How to increase the number of friends in the company
About a third of our employees are friends or relatives of those who already worked at the company at the time of their employment. Moreover, it was they who brought them to Tutu.ru. Only here about “cronyism” there is no talk here - just our employees always gladly recommend Tutu.ru to their friends (and tell their friends to the HR department). I'll tell you how to achieve the same results and why it is good for any company.
Now in Tutu.ru about 30 percent of employees who came on the recommendation of one of us. For example, in 2017, out of 89 newcomers, 34 are someone's friends or relatives.
Several employees have already recommended us two or more of their friends who successfully fit into the team. In a month, we (HR department) receive at least one recommendation from colleagues.
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I must say at once: we don’t financially encourage recommendations, although this is a common practice in many companies. We have a fundamentally different system of motivation.
In 2003, our travel service was organized by friends-students. At first, of course, friends worked here, and their friends and friends of friends often became new employees — everything grew thanks to word of mouth. Over time, the development of the product required more and more interested in the development of the service, they were also looking for among friends and acquaintances. The culture of recommending good people to the company scaled, as did the strength of the company itself.
Almost a year ago we organized a project called “Happy with Fire”: we formalized the recommendations of friends in the internal system. Now you don’t need to “go kicking” into the HR department and tell what kind of wonderful friend you have - you can do it online.
If recommended will be a cool employee for the company - the one who recommended will take part in a win-win lottery and get some interesting prize for the whole team. For example, a trip with colleagues to any quest in reality, or design circles for everyone with whom he is working on a product. There are certificates and not so creative, but tasty - on pizza or donuts. And they will give a bright sticker with the inscription "I'm burning in Tutu".
What motivates employees to recommend friends? Not exactly a lottery. It is rather a consequence, not a cause. Employees have always recommended their friends, and in the HR department they decided that these recommendations would be great to encourage.
Our people recommend the company to friends, because they like our common cause, the tasks that they face, the atmosphere in the team and working conditions. And they are glad to bring all this into the life of their friends in order to make Tutu.ru better with their help. And because you can recommend. No one will look askance if you ask to read the resume of a sister or best friend. And no one will say about a newbie that if he came by recommendation, it means according to cronyism - the selection process itself is the same for everyone.
It was the case that a new employee came to us, and then little by little in half a year brought a whole small team with him. Every time I came and said “I have a friend here for our tasks, it’s like cool, let's take it,” then the person came to the meeting - really cool, and that's how we got + 4 enthusiastic people in the team.
We always communicate with any candidate by phone and hold 2-3 meetings with different specialists (HR-manager, team leader or senior specialist in the team, leader), sometimes after a telephone conversation we can ask to perform a test task. We evaluate the results of each communication based on our principles and standards - it is important for us that people in the company are commanding, responsive, supporting the result and loving the client.
Because the level of trust in the team becomes higher - each someone’s friend is more than a colleague. You can discuss with others the most daring ideas, of which cool features are often born, which we create for our clients.
In fact, when a friend can call a friend to work, and his wife cannot recommend her husband to her colleagues - without limitations, alas. Although they are quite logical and out loud, they can and do not voice
One day, our colleague recommended his group mate to respond to our analyst vacancy, but we refused her after one of the interviews. Almost a year later, the same colleague recommended that the same groupmate again respond to the same vacancy (even to the same grocery team and to the same recruiter) again - and we took it. People change.
If employees are dissatisfied with the work in your company, they are not satisfied with the relationship with the management, salary, daily routine or something else - the recommendation system will not work (thanks, cap). For everything else, there is a rather simple algorithm:
Once a colleague recommended a friend to us who was very interested in working in Tutu.ru. All interviews were successful, and in the end they made an offer, and he refused it. We did not understand the reasons (we did not voice them to us, as we asked). Until now, sometimes we wake up at night and exclaim, “how can that be so?”. But yes, and it happens.
The worst and hardest thing for an HR team is to find the right words to explain why they refused a friend. Or sister. Or husband.
There can be any reasons, it’s already not a secret to anyone - they check both knowledge and personal qualities at interviews. But none of these points can simply be taken and voiced, it will be a shame, no matter how cool. “This is my friend, he is the best in the world and in general saved my life,” many people think so, but alas. Sometimes something may not be the same in chemistry between the employer and the applicant, no matter how beautiful both are. And it is important to tell about it correctly and carefully. We believe that we most often succeed.
Even in our particular case, there was a difficulty with the transition to the online format. On the one hand, do you want to receive a cherished resume and contacts and run more to communicate with the candidate: what if he is the most awaited employee? And because a recruiter is ready to pick up a resume is not that by mail, but completely printed out or even written by hand. On the other hand, you need to collect applications in the online form to keep statistics, and even train colleagues to digital.
Just numbers
Now in Tutu.ru about 30 percent of employees who came on the recommendation of one of us. For example, in 2017, out of 89 newcomers, 34 are someone's friends or relatives.
Several employees have already recommended us two or more of their friends who successfully fit into the team. In a month, we (HR department) receive at least one recommendation from colleagues.
')
I must say at once: we don’t financially encourage recommendations, although this is a common practice in many companies. We have a fundamentally different system of motivation.
How it all began
In 2003, our travel service was organized by friends-students. At first, of course, friends worked here, and their friends and friends of friends often became new employees — everything grew thanks to word of mouth. Over time, the development of the product required more and more interested in the development of the service, they were also looking for among friends and acquaintances. The culture of recommending good people to the company scaled, as did the strength of the company itself.
How does the recommendation system work today?
Almost a year ago we organized a project called “Happy with Fire”: we formalized the recommendations of friends in the internal system. Now you don’t need to “go kicking” into the HR department and tell what kind of wonderful friend you have - you can do it online.
If recommended will be a cool employee for the company - the one who recommended will take part in a win-win lottery and get some interesting prize for the whole team. For example, a trip with colleagues to any quest in reality, or design circles for everyone with whom he is working on a product. There are certificates and not so creative, but tasty - on pizza or donuts. And they will give a bright sticker with the inscription "I'm burning in Tutu".
What motivates you to call your friends (and wife) in Tutu.ru
What motivates employees to recommend friends? Not exactly a lottery. It is rather a consequence, not a cause. Employees have always recommended their friends, and in the HR department they decided that these recommendations would be great to encourage.
Our people recommend the company to friends, because they like our common cause, the tasks that they face, the atmosphere in the team and working conditions. And they are glad to bring all this into the life of their friends in order to make Tutu.ru better with their help. And because you can recommend. No one will look askance if you ask to read the resume of a sister or best friend. And no one will say about a newbie that if he came by recommendation, it means according to cronyism - the selection process itself is the same for everyone.
It was the case that a new employee came to us, and then little by little in half a year brought a whole small team with him. Every time I came and said “I have a friend here for our tasks, it’s like cool, let's take it,” then the person came to the meeting - really cool, and that's how we got + 4 enthusiastic people in the team.
We always communicate with any candidate by phone and hold 2-3 meetings with different specialists (HR-manager, team leader or senior specialist in the team, leader), sometimes after a telephone conversation we can ask to perform a test task. We evaluate the results of each communication based on our principles and standards - it is important for us that people in the company are commanding, responsive, supporting the result and loving the client.
Why working with friends is great
Because the level of trust in the team becomes higher - each someone’s friend is more than a colleague. You can discuss with others the most daring ideas, of which cool features are often born, which we create for our clients.
What are the limitations
In fact, when a friend can call a friend to work, and his wife cannot recommend her husband to her colleagues - without limitations, alas. Although they are quite logical and out loud, they can and do not voice
- people should not be subordinate to each other or have the opportunity to influence the relationship of his acquaintance with his leader.
- one should be objective in the recommendations: there is a saying that “a good person is not a profession,” and we adhere to this principle. The person who was recommended should meet the primary criteria established for the vacancy: work experience, the presence of certain skills, interest in a particular field of activity, motivation.
One day, our colleague recommended his group mate to respond to our analyst vacancy, but we refused her after one of the interviews. Almost a year later, the same colleague recommended that the same groupmate again respond to the same vacancy (even to the same grocery team and to the same recruiter) again - and we took it. People change.
And now the instruction
If employees are dissatisfied with the work in your company, they are not satisfied with the relationship with the management, salary, daily routine or something else - the recommendation system will not work (thanks, cap). For everything else, there is a rather simple algorithm:
- Create a friendly atmosphere in the team: give people the opportunity to share ideas, questions, mistakes - feeling in the team, as if in a circle of friends, I want to bring other friends to it.
- Attract people with tasks, then they will talk about work in such a way that acquaintances themselves begin to ask them to find a place in the company.
- Tell people what to recommend - it's great: give examples, make the recommendation process a part of culture, collect success stories - for example, we have employees that someone once recommended, and then they went a hard way in the company (and, of course, yourself someone recommended).
- Tell about open vacancies to employees and contact them for help, not only wait for the initiative, but also show it yourself.
Underwater rocks
Once a colleague recommended a friend to us who was very interested in working in Tutu.ru. All interviews were successful, and in the end they made an offer, and he refused it. We did not understand the reasons (we did not voice them to us, as we asked). Until now, sometimes we wake up at night and exclaim, “how can that be so?”. But yes, and it happens.
The worst and hardest thing for an HR team is to find the right words to explain why they refused a friend. Or sister. Or husband.
There can be any reasons, it’s already not a secret to anyone - they check both knowledge and personal qualities at interviews. But none of these points can simply be taken and voiced, it will be a shame, no matter how cool. “This is my friend, he is the best in the world and in general saved my life,” many people think so, but alas. Sometimes something may not be the same in chemistry between the employer and the applicant, no matter how beautiful both are. And it is important to tell about it correctly and carefully. We believe that we most often succeed.
Even in our particular case, there was a difficulty with the transition to the online format. On the one hand, do you want to receive a cherished resume and contacts and run more to communicate with the candidate: what if he is the most awaited employee? And because a recruiter is ready to pick up a resume is not that by mail, but completely printed out or even written by hand. On the other hand, you need to collect applications in the online form to keep statistics, and even train colleagues to digital.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/353728/
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