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PAPER: EMPLOYEE REFERRAL PROGRAM (ERP)

Board Paper Human Resources

1 BACKGROUND
Employee Referral is an internal recruitment method employed by organizations to enable
the identification of potential candidates from their existing employees' social networks. It
encourages existing employees to actively identify potential employees and aid their
assimilation into the organisation.

Employee referral is widely acknowledged as one of the most cost effective and efficient
recruitment methods and benefits include but not limited to the following:
It is a cheaper method of recruitment than the use of recruitment agencies as it
delivers a significant reduction in recruitment expenditure
It aids assimilation of new hires as existing employees tend to refer candidates that
fit the culture of their organization which increases retention levels
Improved quality of candidates as employees tend to bring better candidates than
recruitment agencies.

One of the Bank’s recruitment strategies includes an Employee Referral Program which
at an introductory stage entailed:
All employees submitting resumes of potential candidates with emphasis on fresh
graduates
Line supervisors and Group Heads actively identifying potential candidates that
can be recruited into their areas of responsibility or for other teams in their
division.

Since its introduction in 2008, the Bank’s employee referral program although not tracked
or actively measured has been an effective tool in supporting the recruitment of:
Experienced hires in the Bank and its subsidiaries
Northerners in Nigeria
Fresh graduates in the subsidiaries.

However, in line with the Bank’s practice of benchmarking its policies, processes and
programs with best practice, it has become imperative for us to redefine and reposition
the employee referral program.

2 BEST PRACTICE EMPLOYEE REFERAL PROGRAMS

Best practice employee referral programs typically involve employees not only sourcing
resumes but actively supporting the assimilation of the referred candidate into the
organization. Employees who refer suitable candidates are incentivized. The incentives
are monetary (referral bonus), non-monetary (donation to employee CSR projects, gifts,
tickets to events, etc.) or a combination of both monetary and non-monetary.

2.1 Employee Referral Incentives

Below are some examples of the incentives organizations give to drive their employee
referral program:

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COMPANIES THE PROGRAM ELIGIBILTY
INTERNATIONAL PRACTICES
Employees are actively encouraged to identify suitable
candidates. Upon successful recruitment and
resumption, employees are awarded a referral bonus
GE as follow: All Staff
1. $2.5k donation to employee’s choice charity for
prospect hired into a 12months salaried position
2. Holiday Trips
Employees are encouraged to source suitable
candidates and actively support their absorption into the
company. Any employee who successfully support the
HSBC Bank, USA All Staff
recruit and absorption of a new hire is given a referral
bonus of $5000 after 90 days of resumption

PRACTICES IN NIGERIA (BANKS)

Employees are actively encouraged to identify suitable All Staff excluding:
candidates. Upon successful recruitment and
resumption, employees are awarded a referral bonus
Standard Chartered Bank
as follow:
1. Officer: N40000 1. HOD (Equivalent of Group Head)
2. Management Staff: N60000 2. Line Managers of requesting Group.
PRACTICES IN NIGERIA (NON BANKS)
Employees are actively encouraged to identify suitable
candidates. Upon successful recruitment and
resumption, employees are awarded a referral bonus
Accenture as follow: All Staff excluding HR Staff and Partners
1. €100 when candidates are invited for interviews
2. €500 donated to Charity of Choice
3. Draws for holiday trips
Reckitt Benckiser Employees are encouraged to source suitable All Staff excluding Corporate Human Resources
candidates and actively support their absorption into the employees and Department level HR/Personnel staff
company. Any employee who successfully support the
recruit and absorption of a new hire is given a referral
bonus of $1000 after confirmation
KPMG Employees are encouraged to source suitable All Staff excluding HR Staff and Partners
candidates and actively support their absorption into the
company. Any employee who successfully support the
recruit and absorption of a new hire is given a referral
bonus of N50,000 after confirmation
Employees are actively encouraged to identify suitable All Staff excluding:
candidates. Upon successful recruitment and
resumption, employees are awarded a referral bonus
Unilever
as follow:
1. Lower Mgt Staff: $500 1. HOD (Equivalent of Group Head)
2. Management Staff: $1000 2. Line Managers of requesting Group.
Employees are actively encouraged to identify suitable All Staff excluding:
candidates. Upon successful recruitment and
resumption, employees are awarded a referral bonus
BAT as follow:
1. Non Mgt (Equivalent of Officers) : $500 1. HOD (Equivalent of Group Head)
2.G34 - G36 (Equivalent of Management): $1000 2. Line Supervisor/ Group Head of requesting Group.
3. Snr Mgt - Executives: $2000 3. HR Staff and Employee with a direct family link
Employees are encouraged to identify suitable All Staff excluding:
candidates. Upon successful recruitment and
resumption, employees are awarded a referral bonus
MainOne Company as follow:
1. Supervisors (Equivalent of Officers) : $100 1. HOD (Equivalent of Group Head)
2.G34 - G36 (Equivalent of Management): $250 2. Line Supervisor/ Group Head of requesting Group.
3. Snr Mgt - Executives: $500 3. HR Staff

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3 The Revised Employee Referral Program
We are proposing that the Bank’s employee referral program be upgraded from the
introductory stage given its general acceptance amongst employees to best practice.

3.1 Objectives
The revised objectives will now be:
Encouraging all employees to actively seek and refer suitable candidates to the
Bank and its subsidiaries
Increase employee’s pride as they see the people they refer assimilate properly
and perform in the Bank.
A minimum of 40% of recruitments in the bank will be as a result of employee
referral program.

3.2 Features of the Revised Employee Referral program

The key element of the employee referral will be that existing employees will not
just be required to solicit resumes of suitable candidates but will now be required to
support their assimilation into the organisation.
Another change in the revised employee referral program will be the introduction of
monetary and non-monetary incentives to recognize employees for actively
identifying suitable candidates from their professional and social networks; these
incentives are only available to employees upon confirmation of referred
employees by the 180th day of their resumption in the Bank.
The monetary incentives will vary based on the job priority. High-impact and hard-
to-fill jobs will have higher monetary and non-monetary incentives. This is to
enable employees focus on recruiting outstanding employees and game changers
for the Bank.
Recognition of employees who in addition to supporting the assimilation of referred
candidates also have a successful track record of previous referrals.
Restricting referrals from employees who:
o Forward resumes of candidates who do not meet the bank’s recruitment
criteria
o Have a track record of bad referrals – candidates are either not confirmed
within 6 months of their resumption or they leave before 6 months.
Determining basis for restricting employees with bad referral track record
will be at Management’s discretion.
Periodic referral networking events which range from open houses to lunch and
videoconferences will be organized to highlight the program, discuss current
recruitment requirements to provide trainings.

The Bank will actively support the effectiveness of the employee referral program
by :
o Educating employees on how to use their professional and social network to
refer candidates and the provision of a simple toolkit that helps them
effectively engage potential candidates.
o Developing inventory of compelling stories by employees who have been
effective at sourcing and assimilating potential employees.

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o Actively developing branding and marketing materials to enable employees
effectively sell the organization.
o Fast tracking the recruitment process of candidates referred by existing
employees.
o Providing branded materials for all suitable candidates referred by existing
employees who are not hired, to thank them for their time
o Specifically targeting existing employees who have a high likelihood of
knowing individuals with the required skills and experience for a particular
job or diversity requirement. For example, proactively approaching
employees formerly employed at “target institutions” to engage them in
referring previous contacts to the Bank.

3.3 Qualifying Criteria

The Bank’s employee referral program is to recognize employees who actively support:
I. The recruitment of fresh graduates and successful graduation from the Access
Banking School of Excellence.
II. The recruitment of new hires (ABO – DM) whose appointment are confirmed 6
months from the date of resumption.

Eligibility
a) All professional staff in the Bank and subsidiaries excluding Executive Directors,
Human Resources staff and Group Heads of specific recruiting
Groups/Units/Teams
b) Referrals will be on a 1st come basis – and will be reviewed against the existing
database
c) Employee’s whose confirmation is deferred will be disqualified.
d) The maximum annual budget for the plan will be 5% of annual total cash
compensation of employees.

4 Payment of Rewards
Incentive
I. Group Recognition:
The inclusion of ‘Recruiter of the year’ as an award category in the CEO’s award.
$1,000 for Country award and $2,000 for Group Office award. Employee must
have a minimum of 10 successful referrals to be qualified for this award. Other
criteria will be determined by the awards committee.

II. Others:
Raffle draw – 1 Economy return ticket to London / South Africa or Dubai for every
50 vacancies in a country.
Consolation prizes: Annual Social Club Subscription, attendance of local seminars
or conferences, Lunch with Executive Management.

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Category of Staff 2 Referrals
* Equivalent of $100 to employee
* Equivalent of $100 for employee's CSR
Fresh graduates
project for each referral
* Ticket for the raffle draw on each referral
* Equivalent of $100 to employees
* Equivalent of $200 for employee's CSR
ABO - DM project for each referral
* Ticket for the raffle draw on each referral
5 Referrals
* Equivalent of $150 to employee
* Equivalent of $200 for employee's CSR
project for each referral
* Ticket for the raffle draw on each referral
* Equivalent of $200 to employee
* Equivalent of $350 for employee's CSR
project for each referral
* Ticket for the raffle draw on each referral
Human Resources
10 Referrals
* Equivalent of $250 to employee
* Equivalent of $500 for employee's CSR
project for each referral
* Ticket for the raffle draw on each referral
* Equivalent of $500 to employee
* Equivalent of $1000 for employee's CSR
project for each referral
* Ticket for the raffle draw on each referral

5 Communication Plan
To ensure the successful implementation of the Employee Referral Program, the
communication will be guided as follows:

S/N Activity Channels Frequency Objectives Dependencies

Group, Talent Acquisition,
To run for a Provide practical tips about the
Culture & Internal
1 Create awareness Employee Central period of 2 importance of ERP in the Bank's
Communications (HR) and
weeks recruitment drive
Corporate Communications

Introduce the re-launched Group Talent Acquisition,

2 Step by step of ERP Inside Access One off edition Employee Referral Program and Culture & Internal
its detials. Communications (HR) and
Corporate Communications
Eligibility of Staff & transparency of
3 Email teasers Forthnightly Reinforce the new program. Group Talent Acquisition
the new process
Provide periodic reminders of the Group Talent Acquisition
4 Highlight the incentives & Condition Wall Paper Monthly incentives and condition to be met and Culture & Internal
to qualify. Communications (HR)
Serve as channel to cascade the
ERP Chat at Monthly Managers Face-to-face Employee Referral Program to
5 Ad hoc HR
Meeting meetings management staff across all
geographic regions
Create bank-wide visibility for the
Face-to-face
6 ERP Chat at HR Day Ad hoc program and help drive the Head, HR
meetings
essence of the program
Foster understanding and
commitment for staff to the ERP. Group Talent Acquisition,
Increase ownership and build Culture & Internal
7 Sustain visibility for the project Screen saver Monthly
momentum towards the Communications (HR) and
achievement of the ERP objectives Corporate Communications

Group Talent Acquisition

Communicate critical project Employee Central /
8 Ad hoc Communicate the commencement and Culture & Internal
milestones Inside Access
of the tracker system. Communications (HR)

Partnership with the targeted pool

9 Referral Database Email teasers Forthnightly of employees with high track Group Talent Acquisition
record to achieve increase in
quality and volume of referrals.

6 Next Steps
1. Development of SOP
2. Development of an Access Bank profile to guide all employee in the Bank’s
requirements

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3. Development of Employee’s guide to the on-boarding process
4. Automation of the employee referral tracker across the Bank and its subsidiaries

Administration of the Program

The administration of the program will be by Human Resources Group who will act as the
administrator.

Amendment of the Terms and Conditions of the Program

During a reward period, the bank may, for very weighty reasons, amend the terms
and conditions of the program. Examples include re-organization, changes in
market condition necessitating a different incentive amongst others.

Prayer
Implementation of the new ERP.
Inclusion of the “Recruiter of the Year” into the award category for the CEO’s
award.

Justification
1. This is to attract the best and brightest candidates into the Bank.
2. Employee Referral Program will create a sense of involvement within employees.
3. Reduce recruitment costs associated with the use of recruitment agencies, job fair
and career workshop.
4. Public recognition of successful referrals.

Lessons from other companies with Reward and Bonus Related ERP Features

World-class programs never pay “equal” bonuses for all jobs, and some extremely
effective programs offer no significant cash bonuses at all.

1. Do-it-for-the-team should be the primary motivator - instill in your employees

that the primary reason that they should refer people is because the team wins “when
it has the best players.” It is a superior motivator over monetary rewards, because it
turns referrals into an opportunity to provide their teammates and themselves with the
very best coworkers. By emphasizing the superior capability of employees to make
contacts, to build relationships, and to assess potential candidates, you can educate
your employees about the critical role that only they can play in filling the team with
top performers and innovators (Accenture, Google, & Cisco).
2. Offer a charity donation option – some employees are concerned about the
appearance of making referrals for self-enrichment. It is wise to offer the option of
donating part ($175 – $900) or all of the reward to charity, as this can excite
employees who are more concerned about helping others and being altruistic (DaVita
& Accenture).
3. Offer prize drawings and non-cash rewards – a cheaper but almost-as-effective
alternative to offering cash rewards for every referral is to hold a quarterly prize
drawing where every employee who has made a successful referral during the period
is eligible. Automobiles or car leases make great prizes because they get everyone’s

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attention. Unusual vacation trips are also powerful but if you have no money, consider
making the prize a ticket to a once- or twice-a-year dinner with the CEO to celebrate
all employees who made successful referrals. If you can’t afford or don’t want to offer
large prizes or pay cash rewards, also consider providing a product sample, a handful
of free movie tickets for the whole family, a plaque, or an award pin or T-shirt. Other
no-cost prize options include a reserved parking spot, lunch with the CEO, or first-
choice of vacation or shift schedules. Also consider placing their picture in the lobby or
work with advertising to allow individuals who successfully refer an opportunity to
appear in regular company product advertising (Tenet Health).
4. Periodically adjust your bonus amounts – consider varying the bonus based on
the salary of the position. Offering the same rewards without variation almost always
gets stale. Periodically experimenting with different approaches can allow
organizations to accurately scale their incentives and to modify eligible position
openings on a continuous basis. The best practice is to adjust your rewards
periodically based on economic conditions, the current response rate and relative to
what the competition is offering (CACI International)
5. Offer a “hard to hire” bonus supplement – for “hard-to-fill” key or hot jobs, offer
a higher kick-up bonus or contest prize for a brief period of time. In some cases, hiring
managers are willing to pay this bump up bonus (Aricent).
6. Supplement the bonus based on performance – offer supplemental award for
referring those who after hiring turn out to be top performers (based on an above
average performance appraisal score at the six-month assessment). Also consider
increasing bonuses for longer-than-expected retention or if the hire happens to be a
key employee from your competitor’s firm (Amazon).
7. A handwritten thank-you note — a personalized note or call from a senior
executive thanking the employee who made a high-impact referral is cheap but
powerful (Amazon).
8. Stunning bonuses can get everyone’s attention — in order to garner
everyone’s attention, consider periodically offering an exceptional bonus amount
($20,000) for extremely hard-to-fill positions (DNAnexus).