Trying to create or upgrade your employee referral program? Do you have what it takes to lead the effort? Is your organization ready to embrace the change?  Today I want to go beyond the tactics necessary to implement a strong employee referral program and discuss the leadership and organizational attributes that are at the core of world-class employee referral programs.

Passion.  Are you genuinely excited about the potential bottom-line impact of your program?  Have you read everything you possibly can about the topic? Have you talked directly to multiple people who have created award winning programs? If you, as the leader of the change effort, are not bouncing off the walls with excitement about the future of your program, you may not be ready to take this on.

Pride.  Are you proud of the program plans you have? Are you ready to go tell everyone about the exciting things you have planned?  Are you proud of your organization? Can you stand tall and talk with strangers about why they should work in your company?  Are your employees proud of where they work? How are your employee engagement numbers looking?  An engaged workforce is more inclined to support a program and create the success you are looking for.  

Creativity.  What interesting things are you prepared to do to catch the attention of your employees?  Creative does not necessarily mean you have to come up with an idea that no one else has. Sometimes creativity is finding a best practice from elsewhere and figuring out how to make it work in your organization and within your culture.  Are you prepared to step out of your comfort zone and try some new things? Creative referral programs catch and retain the attention of employees.

Willingness to invest.  Are you prepared to invest time and money today to save time and money tomorrow?  Companies with great employee referral programs understand that you must invest to win.  Companies with great employee referral programs believe that they will have a tremendous return on investment and aggressively move forward knowing that with strong leadership and flawless execution they will improve their quality of hire and reduce expenses.

Are you ready? Do you have what it takes? Go for it. Lead your company to success!