2002
Our third annual referral bonus
survey shows that 59 percent of the 458 responding companies have a referral
bonus, and an additional 14 percent of those without are considering implementing
one. Of note in this year’s survey is the amount of money being awarded
to employees who recruit new talent. The largest group of companies reported
awarding between $1,000 and $4,999 to an employee for referring someone who
is hired. Ten percent of companies pay a bonus of $5,000 or more to an employee
who refers an executive to the company.
All Paricipants Results
1. Does your organization have
a referral bonus program?
1a. If no, are you currently considering
implementing a referral bonus program?
2. What employee groups are eligible
to receive a bonus for referring a new employee? (Check all that apply.)
|
Referring Employee Group
|
|
|
Executive
|
25.6%
|
|
Upper Management
|
45.2%
|
|
Middle Management
|
79.3%
|
|
Supervisors
|
88.5%
|
|
Professional Staff
|
96.7%
|
|
Sales
|
76.3%
|
|
IT Staff
|
88.5%
|
|
Technical Staff
|
96.3%
|
|
Clerical Staff
|
96.7%
|
3. Your organization awards referral
bonuses for recruiting which of the following positions?
|
Postion Hired
|
|
July
2001 Data
|
|
Executive
|
49.3%
|
N/A
|
|
Upper Management
|
61.1%
|
62%
|
|
Middle Management
|
76.3%
|
78%
|
|
Supervisors
|
78.9%
|
81%
|
|
Professional Staff
|
92.2%
|
92%
|
|
Sales
|
67.4%
|
70%
|
|
IT Staff
|
86.3%
|
90%
|
|
Technical Staff
|
85.6%
|
89%
|
|
Clerical Staff
|
78.1%
|
80%
|
4. What changes have you made to the
referral bonus program in the past 12 months with regard to each position you
offer a bonus for recruiting? (Check all that apply.)
|
%s
|
Reduced
use/Need
|
Reduced
$ amount
|
Increased
use
|
Increased
$ amount
|
No
longer needed
|
No
change
|
N/A
|
|
Executive
|
0.8%
|
3.0%
|
1.5%
|
9.0%
|
2.3%
|
79.7%
|
5.3%
|
|
Upper Management
|
1.2%
|
3.6%
|
1.8%
|
9.1%
|
2.4%
|
77.6%
|
6.1%
|
|
Middle Management
|
1.5%
|
2.9%
|
2.4%
|
10.2%
|
1.9%
|
79.6%
|
3.9%
|
|
Supervisors
|
0.9%
|
2.8%
|
2.8%
|
9.4%
|
1.9%
|
79.8%
|
2.8%
|
|
Professional Staff
|
1.2%
|
3.2%
|
4.8%
|
13.3%
|
1.2%
|
74.7%
|
3.2%
|
|
Sales
|
1.6%
|
3.3%
|
2.7%
|
11.0%
|
1.1%
|
76.9%
|
3.3%
|
|
IT Staff
|
1.7%
|
3.9%
|
3.9%
|
9.4%
|
2.6%
|
75.5%
|
3.0%
|
|
Technical Staff
|
1.7%
|
3.0%
|
6.5%
|
14.3%
|
2.2%
|
71.9%
|
3.0%
|
|
Clerical Staff
|
1.4%
|
3.3%
|
3.8%
|
8.5%
|
1.4%
|
78.2%
|
3.3%
|
5. Does your organization split
the referral bonus payout to the referring employee so that part of
the bonus is given upon hire of the person referred (or shortly thereafter)
and the remainder of the
bonus is given after a set period of time?
|
Yes
|
41.6%
|
|
No (Skip to Question 5c)
|
58.4%
|
5a. If yes, how long does the new
employee have to stay before the first payout is given?
|
No waiting
|
40.9%
|
|
30 days
|
12.7%
|
|
60 days
|
3.6%
|
|
90 days
|
21.8%
|
|
6 months
|
19.1%
|
|
More than 6 months
|
1.8%
|
5b. When the bonus period is split,
when is the completion of the payout given?
|
30 days
|
3.7%
|
|
60 days
|
2.8%
|
|
90 days
|
15.6%
|
|
6 months
|
55.0%
|
|
1 year
|
21.1%
|
|
More than 1 year
|
9.0%
|
5c. If you do not split the payout,
how long does the new employee have to stay before the referring employee
receives the full bonus?
|
No waiting
|
18.7%
|
|
30 days
|
11.3%
|
|
60 days
|
6.0%
|
|
90 days
|
42.0%
|
|
6 months
|
16.7%
|
|
1 year
|
2.7%
|
|
More than 1 year
|
2.7%
|
6. For recruiting the following
positions, what is the average bonus awarded to the referring employee (e.g.
if the new hire stays the requisite amount of time)?
|
Position Hired
|
<$250
|
$250-499
|
$500-999
|
$1,000-2,499
|
$2,500-4,999
|
>$5,000
|
N/A
|
|
Executive
|
7%
|
7%
|
18%
|
37%
|
18%
|
10%
|
3%
|
|
Upper Management
|
6%
|
6%
|
19%
|
42%
|
16%
|
7%
|
4%
|
|
Middle Management
|
7%
|
6%
|
23%
|
43%
|
15%
|
3%
|
1%
|
|
Supervisors
|
9%
|
9%
|
25%
|
40%
|
14%
|
1%
|
1%
|
|
Professional Staff
|
7%
|
7%
|
26%
|
42%
|
14%
|
2%
|
1%
|
|
Sales
|
6%
|
13%
|
25%
|
38%
|
14%
|
3%
|
2%
|
|
IT Staff
|
7%
|
8%
|
22%
|
41%
|
16%
|
3%
|
3%
|
|
Technical Staff
|
7%
|
10%
|
26%
|
40%
|
13%
|
1%
|
2%
|
|
Clerical Staff
|
12%
|
20%
|
33%
|
29%
|
3%
|
0%
|
2%
|
7. Do you feel that your organization's
referral bonus program is an effective tool recruiting top talent?
|
Yes (Skip to Question
8)
|
82.8%
|
|
No
|
17.2%
|
7a. If no, why do you feel your
referral bonus program is not an effective recruiting tool? (Check all that
apply.)
|
Amount awarded is too
low
|
45.7%
|
|
Lack of communication
to employees about procedure
|
47.8%
|
|
Lack of interest in working
for this organization
|
15.2%
|
|
Other, please specify
|
30.4%
|
8. Approximately what percent of
new hires in 2001 came through employee referrals?
|
Mean
|
18.1%
|
|
Median
|
12.0%
|
|
Standard
Deviation
|
16.2%
|
|
Minimum
|
1.0%
|
|
Maximum
|
80.0%
|
9. How many referral bonuses did
your organization pay out in 2001?
|
Mean
|
86.7
|
|
Median
|
15.0
|
|
Standard
Deviation
|
403.7
|
|
Minimum
|
0
|
|
Maximum
|
5411
|
