6 Best Employee Referral Software Platforms for 2024
The 5 best employee referral platforms on the market right now, reviewed and rated by HR tech experts. Get info on features, pricing, integrations, and more below.
The Top Employee Referral Platforms
Employee referrals are typically the best source of hire for companies. Referral candidates quickly move through the interview process, stay longer, and get ramped up faster.
While employee referrals can happen organically, or through the built in module in the ATS, it usually makes sense for companies to also partner with a dedicated employee referral tool in order to boost the number of referrals they are getting, as well as manage tracking, rewards, etc.
Pro tip: simple rewards through a platform like Caroo can be a great way to supercharge your referral program.
In this guide we’ll give you the insights you need to understand the employee referral landscape, a few vendors we think you should look at, and advice on implementing a successful program. Enjoy!
In this guide you’ll find: Best Employee Referral Vendors, Benefits of Employee Referral Software, ROI Calculator, Common Pitfalls, Pricing Information
To create and continually refine this list of the best employee referral software, we rely on our network of HR industry thought leaders, user testers, and in-house expertise. We assessed more than 20 vendors to find the best – evaluating each across multiple factors like ROI, employee engagement, tracking, and analytics.
With our first-hand knowledge, we determined that testing this software type required a particular focus on two critical functions: user interface and integration.
- User Interface:
Ease of use is essential regardless of the tool type, but for employee referral systems, the UX/UI must be exceptional. Because using this tool is optional, employers must remove any obstacles preventing workers from engaging with it.
We tested demo versions of each platform and assigned scores for clarity, simplicity, consistency, intuitive navigation, and accessibility.
- Integration:
The integration standards for stand-alone tools are high. This is particularly true when the tool relies on efficiency and automation. Simply put, employee referral software must align seamlessly with the other HR and TA recruiting tech stack tools, or people won’t use it.
To evaluate this, we identified the HR software most likely to be used by our readers who are looking for employee referral software. We then did a side-by-side comparison checking our list of the tools most likely to be used against what each featured vendor integrates with.
Each company featured on this list represents the results of evaluation factors unique to Select Software Reviews. Our in-house editorial team represents decades of experience, and we maintain rigid, empirical standards in research and evaluation. If you’d like to learn more, check out this article on how we assess HR tech vendors.
ERIN
Basile by HelloWork
EmployeeReferrals.com
Teamable
RolePoint
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ERIN
ERIN is cost-effective for both employees and employer. It boasts a fully automated ATS integration, automated emails and, mobile notifications. By streamlining communication, ERIN allows employees to make referrals in less than 30 seconds!
PROS
CONS
ERIN allows your company to streamline the employee referral process through an intuitive mobile first tool. Employees can sync their network to the platform to get referral recommendations which is a key hallmark of any modern referral technology. Because their solution is mobile first, it's great for all types of referrals, including blue collar roles that are traditionally overlooked by most referral tech.
Allied Universal, Gannet Fleming, Firefly
ERIN has a Free Forever plan with one admin account only and bonus tracking at no cost. After that, their Growth plan starts at $499 per month (billed annually) and is for up to 500 employees. If that's not enough, but you're under 1,000 employees, they offer a plan called Scale at $875 per month. If you have more than 1,000 employees, then their Enterprise plan is for you, which would require a request for a quote.
Best For
Companies of all sizes could make use of ERIN's technology. However, their average customer size is 5,000 employees. A good portion of their customer base are even companies with over 30,000 employees.
Basile by HelloWork
Basile by HelloWork's greatest strength lies in its dedicated support team. They take a deeply personal approach when it comes to referral program customization and product training and are willing to go the extra mile to accommodate client requests.
PROS
- Ease-of-use, mobile-friendly referral portal.
- Free API integrations with ATS and recruiting apps managed by Basile's delivery team.
- Automated and personalized communications to each employee, including job recommendations based on their network preferences.
- Referral bonus management module streamlines tracking of eligible bonuses.
- Weekly email summaries for TAs to manage pending referrals.
- Dedicated CMS support via email and phone.
- Ease-of-use, mobile-friendly referral portal.
- Free API integrations with ATS and recruiting apps managed by Basile's delivery team.
- Automated and personalized communications to each employee, including job recommendations based on their network preferences.
- Referral bonus management module streamlines tracking of eligible bonuses.
- Weekly email summaries for TAs to manage pending referrals.
- Dedicated CMS support via email and phone.
CONS
- Can be pricey for small businesses.
- Additional cost for deploying Basile as an internal mobility platform.
- Can be pricey for small businesses.
- Additional cost for deploying Basile as an internal mobility platform.
We took a close look at Basile’s referral portal from the employee’s perspective before diving into the admin side and were struck by how simple it was to use. Without any instructions, we could start referring with a few clicks. It was also lovely to see the portal functioned well on both the Chrome browser and phone.
Our favorite part of this employee portal is how seamlessly it integrates with ATS. Once connected, the system keeps your employees posted on their referred applicants’ status in the portal under the “My referrals” category. It also notifies the employee via email. These up-to-the-minute updates not only improve transparency and the referee experience but also save TAs from hours of administrative work.
Switching to the employer’s viewpoint, we expected an equally great experience, and Basile didn’t disappoint. The support team showed punctuality and expertise, and we’re glad this didn’t drop after clients were onboarded. They take the time to tailor referral programs based on client's needs and provide weekly and monthly reports so clients can track how these programs are working. What’s more, their responses to clients' emails and phone calls are almost instant.
For those hesitant about trusting this startup, knowing that Basile is backed by HelloWork Group—a longstanding enterprise in the HR tech space—may offer some peace of mind.
However, we did hear feedback from small employers that Basile is quite pricey. This isn’t surprising, considering an annual engagement with this vendor starts at a minimum of $8,000. Additionally, its performance-based pricing option (where clients pay a third of the annual subscription and later an additional fee per referral hire) charges $500 per executive hire, $250 per entry-level hire, and extra fees if you want to use Basile for internal mobility—may not be universally feasible for many.
There’s no denying that Basile's onboarding process is thorough: it includes client workshops, product walk-throughs, ATS integration, and referral marketing material production. Yet, we’d argue the 6-week length to complete these all may be too long for some.
150+ companies, including Bouygues, Carrefour, Engie, Leyton, Mazars, and Safran.
Basile by HelloWork offers two pricing options:
- Pricing based on employee headcount: Starts at $8k/year.
- Performance-based pricing: A third of annual license cost, plus $500 per executive hire and $250 per blue-collar/entry-level hire.
Best For
Enterprises based in Europe and North America will find Basile by HelloWork a great addition to their recruitment tech stack.
EmployeeReferrals.com
employeereferrals.com is loaded with amazing features. You can get more referrals in innovative ways; via campaigns, gift cards, leaderboards. The platform can also be integrated with your ATS and HRIS.
PROS
CONS
As the domain name implies, these guys have been in the referrals game for quite some time. That means they hook into all the various ATS’s and rewards programs out there. Their mobile-first, campaign-driven approach drives high levels of adoption and leads to dramatic increases in referral hires.
Notable customers include Crocs, ZipRecruiter, and DeVry University.
Pricing with this vendor is not disclosed upfront, so you'd have to book a demo to move forward.
Best For
EmployeeReferrals is best-suited for companies with more than 500 employees.
During my internship, I used Employee Referrals several times. My responsibilities included creating accounts, defining job policies, posting job vacancies, and informing employees about these vacancies. I also provided training for accessing the portal. After employees submitted their referrals, I managed the process by reviewing, screening, and communicating with both the employee and the candidate about the status. I conducted the recruitment process and ensured that the referring employee received a reward if their candidate was selected.
- Employee Referrals improves candidate quality.
- It provides data-driven reports.
- It helps reduce labor turnover rates.
I used Employee Referrals when I was an intern. The company where I interned had been using this app for approximately two years. The tool enhanced recruitment efficiency, leading to improved candidate quality and a faster hiring process, resulting in cost savings through reduced recruitment expenses and lower turnover rates. Employee engagement and morale were boosted by increased involvement and recognition, fostering a better cultural fit and a positive workplace environment. A streamlined, automated, and data-driven referral process supported scalability and facilitated growth and adaptability. These advantages provided a competitive edge by accessing passive candidates and strengthening the employer brand.
- There is limited reach.
- There is a possibility of bias.
- There is potential for favoritism
- Customization Options: This tool offers tailored settings to meet specific organizational needs, allowing flexibility in the recruitment process.
- User-Friendly: The tool has an intuitive interface, making it easy for both employers and employees to navigate and use efficiently.
- Primary Focus on Referrals: The tool emphasizes employee referrals as a key recruitment strategy, enhancing the quality of hires and leveraging existing employee networks.
- User-Friendly: Ensure the tool has an intuitive interface and is easy to use, requiring minimal training.
- Functionality: Check if the tool offers all necessary features and performs the required tasks efficiently.
- Cost: Consider the total cost of ownership, including purchase price, maintenance, and any additional fees.
- Customization: Look for the ability to tailor the tool to specific needs and preferences, enhancing its usefulness.
I’m not sure as I didn’t spend a long time using the tool.
Employee Referrals is good for HR consultancy agencies and mid-level to large companies.
Employee Referrals is not a good fit for small firms and companies that need temporary employees.
Teamable
Teamable has a delightful user interface and comes with many impressive features. It seamlessly integrate with your ATS, increases employee engagement with intelligent gamification, and also gives you detailed reports and analytics.
PROS
CONS
Teamable pioneered using your employee/alumni/advisor networks to boost referrals, and allow your recruiting team a new avenue to source talent already connected to your company. Their longevity means they have lots of data on potential referrals, as well as a great handle on how to implement this solution across your organization.
Teamable has an incredible customer list that keeps growing: Spotify, Allstate, Lyft and many others.
Pricing is not publicly-disclosed by this vendor.
Best For
Teamable is a good bet for businesses of all sizes.
RolePoint
RolePoint’s professional services team ensures you have a successful implementation, and continuously engage your employees.
PROS
CONS
RolePoint has historically been a leader in this market. They’ve recently merged with JobVite and a few other tools and so it’ll be interesting to see how the solution evolves with that HCM suite. However, it’s worth noting they integrate with the majority of ATS/HRIS vendors currently. Their customer base includes McKinsey, UPS, and LinkedIn.
RolePoint's pricing is not disclosed within Jobvite's website, so the best way forward is to request a tour or take their 10 minute assessment.
Best For
In order to determine if RolePoint is for you, you can take a free 10 minute assessment in the Jobvite website.
Boon
With Boon, you can manage and receive more referrals in less than 5 minutes. It's available on mobile and web, the setup requires no onboarding or training, and jobs can automatically be pulled from your career page.
PROS
CONS
Boon’s founders ran a recruiting agency that realized referrals were by far their number one source of hire. They built their own tech to boost referrals, and thought that others would get value out of the system they’ve built. What’s unique here is that this isn’t a solution designed just for fast growing tech companies as their customers are recruiting everyone from engineers to truck drivers.
Boon is used by Intel, Citrix, and SpaceX.
Although their exact pricing isn't revealed upfront, Boon has three available plans: Startup, Growth, and Enterprise.
Best For
Boon is a neat tool for startups, fast-growing companies, and established enterprises alike.
Benefits of Employee Referral Technology
HR and talent acquisition teams are looking to add an employee referral solution because it can be a game changer for your recruiting efforts. Here are the key benefits of referral technology, see below for how we translate these benefits into an actual return on investment calculation for your CFO.
- More Top of Funnel: Simply put, getting more referrals drastically increases the top of your recruiting funnel fast. Right now you are no doubt getting employees to recommend their friends via your ATS or whatever system you currently have setup. Imagine getting 3x that amount of candidates simply by putting in the right process, reminders, rewards.
- High Conversion Rates: For every 10 employee referrals, you probably get 1 hire. Contrast that with the number of applicants you need from a job board or even your career site to get a hire. Referral candidates convert to employees at a much higher rate. This decreases time to fill, as well as the amount of hours you spend screening candidates.
- Better Retention: Job seekers who are brought to the recruiting team via employee referrals have a much better understanding of the job they are getting into. This translates into better retention, especially for roles where churn is an issue: nursing, retail, transportation, etc.
- Employee Engagement: Anytime you can get your employees involved in the recruiting process is a win. Employee referral tools make the workflow simple and rewarding for employees who get to help their friends, their company, and typically get a reward for themselves as well. This is a key part of employee experience software.
Common Pitfalls and Misconceptions about Employee Referral Programs
When we talk to our expert council of HR and talent acquisition professionals, there are a few things that come up again and gain when it comes to buying and implementing this type of software.
- Implementation goes at your pace: Implementing an employee referral program can take a week. But, it usually takes longer. Let’s face it, most people in recruiting are super busy filling reqs and don’t have the headspace to take on new initiatives. So, we highly recommend giving someone on your team time to spearhead this initiative and make sure it gets done quickly. Or, partner with a company that has a robust professional services org to help you.
- Metrics matter: Make sure that you are tracking where candidates are coming from in your ATS. If you aren’t, then it may become hard to understand how much value this tool is actually creating. Most of these vendors make it super easy to do that, but you still need to make sure it’s working.
- Understand cost per hire: The easiest way to say “yes” to this solution is to realize it’s going to lower your cost per hire. But, do you know your cost pre hire currently? Make sure you have a handle on your overall cost per hire (and ideally the cost per hire for all your different roles/channels) so that when it comes time to renew the contract, you know whether or not this channel is bringing down your costs!
- Employee Engagement: While the vendors listed above all have built in workflows to get your employees engaged in your hiring, you still need to think through your general philosophy on rewards, as well as how this will all be messaged. Our advice is to get hiring managers onboard with a short presentation on why employee referrals is worth investing in, and then have the hiring managers re-enforce messaging to employees on a regular basis to keep your hiring pipeline full of high quality referrals.
- Dive In: Companies that are tentative in rolling out their programs typically don’t see high returns. If you tell employees this is a pilot, they are going to be much more hesitant to use the product, and you won’t get the ROI you’re looking for. Go all in, even if it’s for a “pilot” for one segment of your organization.
- Be Proactive: Referrals are great when your employees offer them. But, the companies who are most successful with these programs have recruiters who are reaching out to their colleagues and asking for intro’s. Use these tools as a sourcing database that has an 80% response rate from candidates vs whatever you’re currently getting on cold outreach.
- Integrations Matter: Make sure the vendor you partner with has easy to setup and maintain integrations with your ATS and HRIS - you don’t want to spend time each money downloading and .csv files.
Don’t get tripped up on these common hurdles, make sure you are thinking strategically about how a tool to boost employee referrals will be implemented and measured.
Return on Investment from Employee Referral Software
We believe that whenever you are going to ask for money, you should be prepared to back up your thinking with a model of the returns from your spend. Here is a short model that details how we think about the ROI from implementing an employee referral platform. Feel free to tweak it to meet your own goals.
Essentially, we’re going to drive more hires through employee referrals, at a lower cost than our typical recruiting channels. This means we are saving money on each of these hires. What’s not contemplated in this exercise (but feel free to model it if you’d like):
- Referred candidates typically ramp faster
- The benefits from decreased time to fill
- Referred candidates stay longer
Pro Tip: Put a time on your calendar right now for 6 months out that reminds you to go back and look at this model again. What did you get right, and what did you get wrong? Understanding this will allow you to get better as a practitioner and allocator of capital within your organization!
Employee Referral Software Pricing
Generally speaking, referral technology is priced based on the number of employees in your organization. We like this as the value you get from the offering is very closely tied to the number of employees you have. More employees means more referrals, and a decreased cost per hire and time to fill.
Here are some general guidelines you can use to understand how much this type of software will cost you.
Please note the pricing depends on which vendor you choose, which modules you want, and how fast your organization is growing. Some of these vendors also have implementation fees on top of the annual subscription (not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you need hands on help to get started).
Again, the pricing you’ll get from a given vendor depends on the specific needs of your organization, and your ability to negotiate.
Staying Organized
If you’re looking at buying employee referral software, you’re probably going to get demos of a few different solutions. We recommend staying organized by keeping track of the features that matter to you, and how each vendor can currently deliver on each. The below spreadsheet will help you stay organized throughout your demos, so that you can pick the right referral platform.
Employee Referral Software FAQs
What is an employee referral program?
An employee referral program is a recruiting method where hiring managers incentivize current employees to refer qualified candidates from their networks to open roles.
What is employee referral software?
Employee referral software are tools that make employee referrals more efficient. This can be achieved through automated recommendations, detailed employee networks, and gamification.
What are some benefits of employee referral software?
Employee referral software provides many benefits to your company, including:
- More top of funnel candidates
- Higher conversion rates
- Better retention
- Heightened employee engagement
What are the pitfalls and misconceptions about employee referral programs?
There are a few pitfalls and misconceptions that may arise when using employee referral programs. Implementation goes at your pace, meaning you have to put time and effort into getting it up and running. The metrics are important, and if you aren’t tracking if the program is working then you can’t be sure it’s working. Make sure you get a solution that integrates with your tech stack.
Do employee referral programs work?
Yes. SSRN found that between 30% and 50% of hires in the US are from referrals. By using an employee referral program, you’re ensuring that you’re keeping up with the competition and hiring the best talent.
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