Jefferson Healthcare credits an update to its employee referral program with leading to a higher percentage of qualified job candidates, something that ultimately benefits patients and the community at large.

Daniel Schafer, director of marketing and communications, noted that there’s been an employee referral program at Jefferson Healthcare since 2008, but in April of 2023, that policy was revised.

Among the changes instituted were higher bonus amounts for employee referrals.

Jessie Michaels, provider-recruiter for Jefferson Healthcare, elaborated that they increased the bonus, from $50 to $150, for employees “who successfully refer an applicant for any other position” that’s “not designated as a hard-to-fill position.”

The bonus is paid after the new employee successfully completes their probationary period.

“Our goal in making this change was to motivate employees to refer colleagues and generate more referrals,” said Schafer, who cited statistics from Jefferson Healthcare’s recruiting team, from June 20, 2023, to June 20, 2024. “This period reflects roughly one year following the referral bonus revision.

Out of a total of 251 applicants referred during that period, 88 (or 35%) were hired, while 23 (or 9%) withdrew, declined or rescinded their applications, and 52 (or 21%) were currently in the hiring process as of June 20, 2024.

Of the remainder, 21 (or 8%) did not meet Jefferson Healthcare’s qualifications, while 59 (or 23%) were not selected, and 8 (or 3%) fell into some other category.

Schafer acknowledged that this data suggests that the new employee referral bonus, and the work done by Jefferson Healthcare’s recruiters to advertise the policy internally, has resulted in “only slightly more candidates overall.”

Schafer hastened to add that the percentage of “qualified candidates” appears to have increased, as a result of these efforts.

From March 31, 2022, to March 31, 2023, the 12-month period prior to the policy change, Jefferson Healthcare had 235 total applicants.

Schafer pointed out that the number of hired applicants — “in other words, highly qualified or successful candidates” — was 56, or 24% of the total number of candidates during that period, which means the more recent 12-month period saw an increase of 11%.

“In addition to the policy change, our recruiting team works to communicate about open positions internally,” Schafer said. “We market the employee referral bonus internally, with fliers and regular staff emails.”

“We also send reminders to leaders when we’re hiring, to suggest that they talk to their teams, and refer people they know for these positions,” Michaels added.

Another factor Schafer credited, in what he identified as Jefferson Healthcare’s recruiting success, is its sign-on bonuses.

“These are not available for every position, but often, those that are hard-to-fill come with a sign-on bonus,” Schafer said. “We’ve also invited candidates, such as radiology technicians, to join us on a per diem basis, so they can try out Jefferson Healthcare, before committing to a full-time position.”

Schafer concluded, “Often, those folks have a good experience and decide to join us full-time.”

Jefferson Healthcare policy additionally stipulates that, if an employee refers someone who is hired for a regular, part-time or full-time hard-to-fill position, that employee may be eligible to receive a $500 referral bonus, which may be paid in two increments, the first half after the candidate successfully completes their probationary period, and the second half after the candidate completes one year of employment.

Jefferson Healthcare employees who successfully refer an applicant for a per diem hard-to-fill position may be eligible for a $250 referral and recruitment bonus, which may be paid in two increments in a similar fashion.

Employees are not eligible for this incentive if they’re recruiting someone who will report directly to them in the course of their normal duties, or if the candidate is already employed within Jefferson Healthcare, or if the employee works in administration or human resources.

The referred candidate or new employee likewise cannot have been employed by the hospital district in the last 12 months, unless administrative approval has been granted for an exception.