Employee Rewards Program

DID YOU KNOW…         

  • That employee referrals have been recognized as the most effective way to recruit employees?
  • That employees who were hired as a result of an employee referral have a retention rate that is 25% higher than those recruited through other methods*?
  • That new employees who are referred by a current employee are more likely to come in with realistic expectations and most likely to hit the ground running?
  • That our referral program gives us an opportunity to acknowledge and reinforce our appreciation of this very important work?

 THE PROGRAM

The Department of Corrections Employment Referral Reward Program (ERRP) authorizes payment of up to $200 to current DOC employees who refer a successful candidate hired into a Correctional Officer, Community Corrections or Health Services position as outlined below. The ERRP is open to all eligible employees.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM?

 Any current full time or part time permanent employee is eligible to participate in the Employee Referral Reward Program, with the exception of the Department’s Human Resources staff, Department Heads, hiring managers, and any staff with direct involvement in the pre-employment exam and selection process for an eligible classification.

The new and enhanced ERRP process has been developed to ensure that once a candidate identifies an employee as the “Referrer” a process will be set in motion to pay the appropriate referral reward.**

HOW WOULD I REFER A SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE?

For the purposes of this program, a “successful referred candidate” is defined as a person hired as a full-time or part-time permanent employee who has not been employed in the same classification with DOC within the last two years.

HOW WOULD THE CANDIDATE IDENTIFY ME AS THE REFERRING EMPLOYEE?

 Referring employees may be designated by the candidate using any of the following methods:

  • Submitting the referral form through HR to be found on the DOC web site prior to the offer of employment.
  • Completing the information on the candidate’s e-Recruiting application prior to the offer of employment.
  • Handing in a “Referred By DOC Employee’s Name” card to the recruiter or HR office when applying. (Coming soon to an HR office near you!)
  • Answering the question at a hiring event when asked “Were you encouraged to apply for this position by a current DOC employee?”

For the purposes of this program, “referring employee” means a current permanent FT or PT employee with the Washington State Department of Corrections.

HOW WOULD I BE PAID MY REFERRAL REWARD?

The Referral Reward is paid** in the referring employee’s paycheck when the referred candidate has been hired for one of the designated positions and has met the minimum criteria; having successfully completed the Core Training Program or ninety days of continuous employment.

Correctional Officers and Community Corrections rewards:

First referral  
 $50
Second referral $75
Third – fifth referral   $100
Sixth and subsequent  $200

The Health Services reward will be processed after the referred candidate completes their first ninety days of employment and has satisfied the performance and attendance requirements.

LPN   $100
RN   $200
Physician  $200
Pharmacist    $200
Dentist   $200

Please note that the Referral Reward is treated as income according to the applicable rules of taxation and withholding.

WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE TO AWARD THE EMPLOYMENT REFERRAL REWARD?

  1. Upon receiving the candidate’s referral designation in one of the approved formats, a recruitment team member or HR staff person will submit the completed “Participation in Employee Referral Reward Program” form to the ERP Coordinator for input of data into the Employment Referral Reward Worksheet.  Wendy Vandel is the designated ERP Coordinator.

    2. The ERP Coordinator:

    • Verifies that the referring employee is a current permanent employee with DOC and is an eligible employee for the Referral Reward.
    • Verifies the referred candidate has not been employed in the same classification with DOC within the last two years.
    • The ERP Coordinator will email the referring employee to notify them that their name has been submitted by a referred applicant and they may be eligible for the referral reward upon referred applicant’s successful completion of Core training or 90 days employment.
    • The ERP Coordinator tracks referred employee’s hire date on the Referral Reward Payment Worksheet (This worksheet will be kept on a public drive to allow access for HR professionals to answer progress questions that may arise regarding ERP.)

PLEASE NOTE: ALL REFERRAL REWARDS PROCESSED PRIOR TO 9/30/08 ARE BEING PROCESSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH PRIOR PROGRAM GUIDELINES.

WHO CAN HELP ME IF I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EMPLOYMENT REFERRAL REWARD PROGRAM?

Please contact Sidra Grady on the Recruitment Team at 253-680-2733.

*Ohio State University Study

** Up to $200 per referral as appropriate until all of the funds allocated for the Employee Referral Reward Program have been distributed for the current fiscal year. 

HOW IT WORKS

  1. Employee referred applicants go to careers.wa.gov and apply for a DOC position.
  2. On the final tab, in the area marked Where did you find out about us?, under Applicant Source Type and again under Applicant Source, the applicant selects Employee Referral.
  3. In the Other Information text box, the applicant must enter the first and last name of the DOC employee.
  4. If the applicant is then hired, the DOC employee that referred the new hire to the Correctional Officer position will receive the reward when the employee has successfully completed CWC academy.

Employees will be supplied with "how-to recruit" information to optimize the success of the employees and the program.

Note: Human Resources staff and management employees (i.e. Associate Superintendents and above) are not eligible to receive the referral award. This award is taxable.

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