Companies Continue to Tap Internal
Network for New Talent
With the increasing cost containment
measures having to be taken across most industries, companies are looking at
ways to still be successful in attracting new, high-caliber employees. One way
to cut recruitment costs is to utilize current employees in the job search arena.
For upper management positions, the most costly group to recruit for and generally
having to pay significant headhunting fees for, has shown to be added to the
referral bonus programs in more than 40 percent of the participating companies.
In the recent Second Annual WorldatWork
Referral Bonus Survey, nearly 400 companies participated in outlining
their current referral bonus programs. Rewarding the recruitment efforts of
their own employees has been successful in more than 90 percent of the participating
companies. The following are highlights of the survey:
70% of the total participating
companies had a referral bonus program
92% awarded recruitment bonuses
for professional staff positions
32% of the participants that do
not currently have a referral bonus program are considering implementing one
Those that awarded a bonus for
recruiting for an upper management position increased from 22 percent in 2000
to 62 percent in 2001
A 90-day employment period is
the most widely used payout date, with 40% of the respondents doing so
A 30-day time minimum and a 6-month
completion are the most commonly used bonus split markers
92% of the participants felt their
referral bonus program was successful.
Question
1 .Does your company award referral bonuses? (If No, participants proceeded
to question 8)
Yes
No
70%
30%
Question
2. Your company awards referral bonuses for recruiting which of the following
positions:
Yes
No
Upper Management
62%
38%
Middle Management
78%
22%
Supervisors
81%
19%
Professional Staff
92%
8%
Sales
70%
30%
IT Staff
90%
10%
Technical Staff
89%
11%
Administrative Staff (non exempt)
80%
20%
Part-time Employees
38%
62%
Question 3. Do you split the
payout so part is given upon hire (or first payout date) and remainder
after a set period of time? (If no, participants proceeded to question
6)
Yes
No
Upper Management
18%
82%
Middle Management
25%
75%
Supervisors
27%
73%
Professional Staff
32%
68%
Sales
24%
76%
IT Staff
30%
70%
Technical Staff
29%
71%
Administrative Staff (non exempt)
26%
74%
Part-time Employees
13%
87%
Question
4. How long does the new employee have to stay before the (first) payout
is given?
No
Waiting
30
days
90
days
6
months
1
year
More
than 1 year
Upper Management
32%
13%
39%
15%
0%
0%
Middle Management
29%
15%
41%
14%
0%
2%
Supervisors
30%
13%
41%
15%
0%
0%
Professional Staff
31%
14%
40%
15%
0%
0%
Sales
29%
15%
40%
15%
1%
0%
IT Staff
30%
14%
40%
15%
0%
0%
Technical Staff
30%
14%
39%
16%
0%
0%
Administrative Staff (non exempt)
29%
14%
42%
16%
0%
0%
Part-time Employes
31%
13%
41%
15%
0%
0%
Question
5. When the bonus period is split, when is the completion of the payout
given?
30
days
90
days
6
months
1
year
More
than 1 year
Upper Management
2%
19%
55%
21%
3%
Middle Management
3%
24%
54%
16%
3%
Supervisors
3%
25%
56%
29%
1%
Professional Staff
2%
22%
49%
25%
1%
Sales
3%
23%
52%
20%
2%
IT Staff
2%
22%
56%
17%
2%
Technical Staff
3%
21%
49%
25%
3%
Administrative Staff (non exempt)
3%
21%
54%
20%
1%
Part-time Employees
7%
20%
57%
15%
2%
Question 6. What is the actual
dollar payout on average for each group for the entire bonus value (e.g.,
if new hire stayed through the bonus period)?
<$250
$250-499
$500-999
$1,000
+
Upper Management
10%
9%
17%
64%
Middle Management
9%
8%
20%
63%
Supervisors
10%
11%
24%
56%
Professional Staff
9%
10%
22%
59%
Sales
10%
14%
23%
54%
IT Staff
8%
9%
20%
63%
Technical Staff
9%
10%
24%
57%
Administrative Staff (non exempt)
15%
23%
28%
34%
Part-time Employees
24%
19%
28%
29%
Question
7. Do you feel that your company's referral bonus program is working?
Yes
No
92%
8%
Question
8. Are you currently considering implementing a referral bonus program?
