by Greg Gerber

There’s an old adage that says, “Turkeys flock, but eagles soar” and that is certainly true when it comes to hiring staff.

As an employer, you encounter people of all types, especially for short-term positions, like Workamping. However, they all seem to fall into four categories.

Most are chickens. Productive, hardworking and dependable, these employees do their jobs as expected and rarely cause problems. They can fly, but they don’t often go outside the boundaries set for them. They are competitive and will joust with each other for position or attention, but they are reliable workers.

Turkeys, on the other hand, generally run around looking productive, but really don’t accomplish much other than eating. They require your constant care and attention. You can identify turkeys by the rabble-rabble-rabble of complaining they do, often in groups with other turkeys.

Vultures are the worst kind of employees. They actively work to tear your organization apart piece by piece, and their very presence will scare away chickens. Vultures can flock with other vultures, but all it takes is one to have a really negative impact on your business.

Eagles, however, are the ideal employees. They are punctual, if not early. You can count on them to follow through until the job is done. They rarely complain, and if they do, it is probably for a good reason. Eagles actually work to make a business better than it was before. They are a rare find indeed!

If you’re lucky, an eagle will swoop into your operation causing the other staff to take notice and be on alert. They often take charge and you can feel very comfortable leaving your business in their hands. At the end of a season, you are disappointed to see an eagle depart.

You wish you could have an entire team of eagles, but they are generally solitary creatures who may travel with just one other eagle, often their mate.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could have one or two eagles every season?

Perhaps you can, if you ask them for referrals. Eagles don’t generally flock together, but they almost always know other eagles. They may have encountered one at another job, or they have friends who would be classified as eagles, too.

Here are some tips for encouraging your eagles to recommend others just like them to work for you:

1. Offer cash

The most popular incentive is usually cash simply because of its universal appeal. There are several options for paying that out, such as:

• Immediately after the referral submits an application that meets your company’s needs. If you want more applications from which to select prospective employees, this could help bring them in.
• Partial payout upon application with the balance paid at the end of a pre-determined time, like 30 days. This credits the eagle for the referral and again when you discover that the employee really does meet or exceeded your expectations.
• Full payout after a pre-determined time. This is probably the most frequently used method because it gives you some time to evaluate the employee and it rewards the eagle, too.
• Split the bonus between the eagle and the referral. It provides an incentive to make the introduction, and works to entice the referral to accept the job.

2. Offer an experience

While cash is often used to entice referrals, gifts or experiences work, too. You could offer a cash reward when the referral agrees to work for you, but consider upping the ante with a special incentive of a memorable experience. For example, you could offer the eagle making the referral a dinner cruise, sky diving experience, a fishing excursion with a pro, or a hot air balloon ride.

It’s even better if your eagle considers it an unexpected gift which they likely wouldn’t purchase themselves, or it is something they always wanted to do. The experience helps eagles associate the referral to a great memory.

Hint: If you want to entice a known eagle back to your business next year, a memorable experience might just be the incentive it takes to encourage their return.

If you don’t want to show favoritism, you may need to offer the incentive under the table. But, if the employee really was one of the best Workampers you’ve ever had, well... Eagles often understand the predicament and will keep the secret to themselves, if you ask them to do so.

3. Offer a gift card

Workampers love to travel, and that’s why gift cards make such a fine reward. A gift card to a major truck stop would always be appreciated, but it likely can only be used to cover a single fueling.

A gift card to the eagle’s favorite restaurant or a national theater chain might be used multiple times, which means they’re thinking of you each time they pull it from their wallet. Amazon gift cards are also appreciated because they can be used to buy just about anything the eagle needs or has on a wish list.

4. Establish reward tiers

What could you do to encourage an eagle to refer more than one person to your organization? Finding another eagle is one thing, but what if your stellar Workamper could refer five or ten eagles to you? That’s were you can get really creative by offering combinations of cash and experiences.

Perhaps you offer a cash reward for the first three eagles referred to you, but add in an experience when four or five solid employees were recommended, hired and retained. Or, you could just increase the amount of the cash bonus you offer with each subsequent referral.

Do you need to offer a referral incentive?

That’s up to you. Eagles are the type of people who would probably recommend others whether they are rewarded for doing so or not, especially if you had a great working relationship.

Yet, it circles back to the quality of employees being recommended. If you want top-notch people to apply, is it better to get a referral from a top-notch former employee or just take your chances hoping another eagle swoops into your business?

Many businesses offer referral incentives to all employees. The problem is that some workers will see it as an income stream and just recommend people to the company whether they are a good fit or not. Eagles are a bit more discerning because their reputation is on the line, too.

How much you pay for the referral is up to you. Some pay a stipend of $20 or so. Others offer a more substantial reward.

The bottom line is that referral incentives often work, especially if they are meaningful enough and seen as a thankful gift not only for your eagle’s past contributions, but for working as business partners in helping you attract top-notch workers.