Austin Cooke

05/03/23Company Confidential – VistaPrint © 2007 1

Austin CookeVice President, Global Recruiting

April 1, 2008

Employee Referral ProgramCase Study

05/03/23Company Confidential – VistaPrint © 2007 205/03/23Company Confidential – VistaPrint © 2007 2

The CompanyTarget Market• 40 million “Small Office & Home Office” (SOHO)

micro-businesses in North America & Europe• Estimated $19 billion annual market

Powerful Advantages• Technology• Internet direct marketing• Huge order volume• Lower costs

Global Presence• US Technology and Marketing Operations

• Lexington, Massachusetts

• European Marketing• Barcelona, Spain

• Manufacturing• Windsor, Canada• Venlo, Netherlands

• Customer Support Operations• Montego Bay, Jamaica

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What We DoVistaPrint makes it easy for small businesses to get great looking design, print and marketing services at unbelievable prices


Helping Small Businesses Market Their Business

Business Cards

Stationery

Envelopes

Presentation Folders

Postcards

Websites

Note Pads

Sticky Notes

Checks

T-Shirts

Rubber Stamps

Logos

E-mail marketing

CreativeServices

Pens

added in last two years

2003 2007

Business Cards

Business Cards

http://www.vistaprint.com/vp/ns/easycards/easycardsgateway.aspx?gallery_id=119&xnav=ProductPage&xnav=TsrItem


30 Quarters of Hyper Growth“VistaPrint is experiencing a secular growth

phase that is allowing it to grow through the cyclical challenges of its competitors, which is one of the greatest signs of the emergence of an enduring and transformational business institution.” Stifel Nicolaus & Co., February 2008

“[VistaPrint’s] growth rate beat Google’s. … a “category killer,” like Home Depot for its potential to reshape an industry.” Rob Gavin, The Boston Globe – May 18, 2007

“More and more, VistaPrint looks like a classic supercompany, destined to rank with Dell, Starbucks, Amazon or eBay.” Motley Fool – January 2007

“VistaPrint offers a classic case of disruptive innovation.”InfoTrends/CapVentures in an un-sponsored white paper on VistaPrint, May 2005

$mill

ions

U.S.U.S.Non-U.S.Non-U.S.

2001 2008

Quarterly Revenue

$0

$20

$40

$60

$80

$100

$120

Sept Mar

Sept Mar

Sept Mar

Sept Mar

Sept Mar

Sept Mar

Sept

March

Sept

.


Our Challenge (7.15.06)• Hire the right people with the right skills to fuel the “hyper growth” engine

of VistaPrint.

• Keep the bar “ridiculously” high and don’t lower it!

• Hire world-class engineers, analysts, and direct marketers globally

• Recruit talent from top companies (Amazon, Microsoft, Capital One, etc.)

• Hire from the best schools (Harvard, Princeton, MIT, CMU, etc.)

• The team consisted of 1 full time recruiter and 4 contractors in Boston

• Less than 19% of all hires came from employee referrals


The IdeaWhat if everyone in the company referred one person a year?

• We would grow the Recruiting Team from 5 to 740 recruiters overnight!

• We would create a culture that encourages everyone to be responsible for recruiting (not just HR)

• We would double the company’s headcount every year

• We would empower our employees to be our culture gatekeepers

• We would challenge our employees to find people they want to work with


Our ConceptEveryone Here is a Recruiter


Our Roadmap• We received enthusiastic support from VistaPrint leadership (CEO)

• We developed trust with our people

• We named the program

• We offered clear & creative incentives

• We aggressively marketed the program internally

• We made the process easy & clear

• We publicly recognized the people who participated

• We started tracking and publishing referral metrics weekly

• We got “spouses” and “significant others” involved


The RoadmapWe got leadership support• Letter from the CEO announcing the importance of the program

• Presentation at quarterly all-staff meeting

• Managers talk about the program at staff meetings

• Announcements at the “holiday party”

Everyone here is a recruiter!Employee Referral Program

Lexington program launched October 19, 2006Barcelona program launched January 23, 2007Windsor, Venlo and Jamaica launching soon

Since the Lexington program launchNumbers reflective of Lexington only.

• We have received 322 resumes

• We grew our company with 51 employee referral hires

• We increased the referral rate from 19% to 42%

Program MVPs with the most referralsChris GrassoRachel HickeyTom Giannini

Employees with Multiple hiresDave Miller

Mark AndersonTom GianniniAustin Cooke*Janet Holian*

*not eligible for bonus or prize


The RoadmapWe developed trust with our people• We followed up with all referrals

• We kept employees informed of their referral status

• We provided open & honest feedback on all referrals

• We dedicated significant time to recruiting internally

• We created the 1 week rule within our team


The Roadmap

We named the program• ERP means different things to different groups within our company

• We chose a name that was easy to remember

• We chose a name that was easy to refer to

• We created a buzz with the name


The RoadmapWe offered clear and creative incentives• Monetary bonus

• $1,500 flat fee (we experimented with a “hot jobs” list)

• Monthly raffle

• iPod Nano

• $100 Visa gift card

• Special incentives

• 2 tickets to Red Sox opening day

• Recruiting team hosted, cooked and served breakfast

• Grand Prize

• Trip to Hawaii

• 54” Plasma TV with Bose Surround Sound


The RoadmapWe marketed the program internally

placed posters around the office

desk drops for the launch

hosted a company party

sent postcards to employees’ homes

sent weekly emails


The RoadmapWe made the process clear & easy• We clearly communicated open positions on a weekly basis

• We provided clear & easy steps on how to submit referrals

• We provided 1 point of contact for questions

• 1 full-time marketer manages the program

• We provided clear & easy steps on how to submit referrals

• Given to new hires in orientation

• Sent out weekly in email

• Rules and submission instructions are kept on the company intranet

• Flat fee by geography


The RoadmapWe publicly recognized people who participated• Each week we sent out an email with the names of people who had made

referrals that week

• We recognized new hires that were a result of a referral and named the employee who made the referral

• All prizes were given away at high profile company events

• We promoted the program with a DVD that featured employees who participated in the program

• We displayed a running chart in the café that list all of the people eligible for the grand prize


The Roadmap

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

Q3 07 Q4 07 Q1 08 Q2 08 Q3 08

Referrals AgenciesNetworking Job Boards

Hire Sourcing Mix– January 07 to date Referral Program Starts (% of Total) July 06 to date

We started tracking referral metrics

Referrals AgenciesNetworking Job Boards


Program Killers• Lack of follow-up

• Not knowing who to talk to

• Not knowing how to submit

• Not knowing what’s open

• Making employees seek out their prize or bonus

• Bad experiences


Our Results

We increased our referral rate from

19% in July ‘06 to 46% to date


Questions?

Austin Cooke

Business

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