Cheezhead

I received a call the other day from a good friend who had questions about referrals. She brought up all of the points you’d imagine… and was especially focused on “payout.” Yes, my friend believed (as most businesses do) that anyone will refer a friend for a job if they can be rewarded with money or gifts.

I may be wrong…but I don’t think so.

Networking is a time honored part of recruiting. Asking for someone’s help in locating the right talent — or at the very least, someone who knows people and can help — is the way recruiters have tracked passive professionals successfully for years. That process is effective, and it won’t go away. In fact, referrals account for 20 - 40% of all hires in most companies. Many companies reward their employees for those referrals and the programs undoubtedly work.

But let’s look at the world at large. Is there a way for anyone to refer friends and associates into any company for a reward? It has been tried in the past, is being tried now and will be attempted again…but does it work?

I am blessed to know and work with the Product Marketing expert behind a referral technology company from the 90’s named Angami. This gentleman and his crew built such a dynamic product that we bought the company and used it very successfully as an internal referral platform. We knew and understood as recruiters, however, that using Angami as a platform on the open market would create obstacles…and that those challenges weren’t just technical — they related to human nature.

This is where the application of technology to referrals (and frankly, most aspects of recruiting) fails. The understanding of the human element is overlooked as we work to automate, scale and monetize a very personal and intimate process. When a recruiter asks someone for a referral, there is an intrinsic trust that value will be shared. But the value is about work, career acceleration, family interests, etc. It is not about the exchange of money between a recruiter (automated or not) and a referrer.

I’m writing to reconsider my own thoughts around this topic as well as to answer my friend’s questions regarding her pursuit. Today, the notion of recommendations and referrals tends to focus on social networks. But do people readily recommend someone they don’t know to someone they do (or vice versa), even if it comes from a trusted source? Many say that this does occur, but I personally am not comfortable with it, and many executives I know stay away or hidden on Linkedin and other networking sites.

Will we get to an automated referral network and process? Likely - but not until the human element is automated. And frankly, I don’t think we are there yet.