Employee referral systems can save companies time and money. But, most employees don’t participate in them in a manner that will make the system work optimally and benefit their companies. After one referral here and another there, the system usually shuts down.
Mphasis has come up with an idea that has made its employee referral system addictive. It has gamified the process, patterning it on Twenty20 cricket. The programme — suitably named ‘iRefer Premier League’ (iRPL) — has employees playing a virtual cricket match on their computers. Employees in each team score for it by bringing in candidates. The team that brings in the maximum number of candidates wins the iRPL tournament. With the trappings of IPL, this virtual cricket tournament is made interesting. Mphasis ran this programme for three months with thumping success. Over 50% of the employees took part in iRPL. Five thousand resumes were received. Three hundred candidates were hired.
iRPL is the most exciting aspect of iRefer (a platform built by RippleHire for Mphasis) which allows employees to share jobs on social platforms and refer people from work, and view the latest job openings with referral rewards attached to them.
“Besides the fun element, the promise of rewards drives gamified referral programmes. Last quarter, iPhoneX, One Plus 5T and trips to Singapore were the popular give-aways. We are however encouraging our clients to look at the possibility of running these programmes, with non-material rewards,” says Sudarsan Ravi, founder and CEO of RippleHire, which designs platforms for companies to run gamified referral programmes.
Material or non-material rewards, the success of these programmes depend on how well companies get most of their employees, if not all, to participate in them. “A majority of the companies don’t know how many employees are participating in these programmes, let alone how many are aware of them,” says Ravi.
Tech Support
While the traditional referral systems will exist in more engaging forms, technology will increasingly take on the role of a filterer, ensuring only the pick of the lot make it to the cubicles.
For, an employee referral system, when poorly designed, can lead to many of those who don’t fit in with the requirements of a job, knocking on the doors.
And, the HR department can be bombarded with queries from employees seeking an update about their referrals.
In such situations, technology can be a saviour.
SpringRole, a Bengaluru-based start-up, is working towards addressing two major issues faced by recruiters — one, job applications with inaccurate information; and two, referral jobs where background checks have to be run on candidates.
By using artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, it helps to verify work experience of a person. It also gives meaning to endorsements and rewards endorsers.
Shortlist, a Mumbai-based start-up, uses a chat bot to screen candidates based on location, salary and experience. When candidates apply for jobs on Shortlist, they go through a series of assessments that allow them to showcase their skills. A built-in ATS (applicant tracking system) for employers, called the Talent Gallery, reviews and compares candidates and thereby helps the employer learn more about the candidates who have applied for the job.
Happy2Refer, another Mumbai-based firm, uses a mobile app to source the right candidates for a job.
