what they do every day than most managers! They may be more likely to

recommend candidates who match your needs as well as to assist you in

identifying manpower needs.

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Increasing the candidate pool could reduce reliance on external agency

services, saving time and money.

Copyright © 2008. No part of this material may be reproduced without written permission from Lynne Eisaguirre,

Workplaces That Work, 303-216-1020, Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com, www.workplacesthatwork.com

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When you consider the candidates they recommend employees feel valued

as team members

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When employees know that they can benefit from attracting others to the

business, your internal PR will improve.

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Participation in recruiting fosters a team spirit of contribution to the big

picture.

Establish modest recruitment incentive programs to encourage positive public

relations and improve employees’ perceptions of their relationship with the

company. Most organizations offer current employees a modest monetary

incentive. Half of the amount is paid after the employee is hired, and the balance is

provided upon successful completion of a probationary period. Using a

probationary period also encourages peer support even after the initial offer is

made.

If you have employees at the professional or managerial level, it’s also a good idea

to let them know that you are always on the look out for good employees.

Encourage them to participate in trade and professional organizations. Such

groups not only help them improve their skills but also allow them to serve as

“scouts” for bringing potential new employees into the fold.

When you invite employees to participate in the interview process they feel valued

and can offer front line insights about candidate suitability and fit within an

existing team structure. Including employees can:

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Give a voice to the team members who will work with the new employee

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Increase employees’ perception of their own value to the organization

through inclusion

Copyright © 2008. No part of this material may be reproduced without written permission from Lynne Eisaguirre,

Workplaces That Work, 303-216-1020, Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com, www.workplacesthatwork.com

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Foster a positive working relationships between managers and reporting staff

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Serve as a practical training exercise for interviewing skills.

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Support a spirit of cooperation across organizational levels.

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Provide key, front-line operational insights about a candidates’ ability to

respond to position requirements

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Support ownership and empowerment of departmental activity.

Be sure, however, that you do some basic training about the law and your policies

so that peer interviewers do not ask inappropriate questions.

The third role for an employee in recruitment is with some kind of an employee

sponsorship, mentoring or “buddy” system. Since most new employees feel

stressed and unsure when starting a new job, a peer mentor can help new

employees gain knowledge about what they’re supposed to do, how they will fit in

and the key people on their team.

Many large organizations, such as the U.S. Air Force, use this approach but the

same method can be used by smaller organizations. Benefits include:

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New employees feel included and nurtured prior to day one.

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The mentoring employee feels valued as a contributing member of the team.

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The mentor is reminded of company polices goals, mission and vision.

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Peer relationships are improved.

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Employee communication skills may improve.

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You can nurture a sense of community.

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You help a new employee understand the big picture and how they fit in

prior to their first day.

To start a basic mentoring program, send a letter and information packet from the

mentor to the new employee’s home address before the first work day. The

package might include a wide range of information from the history of the

company to welcome letters from relevant managers including the president and

even area information such as maps, internet sites, restaurants, clubs attractions, if

the employee is from another location.

The mentor can then personalize the package with a cover letter providing contact

information, key dates and times for personnel processing and induction, and

general comments.

Select mentors from the new employee’s peer group. Ideally, find a different

mentor for each new recruit, until everyone in the department has had a chance to

mentor. This should be done at several level of the organization. The introduction

of the “buddy” will help the new employee feel welcome.

According to a study by Watson Wyatt of 147 large North American companies,

employee referrals are an efficient way to find new workers. Companies that hire

more than 1/3 of new employees through employee referrals generated more than

twice the total return to shareholders (48%) of employers that hired less than 10

percent of employees through referrals (23%).

Using a team approach to recruiting offers many benefits. Consider adding this

powerful recruiting tool to your arsenal.

Copyright © 2008. No part of this material may be reproduced without written permission from Lynne Eisaguirre,

Workplaces That Work, 303-216-1020, Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com, www.workplacesthatwork.com