Recruitment: Friends carry high value in job market

Scots, its seems, benefit from this wisdom more than most, since a recent survey showed us to be 10 per cent more likely to suggest a friend for a job.

An online survey of 2,000 adults by YouGov discovered that Scots made more personal recruitment recommendations than any other UK country. In fact, almost three in four of us have shared the news of an upcoming position with a friend or family member.

“Our survey doesn’t tell us why Scots are more likely to recommend friends for jobs,” says Charlie Duff, community manager at BraveNewTalent.com, who commissioned the survey. “But Scots have a reputation as a friendly nation, so perhaps it’s down to their willingness to help others.”

More importantly, it seems that friends of staff are readily hired by corporations when it comes to recruitment. So a good word from someone on the inside is usually a faster and more effective route to a job than applying to job adverts. “Personal recommendations are very valuable for employers,” explains Duff. “It can save a lot of time sifting through CVs and interviewing people who may not be right for the job. Plus there are no recruitment fees to pay, so it saves money.”

Some employers have taken the concept one step further and actively encourage staff to recommend friends. Enterprise Car Rentals offers a generous £1,000 per friend referral. The bonus has galvanised staff to think of their friends as new recruits, with some even becoming serial referrers. One such employee is management trainee Keisha Gibbs, who recently made £3,000 in a single month by putting friends forward for positions within Enterprise.

“I had an amazing shopping trip as I referred all three friends within one month,” says Gibbs. “The employee referral programme is successful because we know exactly the type of people that would be right to work for Enterprise and it has to be said the best advocates for the company are the people that work for it. The financial benefit to us as employees is also a great motivation to sell the job to your friends.”

But are things always rosy in a firm staffed by friends, and friends of friends? Some experts believe that this strategy, while financially astute in the short term, could shorten the talent pool and affect profits in the long term.

“Recruiting friends is not right for every role,” warns Darren Montagu, managing director for Hays in Scotland. “Particularly because you might not always get access to the best people and it can really impact on how diverse a team becomes. Without considering a far wider pool of candidates you risk getting the same type of person, rather than the right person who could transform your business.”

A lack of diversity isn’t the only reason why internal referrals could be problematic. The age-old issue of nepotism – unfair favouritism towards relatives or friends – is seen as a problem for industry in Scotland, with some particularly competitive sectors, such as law and journalism, typically coming under fire. The feeling in some sectors is that the plum positions are often awarded to friends and relatives of a wealthy elite. This is not only unfair on less privileged members of society, but stunts the talent range of the organisation.

The problem, as some see it, is that friend referrals create a culture whereby favouritism of this kind is seen to be endorsed. Even where a company has advertised a position, many job-hunters rightly suspect that a post has been filled internally long before recruitment adverts are placed, forcing applicants through a demoralising charade when the candidate has already been allocated in the eyes of the recruiters.

Then there’s the issue of disputes among employees – potentially far more emotionally charged if the staff were good friends in the first place. “If the team members know each other and get on already, it has to be a positive thing,” says Charlie Duff. “But there’s a flip side – if friends fall out, they may bring that dispute into the workplace. Employers need to be mindful of that risk, and manage it appropriately.”

Generally speaking, however, current wisdom is that job-hunters should unashamedly capitalise on their contacts. Not only has this strategy been shown to be highly effective in nailing a position, but the statistics suggest recruits are also likely to be better suited to work put their way by a friend or relative.

“Our survey found that 25 per cent of people recommended for a position by Scots landed the job, so it clearly works,” says Duff. “Nobody knows their job like existing employees, so they are likely to put forward people they know have the right skills and are a good fit for the organisation. Employers are reassured by the fact that they are recommended by someone they know and trust. So, in effect, staff have done the first round of selection already.”

Interestingly, younger job-hunters are more likely to ask friends to recommend them, and to put in a good word for someone close to them. Older staff tell fewer people that they are touting for a new job, and in doing so miss out on potential help from friends. Young people also come out top when using technological social resources. Under 25s have proven adept at using Twitter, Facebook and online forums to find out employment opportunities, in contrast to their older counterparts.

It seems the message for those of us looking for new work is not to forget about our social resources – particularly as we age. If anything, the contacts and alliances we establish through our careers are more valuable the older we get, with experienced employees holding higher up roles and having better access to more powerful people.

So if you’re hoping for a different role or a career change this year, it pays to know who your friends are.