At first glance, ERIN and EmployeeReferrals.com are very similar solutions to manage your employee referral policy. However, there are several fundamental differences in functionality, design, support, and licensing between the two platforms. As you evaluate ERIN and EmployeeReferrals.com for use with your employees, consider the questions below.
6 Questions to Consider When Comparing ERIN and EmployeeReferrals.com
1. Why are your employees not making more referrals today?
You already have an employee referral policy, and you already have jobs, so why are your employees not participating and making referrals? EmployeeReferrals.com offers features aimed to help manage the tracking of employee referrals, this can be great for the talent acquisition team, but the design introduces unnecessary complexity for employees to make referrals. When features are focused purely on management it will not do much to increase the number of referrals that are made.
Alternatively, ERIN has adopted an employee-first, mobile-first approach. ERIN offers a native mobile app for iOS and Android that allows the employees to be notified when jobs are added and to make referrals with a single tap. Our Smart Referrals will automatically make recommendations to your employees on who they should refer to a position. All employee-facing functionality is available in the mobile app and all functions take anywhere from 1 – 3 clicks. By providing the easiest way to stay in the loop and make referrals, and removing the need to get on a computer and navigate to a website, we are able to engage employees to participate in your recruitment efforts without interrupting their day job.
2. Do you need mobile referrals?
Do all of your employees work 100% on their computers and in the office? Even if they do, will they be bothered to log in to a separate website? EmployeeReferrals.com does not offer a mobile app for employees to view jobs and make referrals, and requires them to navigate to a separate website to sign in and participate. This can be interruptive and cumbersome for your employees, and nearly impossible for employees without regular access to a computer for their job.
ERIN allows employees to use the mobile app, and stay signed in, removing the need to have to be on a computer and to pull up a separate website. This allows employees to make referrals on their lunch break, at dinner, at trade shows, on the road, and from their couch. Mobile referrals keep your employees engaged in recruitment without interrupting their day job.
3. What communication problems do you have?
Typically businesses adopting employee referral software have two painful communication issues with their employees: they can’t keep them up to date on new positions, and they find it cumbersome (or impossible) to let them know what happens after the referral is made.
EmployeeReferrals.com will allow you to understand and report on who you’re engaging with but can fall short with the actual notifications and employee transparency.
Alternatively, ERIN will not only provide engagement reporting, but it also allows you to target notifications based on selective criteria – meaning you can only notify specific employees of new positions. Additionally, we visually display the current status of the referral, removing the “what’s going on with my referral” questions that come up after a referral is made.
4. Is “off the shelf” software good enough to support your policy?
Your business is unique. Your employee referral policy is unique to your business. Will off-the-shelf software be able to account for the unique aspects of your policy and still maximize success? One-off features are traditionally very difficult to implement with SaaS products, and EmployeeReferrals.com may not be able to introduce small customizations for you at a cost-effective rate.
Alternatively, ERIN has a “custom feature” discussion with every Enterprise client that comes on. We know that even the smallest tweak, even if it’s completely unique to your business, can have the biggest impact on the results that you get. Our development team is dedicated to bringing your employee referral visions to life within the ERIN product.
5. Will your employees spend more than 30-seconds recruiting for you?
A big reason that employees do not participate in employee referrals is that it’s simply too much effort. They have a day job and are not focused (and often do not care about) recruitment. The easier you can make referrals, the more likely you are to engage employees. EmployeeReferrals.com offers a web interface for employees but may require a separate login on a separate website to participate. Additionally, the interface may not be ideal for “speed” as it can be cumbersome too find positions and to submit a referral. It’s not much of a change over the existing job board your website already has.
Alternatively, ERIN offers the fastest and simplest way to make referrals. With push notifications and single-click referrals, there no fast solution to keep employees in the loop and to allow them to make referrals. Our single-sign-on solutions mean they do not need to have separate accounts, and users can also browse jobs and make referrals on the same screen – eliminating the need for unnecessary navigation.
6. Is pricing a factor?
You’re already spending a lot of money on your Applicant Tracking System, no need to spend the same (or more) on your employee referral software.
While pricing can vary based on size and need, and quotes from other vendors such as EmployeeReferrals.com are “custom”, ERIN offers competitive pricing that comes in around 50% cheaper than EmployeeReferrals.com. Don’t believe us? Get a quote and see for yourself!