Leading in Leads: Reinvigorating an Employee Referral Program
When you are trying to find computational scientists, a modeler who can recreate an airline cockpit or a cyber expert with intimate knowledge of DoD regulations around Authority to Operate, employee referrals become critical to finding the right people at the right time. Lynn Dugle, our CEO, is a champion of Engility’s employee referral program. She believes it symbolizes that we are offering something unique here at Engility, which our employees want to share with others. By extension the program has improved employee retention and continues to attract new employees to participate and refer on a regular basis.
At the beginning of January 2016, less than 1% of the employee population was participating in the referral program. As of September 2017, the number of employees participating has increased to 25%. The increase in participation, and overall success of the program, is attributed to many factors, including executive buy-in, creative communication strategies and simplified program access for our employees.
Referrals Are Essential
Central to every talent acquisition strategy is a successful referral program. As the single most successful source of hired employees, referral hires typically excel in their jobs, stay longer, fit in culturally and experience higher levels of job satisfaction. Leveraging referrals and empowering employees as Talent Scouts promotes Engility as a destination employer and proves that we have something unique to offer in today’s populated government contracting marketplace.