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There is little argument about the irreplaceable value that people bring to an organization. Having the right people, in the right jobs that suit their knowledge and skills, is a critical piece in enabling an organization to tip the scales toward high performance. Yet why do most organizations struggle to find the talent needed to help their organization execute its strategy?

The saying, “You have not, because you ask not,” is very true with regard to finding the right top talent for your organization. In many organizations, existing employees are unaware of the types of people their organization is seeking. If provided with this information, most employees will quickly scan their list of friends and acquaintances in an effort to find possible matches, because ultimately, people want to work with people they like. If your organization is not communicating its current and future talent needs to existing employees, a great opportunity is being lost.

As we enter a new year of talent planning, consider the following:

• How effective is your organization in communicating its current and future talent needs to all employees?
  Always remember that in today’s “connected” world, information can be distributed across many channels in a very short period of time. For example, sites and resources like Linked In, Plaxo, Twitter, and Facebook enable people to share information to many of their closest friends and colleagues in seconds.
• Is there a clearly understood process established to enable current employees to act on their existing referrals?
  Be sure that your employees have the information they need to accurately communicate possible job postings. Portals and easily accessible online job boards enable people to quickly link to job postings. In addition, it is also important to consider how job referrals are funneled into the organization. If a process is not in place to channel referrals throughout a process, solid referrals can potentially die on the vine or get lost in someone’s inbox. Therefore, before implementing any referral program, define each step of the process and establish controls to ensure that they are consistently followed.
• Have metrics and measures been established to monitor and track the success of employee referrals?
  Establish goals for employee referral programs and targets for retention rates from referrals. These tools will help your organization track successes or failures in the process. Ultimately, an employee referral program must produce results. If after a reasonable amount of time, the program is not producing, quickly evaluate the process and take swift actions to improve it.