Great Employee Referrals Programs

• ERE Event 1

Austin CookeVice President, Global RecruitingApril 1, 2008

Employee Referral ProgramCase Study

05/03/2023Company Confidential – VistaPrint ©

2007 205/03/2023Company Confidential – VistaPrint © 2007 2

The CompanyTarget Market

o 40 million “Small Office & Home Office” (SOHO) micro-businesses in North America & Europe

o Estimated $19 billion annual marketPowerful Advantages

o Technologyo Internet direct marketingo Huge order volumeo Lower costs

Global Presenceo US Technology and Marketing

Operations• Lexington, Massachusetts

o European Marketing• Barcelona, Spain

o Manufacturing• Windsor, Canada• Venlo, Netherlands

o Customer Support Operations• Montego Bay, Jamaica


2007 305/03/2023Company Confidential – VistaPrint © 2007 3

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


2007 4

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

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


2007 5

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.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

.


2007 6

Our Challenge (7.15.06)o Hire the right people with the right skills to fuel the “hyper

growth” engine of VistaPrint.o Keep the bar “ridiculously” high and don’t lower it! o Hire world-class engineers, analysts, and direct marketers

globallyo Recruit talent from top companies (Amazon, Microsoft,

Capital One, etc.)o Hire from the best schools (Harvard, Princeton, MIT, CMU,

etc.) o At the time the team consisted of 1 full time recruiter and 4

contractors o Less than *19% of all hires came from employee referrals


2007 7

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

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

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

o We would double the company’s headcount every yearo We would empower our employees to be our culture

gatekeeperso We would challenge our employees to find people they want to

work with


2007 8

Our Roadmapo We needed to get our leadership involved in the

programo We needed to build trust back with our employeeso We needed to name the program o We needed to market the program internallyo We needed the referral submission process to be easy

& clearo We needed to recognize people who participateo We needed to start to tracking and publishing referral

metrics o We need incentives that are easy to understando We needed to get “significant others” involved in the

programo We needed to keep educating our people


2007 9

Our ConceptEveryone Here is a Recruiter


2007 10

The Roadmap

We got leadership supporto Letter from the CEO announcing the importance of the

programo Presentations at all quarterly all-staff meetingo Managers encourage and support the program at team

meetingso 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


2007 11

The RoadmapWe developed trust with our people

o We followed up with every referral!o We kept employees informed on their referral statuso We provided open feedback on all referralso We dedicated “significant” time to recruiting internallyo We created a 3 day rule within our team


2007 12

The RoadmapWe named the program

o ERP means different things to different groups within our company

o We chose a name that was easy to remembero We chose a name that was easy to refer too We created a buzz with the name


2007 13

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

05/03/2023Company Confidential – VistaPrint © 2007 14

The RoadmapWe made the process clear & easy

o We clearly communicate all open positions on a weekly basiso We provided 1 point of contact for all questions

• Hired a “marketer” who manages the program o We provide clear & easy directions on how to submit referrals

• Mailed to all new hires before they start• Reviewed with all new employees at orientation• Sent out in weekly email for each geography

o Rules and submission instructions are kept on the company intranet

o Flat fee’s by geography to make it easy and clear!o All marketing material includes internet address for the

program


The RoadmapWe publicly recognize people who participate

o Each week we sent out an email with the names of people who had made referrals that week

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

o All prizes are given away at high profile company eventso We promote the program with a DVD that featured employees

who participated in the program o We display a running charts in public places that list all of the

people eligible for the grand prize


2007 16

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 track & publish referral metrics

Referrals AgenciesNetworking Job Boards


2007 17

The RoadmapWe offered clear and creative incentives• Monetary bonus

• Flat fee’s by geography (we experimented with a “hot jobs” list)

• Monthly raffle • iPod Nano• $100 Visa gift card• 2 tickets to Red Sox opening day• Show tickets

•Team Prize •Recruiting team hosted, cooked and served breakfast• Grand Prize

• Trip to Hawaii • 54” Plasma TV with Bose Surround Sound


2007 18

Program Killerso Referrals have a bad candidate experienceo Recruiters don’t follow-up with candidates or employees o Employees are asked to push out jobso Employees don’t know who to talk with about a

particular jobo Employees don’t know how to submit a referral o Employees don’t know what positions are open (or will

be) o Employees don’t know what to do with a lead o The program is not constantly marketed internally o Consistently making employees seek out their bonus


Our Results

We increased our referral rate from

19% in July ‘06 to 46% to date


2007 20

Questions?

Great Employee Referrals Programs

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