Probation periods discourage employees from using your employee referral program, so why do companies even bother with them? Of the 1,100 employers that Careerify surveyed, the rationale for implementing and maintaining probation periods for employee referrals varied but few had merit. While corporations claim to have logic to preserving this practice, only the companies with truly “temporary” workforces (note: we classify “temporary” as those employees hired for ad-hoc work) had rhyme to reason.  But, if you fall into the former category, you are amongst the 99.9% surveyed.

So what did the 99.9% have to say?

The top response from Fortune 25 CHROs and Talent Acquisition leaders for maintaining probation periods was, "it was here when I got here."  While we appreciate the candor, history shouldn’t write the future!

Some of the other top reasons why companies still implement this age-old policy include:

1. Do not want employees to take advantage of the employee referral program.
2. To ensure the best quality of candidates are hired
3. Receive ROI for the cost of recruiting
4. To align with the probation period of the new employee

Let’s explore each of these points in more detail.

Reason #1: Employees taking advantage of the system.

On the rare occasion, an employee can take advantage of the employee referral program. The employee realizes there is no probation period and therefore requests one of his/her friends to apply, go through the interview process and get hired, only to quit early on. The employee will receive the bonus and will likely split any earnings with his/her friend. But, the likelihood of this happening is next to none.

Employees have their integrity and reputation on the line, which matters far more than some cash. Further, the complexity of having a friend apply for a position, interview, and get hired, only to quit for the purposes of gaining a few extra bucks, is outlandish and outside their control.

The exception to the rule? Employers with a large percentage of temporary workers and high turnover may be subject to some employees gaming the system, though still rare. In these cases, employers should be more focused on identifying the root-cause of employee attrition, rather than implementing a probation policy...

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For more information, feel free to contact Harpaul Sambhi at info@careerify.net.