Recruiting

Most effective teams have discovered something that many organizations miss: the best decisions come from productive disagreement, not polite consensus.

Getting referrals is one thing. Getting them to complete the full application process is another challenge entirely.

Every TA leader has probably been in this scenario. You need a referral program that actually works, so you evaluate platforms that promise custom solutions built specifically for your organization. The vendor demonstrates specialized dashboards, unique integrations, and features designed around your exact workflow. Everything seems perfect.

Many organizations wonder why their referral programs fail to deliver sustained results. The problem runs deeper than poor promotion or inadequate rewards. Companies tend to approach referral hiring as a temporary campaign instead of building it into their culture.

Some veterinary organizations like VEG started with a different question entirely: instead of asking "how do we find more candidates," they asked "why are qualified candidates abandoning our application process?" This shift in perspective led to a complete reimagining of how clinical hiring should work.

Forward-thinking companies are borrowing the playbook from their sales teams and applying it to talent acquisition. They're treating their referral networks like lead generation engines. They're proving that talent acquisition can be one of the most powerful revenue drivers in the organization.

You've probably noticed that some employees never refer anyone, while others seem to know everyone in the industry. In most office environments, work relationships stay professional and surface-level. People collaborate on projects but rarely stake their reputation on a colleague's abilities.

A technology company invested heavily in their employee referral program last year. They offered competitive bonuses, ran quarterly campaigns, and tracked every metric imaginable. Yet when leadership asked why their top engineers stopped participating after making one referral, nobody had an answer.

Most companies look within when they need high-quality referrals. But there's a pipeline they're missing out on that they might not have realized - customers, contractors, partners, vendors, and online communities.