Arval Competence Center Bratislava, the center of expertise providing support to a full-service operating leasing Arval entities mostly around the Europe , initially used an improvised employee referral program based on internal communication. Based on recommendations from colleagues in this industry, they replaced it with a digital centralized platform. Since then, the number of candidates referred from existing employees has doubled and interest in internal employee rotation has increased.
The actual implementation of the program was very quick and easy, as the company was already using the Nalgoo ATS recruitment management platform. The service package was gradually extended to include an employee referral program that worked with the same data, linked it together and was able to automatically match candidates to positions. HR department employees received personal training from the Nalgoo ATS platform provider and were provided with useful materials for employees.
Transparency first
Adequate and continuous communication of the program to staff was key in putting the program into practice. "Employees particularly appreciate the clarity of open positions, transparency in the recommendation process and the progress of each recommended candidate," revealed Sonia Kania, HR Director at Arval Competence Center. From an HR perspective, she sees transparency, speed, and availability of information as the biggest perks.
Mobile access motivates employees
The HR department encouraged employees to participate in the program with an internal campaign. "The biggest motivation for us would be the mobile app, as we already operate primarily on mobile apps in the company," admits Sonia Kania. They did not reach for ambassadors to help motivate employees. "We made sure that our employees were effectively informed by HR." According to the HR Director, the most important thing for an effective referral process is to "keep employees informed about open positions and the overall process, and to have full control over, when bonuses will be paid to employees."
More referrals, easier administration
The deployment of the digitized employee referral program has had a significant impact on the number and quality of referrals submitted. "Awareness of the referral option has increased thanks to the campaign and the launch of the platform," says Sonia Kania. The digitalization of the system has made the administration and the process of obtaining statistics for HR easier. "For existing employees, we are registering more applications for open positions because they have a clear overview of currently open positions without having to search on Profesia," says HR Director Arval Competence Center.
How to evaluate whether the program is working?
They evaluate the success of the program based on data such as the percentage of candidate source, and therefore whether the candidate came through direct recruitment, through an agency, or by referral. They also track average employee retention time by recruitment source.
Easier recruitment
The app has been essential in simplifying the entire referral process. "Our goal is to increase the percentage of the candidate ratio obtained through the employee referral program," adds Sonia Kania. When selecting the system vendor, the key factors were "the company's previous smooth cooperation with the company in implementing the recruitment system and the interconnectivity of the two systems."
About Sonia Kania
Sonia Kania studied criminal and international business law at the University of Hertfordshire in England. After graduating from university, she worked in the prosecution office, but her desire to return to her homeland was stronger. Upon returning to Slovakia, she joined the BNP Paribas group and found her place and self-fulfillment in the HR department. Later, she became part of an unique project - the Arval Competence Center, where she continues to work as the HR Director to this day.
By: Adriana Hergott