The road to a solid employee referral network isn't always a paved one. There are many twists and turns in the seemingly endless list of tasks associated with building an employee referral network that you can depend on. But if you can manage to reinforce your efforts with some deliberate decisions, your employee referral network will reap endless rewards!

So, let's take some time today to explore the pros and cons of creating an employee referral network. We will also discuss how to avoid getting stuck on the cons aspect, so you can enjoy the fruits of your employee referral network labor for years to come.

Having a solid employee referral network can:

Save you thousands in recruiting costs.

Increase your production rates tenfold.

Help reinforce your company culture.

And yet, so many HR professionals skim over investing time into establishing an employee referral network because it can feel overwhelming, and can cost a pretty penny if the employee referral network isn't executed strategically.

1. An employee referral network opens the door to a much bigger pool of applicants.

Pro: Employee Referral Networks helps decrease time-to-fill.

If you have a large candidate pool to choose from after you reach out to your employee referral network, you have the opportunity to decrease your time-to-fill significantly.

Assuming that you have an applicant tracking system that helps you screen and sort through your applicants efficiently, you'll be able to move potential quality applicants through the hiring process quickly.

Con: Employee Referral Networks can be complicated if not using Hiring Software.

Managing an extensive employee referral network can be a lot of work if you don't have the proper tools in place to communicate with potential applicants. By not having the right tools you run the risk of not only offending future employees, but current ones as well.

Using a high quality applicant tracking system that prioritizes applicant communication is key. Select a platform that allows you to communicate with applicants throughout every step of the hiring process. The more they know, the more likely it is that you'll avoid leaving a sour taste in their mouth if they aren't selected.

Corresponding with applicants also maintains the integrity of your employee referral network because they may still feel compelled to apply for a future position that is better suited for their particular skillset.