The net effect of the increasingly social nature of web communications is that people are aware of the ways in which they are connected and to whom. It is now possible to see who your friends’ friends are. It is now possible to manage the influence you have over your network and, to some extent, the networks attached to those networks.
Older language (like the term referral) is wearing thin. The things we are now able to do exceed what could be imagined only a short time ago. Here’s a first attempt to identify the different kinds of transactions that are now lumped into the referral category. Each case is different and will have different levels of effectiveness.
Outbound Referrals (I Send Jobs To My Network) In order of the amount of work required from me.
- Network Sourcing (The Company Mines My Network Independent of Me)
In this situation, the company has access to my networks and sends information about jobs (and other employment branding material). My role in the process is to authorize the company to do this. - Personal Referral (I Send My Friends to Jobs)
Here, the company offers me the opportunity to send job related content to my friends and network. I send it along to help increase the distribution of the opportunities - Personal Referral With An Automated Endorsement (I Send Jobs to Friends that are likely matches)A ton of attention is being paid to the possibility that matching can be more effective in a networked setting. In this case, I forward jobs to people the company tells me are interesting matches.
- Personal Referral With A Warranty (I tell my friend that this job would be good for her)
I am actively persuading a friend or colleague to take a job.
Inbound Referrals (I Send People In My Network to My Company’s Jobs)
- Network Referrals (The Same As Network Sourcing. I Send My Network to the Company)
I give the company access to my networks. They send job related content as they see fit. - Network Referrals to Automated Matches (I Send The People Who Match to the Company)
I get a report that tells me who matches particular jobs. I forward those bits of contact information to the company as requested - Network Referrals To Jobs That I Agree Are Interesting (Partial Warranty)
I evaluate matches proposed by the company and make a determination that the jobs are interesting. I forward the information to the company. - Network Referrals to Jobs That I Believe Are A Good Fit (Personal Guarantee)
I evaluate my network closely. In this case, I make recommendations that I am willing to bet my reputation on.
Once the company is in possession of contact information, it has an asset that can be converted into sustained competitive advantage. A well run network referral operation has its eye on the development of pre qualified groups of potential candidates who receive preferential treatment. Sometimes called talent communities, these lists of potential employees can be used to reduce recruitment advertising costs and increase employment brand awareness.
Bottom Line
The world of referrals is changing rapidly. What used to be the province of personal relationships and intimate references is becoming a transactional marketplace for contact information. The notion that executives think this is the best source of new employees is balderdash.
But, there is real opportunity for refined data analysis here. Different styles of network relationship and information distribution produce different results. They have wildly different costs and require extremely different levels of employee engagement in the program.
