The Two Best Times to Engage New Hires With Your Employee Referral Program

Most organizations introduce their employee referral program during onboarding, and then forget about it.

But if you want to truly unlock referrals from new hires, there are two key moments you need to engage them. Here’s how to time it right:

1. Day One: Create Early Awareness

The first opportunity is during onboarding. Even if new hires aren’t ready to make a referral yet, this is the moment to build awareness.

• Add a slide about your referral program to your onboarding deck
• Include an awareness card or flyer in their welcome packet
• Make access easy: a QR code works great (we actually provide these to Eqo customers complimentary)

At this point, most new hires won’t refer just yet. They’re still learning the culture, getting a feel for their team, and deciding if this is a place they’d feel confident recommending to others. And that’s okay.

The goal here isn’t action. It’s familiarity.

2. Day 30: Nudge at the Right Moment

The second, and arguably most important, moment is at the 30-day mark.

By now, new hires have:

• Settled into their role
• Built trust with their team
• Formed a clearer view of the organization
• Maintained fresh connections with former colleagues (who may be great candidates)
  

This is when they’re primed to refer.

Send a personalized reminder. Even better – text them. Eqo automates this outreach so it happens without adding work for your TA team.

If you don’t have an automated system in place, build this into your onboarding follow-up process. A simple nudge at day 30 can dramatically increase referral activity from new hires.

Final Thoughts

Don’t rely on onboarding alone. By pairing early awareness with a well-timed reminder at day 30, you’ll turn more new hires into advocates, and drive stronger, more consistent referral results.