We all know it: recommendations and referrals are an integral part of the recruitment process. Positive buzz about a company can be exponentially more impactful, however, when compared with buzz around a prospective candidate.
Your star team member, the new hire, the underperformer, the veteran… they’re all talking about their experiences at work. They may be airing grievances on Glassdoor or singing praises on Yelp; whatever the case, details about their treatment, the company’s culture and the integrity and behavior of its leadership can be quickly – and in many cases, anonymously – broadcast to the far reaches of the interwebs to be discovered by even the most moderately enterprising interviewees.
Carol Gronlund, of ERE, recently revisited some of the key statistics in Fred Reichheld’s and Paul Marsden’s Advocacy Drives Growth, which stated that “a 7 percent increase in word-of-mouth advocacy unlocks 1 percent additional company growth.”
Below are a few insights into power of recommendations, as found by ERE’s research.
- 92 percent of consumers cited that recommendations from a family member or friend were the leading influencers on their purchasing decisions
- 46 percent recognized Facebook “likes” as brand endorsements
- Direct, in-person interactions were participants’ most trusted source of recommendations (63 percent), but more than a quarter of respondents were strongly influenced by either YouTube reviews (31 percent) or Facebook posts (27 percent)
Your employees can be your strongest advocates or your most vocal critics. Give ‘em something (good!) to talk about.
Published by Conselium Executive Search, the global leader in compliance search.
