How to structure your referral program: Selecting your bonus amounts and terms and conditions

Here's a quick overview to help you define your referral program details.

Step #1: Determine if you'd like to offer single- or dual-sided bonuses. 

First, you'll need to determine if you're going to award bonuses to your brand ambassadors (person who submits the referrals), your applicants, or both. 

Single-sided bonus: The brand ambassador OR applicant gets a bonus 

Dual-sided bonus: The brand ambassador and applicant gets a bonus (recommended)

Dual-sided referral programs incentivize both sides of the referral equation. It’s the type of referral program popularized by Uber and Airbnb — a happy customer tells all their friends about their good experience with a company, their friends become the company’s newest customers, and everyone gets a little reward to celebrate. It’s a win-win-win situation —  for the company, for the brand ambassador, and for the friends.

What’s more, creating this win-win-win situation helps make referrals more successful. When only the brand ambassador is rewarded, people they approach for referrals may be suspicious. Are the brand ambassadors just out for a bonus or do they really believe in the company they’re promoting? Dual-sided referral programs not only help make the brand ambassador more trustworthy, but they also strengthen both the established and the new candidates’ relationship with your firm. Your candidates are more likely to give referrals, too. Instead of feeling opportunistic, they’re more likely to feel like they are giving their friends a gift.

Data from the Staffing Referrals platform shows that firms that offer dual-sided bonuses have an average placement rate 29% higher than firms that only offer single-sided bonuses.

Step #2: Determine what your bonus amount(s) will be. 

The bonus amount(s) that you offer will depend on myriad factors, including the vertical that you serve and the jobs that you're filling. 

Below are some referral bonus amount benchmarks by industry: 

Step #3: Determine your terms and conditions. 

Your referral program should include terms and conditions so that you can clarify when your ambassadors and/or applicants are eligible for bonuses. You can include criteria including time worked, assignment completion, job filled, and more.  

Here are some examples: 

• Bonuses are subject to approval, a minimum term (80 hours worked), and/or assignment completion.
• Company referral program is not applicable to: Corp to Corp, active consultants or those currently on payroll, candidate interviewed or submitted within last 6 months, and client employees. Payout terms: The assignment must be more than 90 days. Referral payout is earned after 90 days of billing, and payment will be processed the last week of the month following when the referral is earned. For example, if the consultant’s start date is 1/4/2024, the referral bonus is earned on 4/4/2024 and paid out the last week of May 2024. The payment will be made via an Accounts Payable check, not Payroll. A 1099-MISC will be sent at the end of the year for all referral payments received in the year.
• Dependent upon the completion of a 13-week assignment. $250 CNA | $350 LPN | $500 RN