The author of this blog hits the nail right on the head with regards to employee referrals. It’s important to ensure that the person you are looking to hire is qualified for the position you are hiring them for. Relying on an employee referral as the sole basis of your hiring decision could result in a waste of time, money and resources. It’s vital to substantiate your employee’s claims of a good hire with a proper background check.
By Simon Meth, ERE.net – March 13, 2010
Popular opinion is that employee referrals are the #1 source of hire in a corporate environment. I believe that to be true. But are employee referrals the #1 source of quality hires? I doubt it! Following are some thoughts from my own experience. Your mileage may vary.
Companies often pay a referral bonus to encourage employees to refer their friends and former colleagues to open positions. Bonuses range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. I wonder sometimes if referral bonus programs are incenting the intended behavior in employees. I’m often on the receiving end of numerous internal referrals that are so off the mark that it’s laughable. How can one candidate be a fit for multiple engineering positions in multiple disciplines? Most likely they cannot be.
