Exploring Pay-Per-Referral Recruiting: Would Small Businesses Buy In?

Dear Recruiting Professionals,

I'm new to this site and looking for some advice. Has anyone heard of a new recruiting solution where companies pay per referral/resume instead of per hire? I'm looking into buying into a franchise and would like each of your opinions if this kind of concept would get buy-in from small to medium business owners. Here is the website to check out: . You can click on F.A.Q. to see the program details. Please let me know what you think. Thanks for your time in advance!

It's an excellent concept, and I'm sure your services will gain popularity soon. Personally, I would not mind paying an affordable amount per candidate referral, but I think this is more suited for big companies who will be able to allocate funds specifically for finding references. It's like having an alternative to buying database access, and quite a good one as here we will be getting targeted candidates. The only problem, if any, seems to be that the candidates referred may not be looking for a change, so in effect it's an ideal deal for headhunters who would most willingly buy the references and then follow up on the candidates.

I think some companies run small campaigns where they let anyone refer a candidate to them, and then they pay the referee a fee if the candidate referred by them is recruited. This too is gaining popularity as even employees are sending references to the client.

Best Regards,
Sid
CiteHR Team Member

I think the important part (and the one I couldn't get information on from the website) is what is classified as a 'qualified' applicant.

In the current market (at least inside the U.S.), getting applicants is not a problem. I have San Francisco Bay Area customers who have received hundreds of responses to job postings off of a local job board. It is screening these which is the challenge (and what keeps my company in business).

It is an interesting idea. I suspect that it would appeal to some companies as a way to limit their costs for getting applicants. But this only works if you can get a limited number of 'qualified' applicants and be guaranteed a fit.

Well, I think I almost bought into a potential scam that you should all be aware of. This company has complaints posted on www.ripoffreport.com. In the search bar, put in "hirebug, Inc." and you'll see all of the negative comments. Beware of www.hirebug.com! 

Experience with HireBug

It turns out that with all that was said about HireBug, the company that their owner was affiliated with before was cleared of any wrongdoing by the state of Florida.

I have tried HireBug, and they delivered on everything they promised. I was a bit skeptical at first, but it only cost a dollar to try, and it worked. I would refer them to other people.

If anyone has any questions, let me know. I can answer them.