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frameworks / kit-referral-program-strategy / 06-consultant-methodology.md
Source: frameworks/kit-referral-program-strategy/06-consultant-methodology.md

Consultant Methodology — Referral Program Strategy Extraction

Where This Fits in the Engagement

The referral program is designed early in the recruiting engagement — typically during or immediately after the kickoff meeting. It launches as soon as the communication cascade allows. The sooner the referral pipeline is active, the sooner warm candidates enter the process alongside passive sourcing and (if applicable) job ad responses.

The extraction captures how the practitioner has designed and deployed referral programs before — what audiences they activate, how they frame the ask, whether they use incentives, how they manage incoming referrals, and what's worked versus what hasn't.

Before the Interview

Know What You're Building

Review the engagement context. Know:

Confirm Logistics

Who needs to be in the room:

The extraction typically takes 30-45 minutes. Referral programs are less complex than scorecards or candidate experience journeys, but the audience segmentation and incentive design require careful capture.

Interview Structure

Part 1: Prior Experience and Philosophy (5-10 minutes)

Prior programs: "Have you run referral programs for other searches? Walk me through how you've done it before."

Listen for: what audiences, what incentives, what communications, what worked, what didn't.

Philosophy: "How do you think about the role of referrals in a search? Is it a primary channel or a supplementary one?"

Listen for how the practitioner weights referrals against passive sourcing and direct applications. Some practitioners view referrals as the highest-quality channel; others view them as supplementary. This informs how much investment the program design warrants.

Part 2: Audience Design (10-15 minutes)

Who to ask: "For this search, who should we be asking for referrals? Walk me through every group."

Capture each audience: staff, board, leadership, specific departments, external stakeholders, partner organizations.

Sequencing: "In what order should these groups be asked? Is there anyone who needs to be asked first — or anyone who shouldn't be asked at all?"

Listen for confidentiality constraints (can't ask staff until they know about the search), political dynamics (certain board members should be asked personally by the board chair), and timing coordination with the cascade.

Audience-specific framing: "Would you send the same communication to everyone, or do different groups get different messages?"

Capture the differentiation logic. If all audiences get the same communication, confirm that's intentional. If different audiences get different framing, capture what varies and why.

Part 3: Incentive Design (5-10 minutes)

Whether to incentivize: "Are you recommending a referral bonus for this search?"

If yes:

If no:

Part 4: Communications (10-15 minutes)

Content: "Walk me through what the referral communication says. If you were writing the email to staff right now, what would it say?"

Capture the actual language — not a summary. The practitioner's natural framing of the ask is the best starting point for the template.

The position summary: "What do referrers get to help them understand who to refer? Do you attach the full position profile, a summary, or just the role title?"

Social media: "Is there a social media component — an announcement through the client's channels? Who coordinates that?"

Follow-up: "Is the referral ask a one-time communication, or do you follow up? If so, when and how?"

Listen for whether there's a sustained campaign or just a single ask. One-and-done programs produce one-and-done referrals. A follow-up at 2-3 weeks with an update ("we've received X referrals and are still looking for candidates with Y background") keeps the pipeline active.

Part 5: Referral Management (5-10 minutes)

Submission: "How do referrals come in? Email, form, phone call, direct introduction?"

Acknowledgment: "When someone submits a referral, what do they hear back?"

Referrer updates: "Once a referral is in the process, does the referrer get updates? What do they learn? What don't they learn?"

Unqualified referrals: "When a referral doesn't meet the requirements — how do you handle that with the referrer?"

Routing: "How does a referred candidate enter the process? Same path as passive sourcing, or different?"

Part 6: What Breaks (5 minutes)

Failures: "Has a referral program not worked the way you wanted? What happened?"

Referrer management challenges: "Has a referrer ever been upset about how their referral was handled? What happened?"

These failure stories produce the management protocol's edge cases — the situations the program design needs to handle.

What Must Be Confirmed Before Closing the Interview

Signals That the Extraction Is Incomplete

"We just send an email asking for referrals." → Ask: "What does the email say? Who is it from? What do you tell people to look for? What happens after someone submits a name?"

Incentive assumed but not approved. → Ask: "Has the client approved the bonus? Who needs to sign off on it?"

No acknowledgment process. → Ask: "When someone gives you a name, what do they hear back? How soon?"

No plan for unqualified referrals. → Ask: "What happens when a board member refers someone who isn't a fit? How do you handle that conversation?"

Social media mentioned vaguely. → Ask: "Who writes the social media post? Who approves it? Where does it go? Is there a link to apply or a contact for referrals?"

After the Interview

Within 24 Hours

Write up extraction notes mapped to the program components:

Advisor Review

The advisor reviews and:

Build starts after the advisor confirms the gap report is resolved.

Connection to the Engagement

The referral program extraction often reveals how the client organization communicates internally and how much trust exists between leadership and staff. When a client resists asking staff for referrals ("they won't know anyone"), that's a signal about organizational silos. When a board chair insists on being the one to ask board members ("I'll handle it"), that's a signal about governance dynamics.

These signals inform the broader engagement. Take notes on what the referral program design reveals about the organization — not just what goes into the program itself.