Improve Candidate
Referral Process
Brightgrove, a global IT services enterprise, boasts more than 600 staff members across its locations in the United States, Germany, Ukraine, Romania, and Costa Rica. With a decade of expertise in custom software development, they serve clients around the world.
Problem
The referral program had existed in the company for a long time, but a staff survey showed that it was not clear to everyone. To fix that management team has made a strategic decision to enhance employee engagement by implementing an internal referral program section and make this process more clear, visual and exciting.
Timeline
1
Kick-Off
Project kick-off with the product owner and define business goals.
2
Research
Writing an interview script and interviewing employees about their current referral experience.
3
Feedback Structuring
Utilise card sorting to categorise findings and deepen the understanding of the problems.
4
Create User Persona and Customer Journey
Gained a full understanding of both the user and the process.
5
Ideate Solution
Categorise findings to enhance understanding of the problems. Approve ideas with management.
6
Design the Solution
Design with three breakpoints in mind: desktop, tablet, and mobile.
7
Outcomes
Categorize findings to enhance understanding of the problems.
1
Kick-Off
After the project kick-off meeting with the product owner, we defined the main business goals for this project.
Business Goals
Increase Employee Engagement and Participation in the Referral Program
Inspire and motivate employees to actively participate in the company's referral program, ultimately boosting recruitment through employee referrals.
Clarity in Referring Process and Compensation Structure
Develop a transparent and well-defined compensation structure for referrals. Ensure that every employee understands the compensation offered for referring candidates and how it works.
2
Research
To understand the motivations behind employees referring candidates and to identify any pain points in the process, I conducted interviews with the top most active employees who have successfully referred more than three individuals to join the company.
Interview questions:
• How frequently do you recommend candidates to the company, and what motivates you to do so?
• What methods and sources do you use to identify potential candidates for recommendation?
• How do you match job vacancies with suitable candidates?
• After recommending a candidate, what are your subsequent steps?
• Does your personal relationship with a candidate affect your decision to recommend them?
• Can you describe a recent challenge you faced during the recommendation process?
• What is your view on the incentives for referring candidates? Do they encourage you to make more referrals?
• How do you keep in touch with candidates after referring them, and do you play a role in their subsequent interactions with the company?
• Do you receive feedback about the outcome of your recommendations, and how important is this to your referral experience?
• Have you faced any obstacles while making recommendations, and how did you overcome them?
3
Feedback Structuring
I have divided all the insights from interviews into 5 categories to create a clear and organised structure for making it easy to understand general motivation and the current process of referring a friend.
Referral process
Employees primarily refer candidates with whom they've worked and often use links to the company's website or they write to a recruiter they know..
General Motivation
Motivations for referrals include helping friends find a job, particularly within the company, and referring when open positions align with the employee's network.
Financial Bonus
Employees view referral bonuses positively and value tracking referred candidates' progress for bonuses.
After Referral
Employees either control the referral process within their team or provide data if it's in another team, with communication being informal, and some inquire about progress.
Pain Points and Challenges
Challenges include unclear job postings regarding candidates' location, difficulties using the referral form on the website, and uncertainty about the timing of interview stages.
4
User personas are developed to gain a deeper understanding of the specific needs, behaviours, and preferences of our target audience.
Details:
Andrew, 30
Software Engineer
The Archetype:
The Helpful Connector
Goals:
Help friend land a job.
Get referral bonus.
Values and beliefs:
I want to help my friends get a job, but I will only recommend those I am confident about.
Quotes:
"Whenever there's an opening on my project, I'm always pleased to refer my friends."
"Whenever my friends are in search of employment, I promptly check for openings at Brightgrove."
"The referral bonus is a welcome perk, especially when you have many friends :)"
Needs:
A straightforward and easy-to-follow process for referring friends to job opportunities.
Feedback or notifications regarding the hiring status of referred candidates.
Clear information about the referral bonuses for successful candidate referrals.
Frustrations:
A confusing referral process.
Lack of confirmation regarding the candidate's hiring status.
Uncertainty about which bonuses correspond to which candidates.
Complexity in the referral form.
The primary motivation being to assist a friend in securing employment.
The need for updates on the vacancy, as friends often inquire about the application's current stage.
Customer Journey
1
Discovers a friend is in search of employment.
Actions
Heading to the Recent Vacancies section.
Directly messaging HR.
Sending a vacancy link to a friend.
Checking out job listings on the Careers website.
Thoughts
I have a friend whose qualifications make them an excellent candidate for recommendation to my company.
Emotions
🤓
My friend is searching for a job, and I aim to assist them while also taking advantage of the opportunity to earn a referral bonus.
2
Reviews job openings on the website.
Actions
Sort job openings by technology or seniority level.
Thoughts
After noticing a job opening in a newsletter or on the website, I considered which of my acquaintances might be suitable for a recommendation.
Emotions
😕
The criteria for job vacancies can sometimes lack clarity, and the filters on the Careers site may occasionally malfunction or be perplexing.
Opportunities
Integrate a section into the portal that showcases all job listings, incorporating comprehensive information directly from the ERP system.
Revamp the filters on the Careers site to enhance usability, and include a 'No results' state to improve user experience.
Eliminate the need for redirection to the Careers site for candidate referrals, thereby reducing the necessity for additional data entry.
3
Completes the candidate's information.
Actions
Enter the candidate's information, own details, and upload a resume.
Thoughts
The information requested in the form aligns with what HR typically requires for making a referral.
Emotions
😕
The referral form is complex, and I've encountered issues with it.
Opportunities
Simplify the referral form to enhance its user-friendliness and comprehensibility.
Moments of Truth
Placing a 'Refer a Friend' button separately from the job listings is counterintuitive, since recommendations are typically made for specific positions.
4
Post-recommendation
Actions
Writes to HR to inquire about the process or whether the candidate was suitable.
Sometimes resubmits the candidate because they are not sure if their request was processed."
Thoughts
The next steps are uncertain.
I'm unsure about the timing and amount of the referral reward.
It's unclear if my candidate's details were successfully submitted.
Emotions
😕
It's unclear when each stage of the interview process will take place
5
Receives a bonus
Actions
Receives a notification that the bonus will be added to the next compensation.
Thoughts
It's nice to receive a bonus.
Emotions
😀
Oppotunities
View the entire candidate journey, including key dates.
Ensure clear confirmation of the candidate's acceptance for the position.
Provide a link to the HR manager's Teams account overseeing the candidate.
Display the specific position for which the candidate is being considered and the associated referral bonus amount.
5
Upon gathering all the data and analysing use cases, the proposed functionalities included:
Search and Filter Positions
The UI offers a robust search and filter feature, allowing employees to easily browse and find open positions based on criteria such as department, location, and job type.
Real-time Tracking and Status Updates
Implement a system for real-time tracking of referral status. Enable employees to easily check the progress and status of their referrals without contacting recruiters and save their time.
Assigned Recruiter Information
Provide clear information about the responsible recruiter for each position. Eliminate confusion and ensure that employees know who to contact regarding their referrals.
Inspire with Statistics
Utilise past referral data and projected future earnings to inspire and motivate employees to actively participate in the company's referral program, ultimately boosting recruitment through employee referrals.