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Why implementing Employee Referral Program?

Let's say you are looking for a perfect candidate for your newly opened position. You have identified your candidate persona and wrote a perfect job description, posted the opening on your favorite job boards and shared it on social networks...

Days have passed, and you have no applicants!

What happened?

The way we recruit has changed, and finding the right job candidates is harder than ever before. Most of the job candidates are passive job seekers, and they don't actively look for jobs.

Therefore, you need to have a strategy for finding those passive candidates and attracting them to come work for you. Going through your own employees is the best way to do that.

They know best who you ideal candidates are, and they know what part of your Employee Value Proposition could attract them.

If you already haven't, this is why you should try using Employee Referral programs.

88% of employers say employee referrals are the #1 source of 'above average candidates according to D. John Sulivan

Referred workers are up to 30% less likely to quit according to study from UC Berkley

Employee referrals are the #1 source of hire by volume according to Career Xroads

A referred candidate is faster to hire than a traditional candidate

An average employee has 150 social friends which makes a status/update of a 100 people company seen by 15 000 people

1. Cost per hire - If you compare the price of the traditional ways, cost of getting your own people to refer the candidate is much cheaper. As many of them are working and talking to similar kind of workers, you are making your own employees perfect recruiters.

2. Employer branding - with the right motivation (rewards) you will make your employees more engaged and happy to help, expanding the number of shares and views on, for example, social networks.

3. Quality of hire - after you decide on a profile of your perfect candidate looks you will actually reach more of passive candidates this way and faster to the high quality active ones who are searching for a job at that particular moment.

Employee Referral statistics

That being said, let's look at the 3 biggest benefits of the employee referral:

Need ideas for Employee Referral rewards?

Here is the list of 50 most popular ideas for employee referral rewards.

After you found the best way to motivate your employees to become the perfect recruiters, you should make few rules to make sure everybody is onboard. These rules should be simple, as the whole process. Everybody should be included and provided feedback no matter if their referrals are successful or not.

Public recognition for a successful referral is a good way to nurture and engage your best talent. Referred employees are also likely to stay longer in the company and reduce your turnover rate. And remember, this is not the only way to find the great candidates so don't forget to use the other ones.

The reasons to use employee referral reward programs are numerous. Start planning and organizing your own program today, and I can promise you, you will see a big improvement in your recruiting and hiring strategy, and become a more successful recruiter.

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Why Should You Use an Employee Referral Program?

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Let's say you are looking for a perfect candidate for your newly opened position. You have identified your candidate persona and wrote a perfect job description, posted the opening on your favorite job boards and shared it on social networks... Days have passed, and you have no applicants! What happened?

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According to findings from the Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality Survey 2017 for Malaysia, obesity is increasingly a problem in Malaysia with 12.5% of Malaysian employees to be obese.

Of those who recalled their medical result, 46% of Malaysian employees are at risk of high blood pressure and 10% are at risk of high cholesterol. Additionally, 29% of Malaysian employees are at risk of having one or more chronic conditions - such as a heart or kidney condition, cancer, diabetes, or high blood pressure. Meanwhile, 84% of Malaysian employees reported at least one type of musculoskeletal condition, but fewer (50%) reported two or more.

Not only do Malaysians suffer from obesity, the survey revealed some real concerns about stress in the workplace and issues surrounding sleep patterns. In fact, 56% of Malaysian employees sleep less than seven hours a night, with more than half (67%) reporting poor quality of sleep.

Work-related stress prevalent

According to the survey, Malaysian employees also work the longest hours among the markets surveyed - on average 15 hours more than their contracted hours each week. When it comes to taking breaks during the work day, 17% of Malaysian employees can't decide when to take a break.

53% of employees in Malaysia reported at least one dimension of work-related stress, compared to 43% in Singapore, 64% in Hong Kong, and approximately half of Australians. Aside from work, 20% of Malaysian employees report 'a lot' of financial concerns - hinting that financial concerns are an issue in the country.

Meanwhile, the report stated that 18% of employees in Malaysia reporting cited being exposed to bullying at work, and 4% of Malaysian employees reporting that they are bullied 'often or always'. Additionally, 12% of Malaysian employees experience high levels of anxiety or depressive symptoms.
Lifestyle habits a challenge for Malaysians
According to the report, physical inactivity is an issue in Malaysia where nearly 64% of employees do less than 150 minutes of physical activity a week - the highest percentage compared to Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. Most employees are sedentary throughout most of their working hours.

As for when it comes to diet and nutrition, 90% of surveyed Malaysians employees do not eat a balanced diet. Their diets are poorest in fruits and vegetables with 86% of Malaysians eating fewer than five servings of fruit and vegetables each day.

In addition, 11% of Malaysian employees currently smoke - the highest adult smoking rates compared to Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Malaysian organisations experience significant productivity loss

When it comes to productivity, it can be linked to the employee health and well-being through two measures - absence and presenteeism. In the survey employers experience a total of 67 days per employee per year were lost, primarily to presenteeism (lost productivity from employees who show up to work despite health and morale issues), which accounted for 58.8 days per year. Additionally, the survey revealed absenteeism accounting for 8.2 days.

In Malaysia, the average yearly cost of health-related absenteeism and presenteeism per organisation is estimated at RM2.7 million.

On the bright side, more than half (53%) of Malaysian employees feel their line managers care about their health and wellbeing. In fact, 54% feel their leaders view employee health and wellbeing an important part of their organisation's success, and 60% feel their line managers encourage them at work.

The survey showed that 11% of Malaysian employees are 'highly' engaged at work, while 19% of employees showed 'low' levels of work engagement.

To support their employees, 91% of bosses offer at least one workplace intervention, while 58% of employees participate in at least one intervention at work. However, on average only 14% of employees are aware of the interventions on offer.

While many Malaysian employees are physically inactive, 25% of employers in Malaysia have no intervention to encourage physical activity. While more than half of Malaysian employees are at risk of mental health, close to 44% of employers offer no interventions at all.

Malaysia saw the greatest number of employers participating in the Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality Survey 2017, the results were polled from 5,369 employees across 47 organisations in urban areas.
Infographic / AIA Vitality

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healthiest workplace by aia vitality survey 2017

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Why employees in Malaysia are so unhealthy

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According to findings from the Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality Survey 2017 for Malaysia, obesity is increasingly a problem in Malaysia with 12.5% of Malaysian employees to be obese. Of those who recalled their medical result, 46% of Malaysian employees are at risk of high blood pressure and 10% are at risk of high cholesterol.

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Muhammad Yusuf

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Employers will need to focus on retention this year as 40 per cent of candidates in Malaysia surveyed for the 2016 Hays Asia Salary Guide claimed to be looking for a new job. A further 48 per cent are open to hearing about a fresh opportunity, according to recruiting experts Hays.

The 2016 Hays Asia Salary Guide outlines the findings of candidate and employer research across five key nations - China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore as well as the salary ranges for more than 1,200 roles.

Of the more than 3,000 employers representing over six million employees taking part in this year's Guide, 34 per cent are worried they already don't have the right talent on board to achieve current business objectives. And 96 per cent say skills shortages have the potential to impact business operations this year.

However, Hays research reveals that not only are many employees in Malaysia already actively job hunting, 31 per cent want to be in a new role within the next six months with a further 19 per cent expecting to change jobs within the year.

"With a third of employees thinking about making a move, employers should pay close attention to what drives them to want a new job as well as their reasons for staying in the job they have," says Tom Osborne, Regional Director of Hays in Malaysia.

According to the 2016 Guide the top motivators for job hunting identified by candidates in Malaysia in order of preference are:

Salary or benefits (53 per cent)

Seeking new challenges (35 per cent)

Lack of career progression in their current role (30 per cent)

Management style/company culture (28 per cent)

Work location (18 per cent)

Lack of training or development opportunities (17 per cent)

Poor work-life balance (12 per cent)

Concerns about job security (11 per cent)

Other (7 per cent)

The key retention factors for employees in Malaysia in order of preference are:

Salary or benefit package (42 per cent)

Career progression (34 per cent)

Work-life balance (34 per cent)

Work location (27 per cent)

The management style & company culture (27 per cent)

Training or development opportunities (24 per cent)

Job security (24 per cent)

New challenges (21 percent)

Other (7 per cent)

Whilst in Malaysia, the key to retention is salary, around the region work-life balance is the main reason people stay with an employer in China, Hong Kong and Singapore and in Japan career progression is what makes employees stay.

Employee vs employer salary increase expectations
A sizeable 61 per cent of candidates in Malaysia that we surveyed did not ask for a pay rise in the last 12 months but our research reveals that candidates have higher expectations for the year ahead which don't match up to what employers are intending to offer.

In Malaysia, 56 per cent of candidates surveyed expect a salary increase of more than 6 per cent but our research reveals that only 39 per cent of employers in Malaysia will award more than 6 per cent increases this year.

"Employers with cautious salary intentions for the year ahead will need to look closely at some of the other key benefits jobseekers value most highly to ensure they can attract and retain the best talent," said Tom.

At the same time, candidates should do their research and set realistic salary expectations before asking for a pay rise or intending to change jobs this year.

Get your copy of the 2016 Hays Asia Salary Guide by visiting www.hays.com.my/salary-guide, contacting your local Hays office or downloading The Hays Salary Guide 2016 iPhone app from iTunes.

Hays is located in Kuala Lumpur at Suite 4 & 5, Level 23, Menara 3, Petronas, Kuala Lumpur City Centre. Phone +60 3 2786 8600 or email tom.osborne@hays.com.my

Hays, the world's leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

- Ends -

For further information please contact Kerryn Celine, Marketing Project Manager, Asia at Hays, on +61 2 8226 9844 or kerryn.celine@hays.com.au

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Salary & benefits key reason employees in Malaysia leave a job but also why they stay | Hays

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Employers will need to focus on retention this year as 40 per cent of candidates in Malaysia surveyed for the 2016 Hays Asia Salary Guide claimed to be looking for a new job. A further 48 per cent are open to hearing about a fresh opportunity, according to recruiting experts Hays.

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Image credit: Robert Daly | Getty Images

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

In recent years, the power in the hiring process has shifted to the job-seeker. From company career sites to employer-review platforms like Glassdoor, job-seekers have access to endless information about a company. As a result, they're better informed and able to go about the job search in a new way.

Employers? They have yet to adapt.
Related: How to Hire Like a Pro
A February 2017 survey of 616 HR professionals and 438 job seekers by CareerArc highlighted this gap. The report found that 55 percent of job-seekers surveyed said they'll lose interest in a company if they read a negative employer review. Yet, 55 percent of employers don't even monitor or respond to these reviews to mitigate the hiring consequences.

Employers, then, are clinging to outdated hiring practices, and that's keeping them from landing top talent. So, which strategies need to go and what should be done instead?

Cold emailing

For years, one of the best hiring tactics was to send emails to potential candidates and then wait for a response. This did the trick because the job market wasn't as strong in the past. Today, however, talent receives so many cold emails about jobs, they don't even bother to open them.

"Between emails, texts, calls and other types of messages, it's extremely difficult to convince someone to pay attention to a new career opportunity,"Nick Cromydas, CEO and founder of Chicago-based recruiting platform Hunt Club, said in an email, adding: "especially if they aren't in the market for a new job."

Rather than sending out countless emails and hoping for the best, companies should rely on referrals -- both from employees and trusted professionals. These ambassadors can reach out to talented people in their networks and build a bridge between job candidates and the company.

The key is to make the referral process as simple as possible. People will be less willing to present candidates if they have to jump through a lot of hoops. Let them know what the company is looking for and have them provide the candidate's contact information. Then, take it from there.
Related: Hiring Your First Employee? 5 Things You Need to Know.
Focusing on GPA

Employers often look at candidates' educational history as proof of their abilities. While a good GPA is an accomplishment, it doesn't necessarily correlate with a person's being the best employee. And if it's been years since that candidate was in college, grade-point average doesn't indicate whether this person has the most up-to-date skills.

"We've found time and time again that past behavior is the best indicator of future success and actions,"Amanda Bell, director of recruiting for San Francisco-based applicant tracking system Lever, said via email. "A GPA measures many things, but least of all is past professional experience."

Instead of limiting your potential talent pool to those with degrees, look for candidates within industry-related web forums. Social media groups and industry websites attract people who are interested in the latest skills and trends in their field.

Pay close attention to comments and posts and look for members who have intelligent and insightful comments. This will provide a much better idea of whether a particular person would make a great candidate.

Using scripted interview questions

In theory, asking every job candidate the same interview questions seems like a great idea. The intent is to give everyone the same chance to shine. But, if there is no flexibility in the interview, hiring managers won't be able to truly get to know the candidate.

"Sticking to scripted questions is not natural," Molly Muir, chief of staff at Irvine, Calif.-based video IoT company Arcules, told me. "Candidates often reveal what makes them most interesting when they don't realize it, and a skilled interviewer knows how to build a better conversation on those insights."

Instead of giving hiring managers a script, give them a general structure to follow. Make sure they know what information they need to gain from each candidate. Then, trust they have the skills and knowledge to get that information.

It can also help to have them track which questions led to which answers. This will help the hiring manager and other interviewers identify the questions that work best in which situations. For example, interviewers might discover that certain questions work better with shy candidates. This will create an arsenal of questions managers can pull from when hiring.

Relying on "gut feeling"

Many hiring professionals claim "they just know" when they've found the right candidate. While experience and instinct do play a part in talent acquisition, there are more objective ways to assess candidates. Tracking and analyzing hiring data shows what led to mistakes and ways to avoid them in the future.

The Chicago-based staffing and employment agency Addison Group is in the business of hiring. In addition to the work it does for its clients, the company has also brought on a large number of new team members. CEO Tom Moran credits Addison's success to its dedication to tracking hiring metrics.

"We continue to measure and adjust our sourcing methods and ways of attracting and retaining candidates, as they are critical for us to implement programs that allow us to cater to today's candidates' career aspirations," Moran said by email.
Related: Make More Sales by Hiring the Right People
Be sure to collect data that aligns with your company's hiring goals. Nowadays, tools and platforms are available to measure everything imaginable. Of course, it's easy to get buried in data. So, if your organization is trying to improve retention, for instance, focus on metrics related to that factor. This will help you, as the employer, make quick and informed decisions about your hiring process.

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4 Hiring Practices You Needed to Drop Yesterday (and What to Do Instead)

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. In recent years, the power in the hiring process has shifted to the job-seeker. From company career sites to employer-review platforms like Glassdoor, job-seekers have access to endless information about a company. As a result, they're better informed and able to go about the job search in a new way.

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Tong Yee San

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New guidelines have been drawn up to help banks retrain staff amid rapid technological changes.

The framework launched yesterday was developed jointly by the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Ministry of Manpower, the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation.

They call on about 160 member banks under ABS to adhere to a new set of human resources practices that calls for financial institutions to assess the impact of technology on their workforce.

They aim to help firms reskill staff and redeploy them in areas of job growth through professional conversion programmes, according to the guidelines launched yesterday.

Banks are also asked to be inclusive in hiring, meaning they should recruit on the merits of skills required to perform the job rather than set a strict minimum number of years of experience or focus on paper qualifications alone.

The aim is also to build a "strong Singapore core" of talent in the financial sector, with the MAS working to tap the 4,000 or so Singapore professionals working overseas in the hope they will return home.

"Difficult as it may be, business as usual is not an option," said Senior Minister of State for Law and Finance Indranee Rajah at the launch.

The aim is also to build a "strong Singapore core" of talent in the financial sector, with the MAS working to tap the 4,000 or so Singapore professionals working overseas in the hope they will return home.

"We are seeing two very contrasting phenomena - in 'hot' areas such as IT, there is a shortage of skilled talent, for instance, in data analytics and cyber security.

"On the other hand, we also know that firms could end up with surplus staff as they look to digitise and automate various aspects of their businesses."

OCBC Bank chief executive officer Samuel Tsien told at a panel session at yesterday's launch that banks should commit to "not take advantage of our workforce" amid sea change.

"I've never liked the word 'disruption', because I think 'disruption' has got that antagonistic feel about it," he said.

"It is a transformation imposed upon the bank by the change in our market environment, and we need to look at it that way."

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New guidelines to help banks retrain staff amid tech changes

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New guidelines have been drawn up to help banks retrain staff amid rapid technological changes. The framework launched yesterday was developed jointly by the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Ministry of Manpower, the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation.

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CHEW PUI SAN

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The traditional top-down assessment method is on its way out - today's workplace needs a more nuanced approach to appraisals.

The debate on annual appraisals is ongoing and for good reason; HR and managers are realising the benefit of continuous mutual dialogue throughout the year, and not just once at the end of it.

HR is now beginning to adopt a more casual and less bureaucratic approach to managing performance by dispensing with the formal annual appraisal and instead investing time in regular catch-ups.

This ensures opportunities for early intervention for things like poor performance, poor mental health, and discussing career aspirations.

In this much-needed evolution, in my opinion, we seemed to have missed a trick by not fully endorsing the concept of mutual dialogue. By mutual, I mean where managers assess the individual's performance and vice versa.

One-sided approach

One of the flaws of the one-sided approach of performance management is that it continues up the management chain.

Each tier assesses the one below, forgetting that although managers are aware of their report's management methods, they aren't necessarily aware of the impact this has on those on the receiving end.

Sure, they meet their targets and fulfil their objectives, but with line management duties mostly being an afterthought nowadays, on top of the manager's existing role, management objectives are either forgotten or very generic.

With organisations moving to a more holistic approach to wellbeing, there has never been a better time to assess the impact of the management relationship to whom is on the receiving end of management methods.

If this is the fundamental make-or-break relationship that contributes hugely to engagement, productivity and retention, shouldn't this be assessed from both sides, and not just the side with higher authority?

Another flaw with this one-sided approach is that the manager assesses their own management capabilities and is seen as the only and worthy conclusion for their own appraisal.

The manager's manager doesn't need to see proof of a harmonious management relationship as long as business objectives are met, and assumes little connection when the report eventually leaves from a bad manager.

The solution

The solution lies in embracing the true meaning of mutual dialogue. Sure, there's the 360 feedback model, but employees should have an opportunity to formally and objectively assess their manager's performance as a manager, seeing as they are the only one who is affected by their manager's performance, not their manager's manager.

In the spirit of ongoing discussions, of course concerns should be brought to the manager's attention at any point. In cases where a company continues to have a more formal approach of categorising someone's performance in lieu of these ongoing conversations, it should be expected that the manager's performance should be assessed and categorised too.

The object of this feedback is of course to be constructive, but as a by-product, the employee begins to understand the feedback process in general, and grows more emotionally intelligent when receiving feedback themselves.

Where there are less formal categorisations in an organisation, this approach can still work to formally address clashes of personality and incompatibility and assess performance on an ongoing basis.

If we look at the alternative however, making your manager aware that you're not happy with their particular management methods can only go as far as the manager wants.

If the manager would rather stick to their own ways and think there isn't an issue to address, they can freely dismiss these comments and simply tell them to put up with it.

Having a more formal assessment of these management methods, however, might make the manager reconsider how to fix the relationship and adjust their approach to something more compatible, as essentially the formality adds a sense of accountability and action.

How can this be done?

First and foremost, the business will need to communicate the reasons for this approach. Educating the entire workforce on the benefits of this mutual assessment - and the detrimental impact of the one-sided approach - is key to laying down the foundation of a new mindset.

This isn't tit-for-tat. This isn't an opportunity for individuals to slate their manager as payback for poor or incompatible management methods. This needs to be communicated that this is to support a healthy and mutual working relationship, and address concerns often only picked up anonymously in staff surveys.

To back up these communications, staff will also need to get the right training. We have all given feedback in some form or other, but in order for this system to work, staff need to understand the fundamentals of assessing performance: objectivity, unconscious bias, and articulating feelings in an emotionally intelligent way.

This mutual assessment of performance can only build accountability, openness and trust

The object of this feedback is of course to be constructive, but as a by-product, the employee begins to understand the feedback process in general, and grows more emotionally intelligent when receiving feedback themselves.

This further strengthens the worker-manager relationship, as well as other professional relationships.

Could this work?

Whether or not this works depends heavily on the company's culture. Those that place a strong emphasis on hierarchy, orders and subordination would struggle to see the benefits of this as it relinquishes power and authority.

Although this exercise has nothing to do with either of these, it will be seen as a threat. Managers are there to manage, and they've been hired as competent managers, right? Sadly this isn't always the case, and the 'I say, you do' approach is damaging and outdated.

On the contrary, it would be an ideal solution (of many) for a company like this, which may be looking to change its culture to one that is healthier and more cooperative. It just needs a really good sell for senior management buy-in.

This would work especially for companies who are happy to embrace modern working practices in order to be an inclusive and developing hive of happy and talented people.

We're seeing more organisations move away from methodologies that were appropriate for the workplace in the 1950s and exploring new practices that are holistic and more fitting in the modern way in which we work.

Let us not forget that Marcus Buckingham said that people leave managers and not companies, so it is important to take up any opportunity that addresses poor management techniques that is determined by those on the receiving end, not as a managerial observer.

This mutual assessment of performance can only build accountability, openness and trust, and address poor management methods before it impacts further into engagement, turnover levels and performance.
Thinking of shaking up your appraisals process? Read Five ways to transform the annual performance review

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Appraisals: why employees should assess their manager's performance

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The debate on annual appraisals is ongoing and for good reason; HR and managers are realising the benefit of continuous mutual dialogue throughout the year, and not just once at the end of it. HR is now beginning to adopt a more casual and less bureaucratic approach to managing performance by dispensing with the formal annual appraisal and instead investing time in regular catch-ups.