In an industry where finding and keeping top physician talent is increasingly challenging, one of your most powerful recruitment tools may already be inside your organization: your current employees.

According to iCIMS, 60% of employees have referred someone to their workplace, and referrals account for roughly 24% of new hires. In healthcare, where cultural fit and trust are critical, referrals can dramatically improve hiring outcomes — and reduce recruitment costs.

So how do you tap into this potential? Here are five strategies to help healthcare recruiters build and sustain a successful employee referral program.

Referral Incentives

Incentives are an effective motivational tool. Providing incentives for employees that choose to participate in referral initiatives can increase motivation and successful outcomes. Rewarding employees for their participation in recruitment efforts can take many forms and can be adapted to reflect your organizational values:

• Recognize your actively referring employees at a luncheon, ceremony or meeting
• Provide monetary compensation for each successful referral (i.e. percentage of pay, lump sum)
• Consider offering paid time off as an incentive for each referral
• Convey special privileges when referrals are successful (i.e. longer lunch breaks, flex scheduling

Streamline Referral Channels

Imagine an employee is at a local event and finds a great fit for your organization, what would they say? For employee referrals to be successful, they must know how to appropriately refer prospective hires to the organization. This can be challenging in larger organizations that have multiple HR managers and dozens of vacancies at any given time. Instead of just saying "check out our website" try these tips:

• Establish a specific contact in HR that handles employee referrals
• Publicize an email address or phone number dedicated specifically to referrals

Get the Word Out

To increase the likelihood of employee referrals it is essential to get the word out within your organization.

• Publicize what positions are open, what the ideal candidates might look like and how they should contact HR in regards to any referrals.
• Disseminate vacancy information periodically so that employees keep it fresh on their mind.
• Spread recruiting initiative info via email, broadcast messages or monthly meetings.
• Make employee recruiting part of your culture.

Elicit Employee Feedback

Effectively utilizing employee feedback is critical when trying to recruit new hires to your organization. Eliciting feedback from employees about their experiences while working at your organization can provide insights that may improve problem areas and increase job satisfaction. Happy employees are more likely to refer back to and feel invested in their organization. Eliciting feedback also fosters open communication that can lead to some creative and previously undiscovered solutions for your recruiting efforts.

Celebrate the Successes

Praise is an effective incentive on its own. Make sure to recognize employees who are helping with the initiative and have referred prospective candidates to the workplace. Consider recognizing an employee's recruiting efforts via announcements or emails at a weekly meeting or perhaps a company gathering. It always helps to reward an employee's continued initiative.

Employee referrals offer a cost-effective, culturally aligned, and often overlooked method of sourcing physicians effectively. When executed strategically, they can transform your recruitment pipeline and build long-term advocacy within your workforce.

Looking to implement or enhance your referral strategy? PracticeMatch offers recruitment solutions for healthcare organizations that integrate seamlessly with referral programs, marketing campaigns, and more. Contact us today.

Originally posted 5/26/2020. Updated 2/25/2025.

With a career focused on healthcare Business Development and Service Line performance, Paul had recently been at the forefront redefining the traditional In-house Provider Recruiting role. In his position as Medical Staff Development Officer at University Hospitals, Lake Health Region in Cleveland, Ohio, Paul integrated collegial interaction, analytics, and provider experience expertise to drive a differentiated recruitment strategy.

 

Paul has brought that knowledge and experience to Client Sourcing at PracticeMatch. Joining PracticeMatch in 2021, Paul supports Client Sourcing’s pro-active recruiting model that generates a robust prospect pool, creates an effective and efficient recruiting experience, and identifies key metrics to ensure optimal performance for the client. Paul has a commitment to learning, development and passion for building a team of recruiting professionals to leverage their national footprint which benefits its client organizations and their candidates.