Uncovering the Nuances of Referral Hiring: How Referrer Characteristics Affect Referral Hires’ Performance and Likelihood of Voluntary Turnover
研究了推荐人特征（绩效、任期）和推荐人可接触性（在职状态、工作匹配）对被推荐人绩效和离职倾向的影响，发现高绩效推荐人带来更好绩效但更高离职率，推荐人在职降低离职率但损害绩效。
The literature on employee referral hiring gives little attention to referrers. Synthesizing 2 theories in the literature (the better match and social enrichment accounts), through the lens of social resources theory, I provide a conceptual and empirical breakdown of the effects of referrer quality (referrer performance at hire and referrer tenure at hire) and posthire accessibility (referrer employment and referrer–referral hire job congruence) on referral hire performance and likelihood of voluntary turnover. I tested my hypotheses with longitudinal data from 386 referrer–referral hire pairs at the same job level in a U.S. call center over a 2‐year period. Across analyses of 2 performance criteria (calls/hour and quality) and likelihood of leaving, I found a nuanced mix of benefits and liabilities that illuminate potential boundary conditions of the revised theories. Referral hires from high‐performing referrers performed better but had higher turnover propensities than those from lower performing referrers. Longer‐tenured employees also produced better performing referral hires, up to a point. Referral hires were less likely to leave, provided their referrer remained employed, but they performed less effectively under this condition. Similarly, referral hires performed worse when their job was congruent with their referrer's job. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.