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Five years ago, The Care of Trees in Wheeling, Illinois, initiated a referral program to recruit new employees. The move has been a tremendous success. Since starting the program, the company has hired an average of 15 employees each year, just from the referral program alone. Better yet, according to Scott Jamieson, company president and CEO, the employees have been very reliable and have fit in well with the company culture.

How does the program work? If the company hires a referral candidate, the employee making the referral can receive up to $1,000 if the new employee stays with the company for a year. If the recruit is a candidate who comes in with leadership skills and can run a crew, the figure can be as high as $2,000. In both cases, the money is awarded in stages throughout the year as the new employee reaches monthly milestones.

“Our referral program is probably responsible for between 30 and 35 percent of all our new employees,” Jamieson relates. “The program is especially effective with our Hispanic workers, who are generally extremely well networked. They are also very keen on having team members with whom they can work and get along with. Hence, they have become very effective recruiters for us.”

With more than 500 employees in 26 locations around the country, recruiting takes a high priority for The Care of Trees. The referral program is just one part of a recruiting initiative that also involves running ads in newspapers and trade magazines, networking, and having a vibrant internship program. Last year, the company’s presence at ALCA’s Student Career Days resulted in six interns going to work for The Care of Trees, notes Jamieson. “An internship program is similar to having a referral program. By working with us over the summer, interns can make an informed decision about whether or not they would like to join our company. They usually make very good employees, just as referrals do, who, in a sense, also get an insider’s perspective of our company before applying for a position.”

Depending on internships and a referral program for such a large part of a recruiting effort puts pressure on a company to perform, Jamieson adds. “If you don’t treat employees right and create a favorable workplace, you won’t get many interns to hire on or referrals from current employees. In that regard, having a referral program is a way for any company to measure how employees regard their work environment.”

When asked to pinpoint any downsides to the company’s referral program, Jamieson says there really are not any serious ones. The money the company spends on the program ismore than offset by having good employees and by the reduced training costs associated with better and higher retention. The one minor downside, he notes, is that referrals are oftentimes friends or family members. If a problem develops at home, it has the potential to spill over at work. He emphasizes, however, that this happens infrequently, and when it does, it is generally a very minor issue.

How does a company go about creating a referral culture? From Jamieson’s perspective, it all begins at home. The amount of money a company pays out in referrals is only part of the incentive. The other more important part of the equation is a favorable work environment that encourages employees to recommend their company as an employer. Without the right work environment, even the most lucrative referral programs will fail to meet expectations.

9/03

By Rod Dickens, ALCA Contributing Writer