Referrals lead to better quality hires, finds Jobvite

Although employee referrals make up a small proportion of propsective candidates for roles, according to Jobvite, they lead to better quality hires who are a better cultural fit.

Even in these most digital, automated and socially networked of times, too often, getting hired can still be more about “who you know” rather than suitability for a role.

According to statistics from cloud-based social recruitment software provider Jobvite, while only 7% of job applications come from people being referred by friends or family, this small figure accounts for 40% of all new recruits.

Moreover, such referrals are also hired 55% quicker than people coming in from other routes, with the process taking just 29 days, compared with 39 from the jobs board side and 55 from a career site.

Interestingly, people joining the company in this way also tend to stay longer – 47% are still in situ three years later, compared with 39% of workers from careers sites and 14% from jobs boards.

So no wonder referrals are a popular sourcing choice. In fact, 86% of respondents to Jobvite’s survey felt that candidates found this way were of a higher quality, while 70% said that they fitted the company culture and values better.

This summer, Jobvite, based in San Mateo, California,  whose software covers everything from employer branding and social media-based referrals to talent pooling and applicant tracking, opened an office in London.

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The move followed a funding round at the end of last year, which brought in $25 million in investment from growth equity firm Catalyst Investors in order to finance international expansion.

David Lahey is Jobvite’s vice president of international. He says: “People have been using social media to recruit for ages, but referrals last longer and are cheaper as you don’t have to pay agency fees. So instead of everything happening through email, it happens via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, all at an employee’s discretion.”