Whenever times get tough, I hear two phrases at work. The first is "Everyone is a part of the sales team." And the other is "Everyone's a part of the recruiting team." While the unemployment numbers are still a concern, there's a growing conversation about skills. Employers are becoming very vocal about the fact that they have jobs. What they don't have are skilled candidates to fill them. In my experience, no matter what kind of recruiting strategy you employ to fill open positions, at some point the company will have a discussion about the employee referral program. At which time a senior executive usually says, "Whaddya mean employee referral program? Everyone's a part of the recruiting team here!" That's why it's essential to have an employee referral program without making it look like a "program". Before you say "What the....?!?!" let me elaborate -- the employee referral program needs to be so integrated into the recruitment process that it doesn't look like a separate program. It just needs to effortlessly be a part of what happens. Otherwise, the efficiencies never really materialize. If by chance, you don't have an employee referral program, let's quickly review a few reasons why you should: It's the most cost efficient source of finding quality talent. The program increases offer acceptance rates because referred employees tend to have a connection to the organization. Employee engagement increases because the entire workforce is encouraged to participate. And lastly, did I mention it's the most cost effective