Referral programs use incentives to strengthen workplace culture – why not use them to encourage diverse hires?
Intel employees who refer a female, veteran, or underrepresented minority* candidate for a job receive a $4,000 bonus if the person is hired – double the referral bonus for a non-diverse candidate.
While the Employee Referral Program has been in place for many years, Intel began offering additional incentives for diverse referrals in 2015, as a way to help reach its goal of full representation of women and underrepresented minorities in its U.S. workforce by 2020. This goal, announced in January 2015, was coupled with a $300 million commitment to increase diversity and inclusion in the workforce and the broader technology industry.
“In a market as competitive as the technology industry, incentives like this help align our overall diversity strategy with talent profiles most in demand,” an Intel spokesperson told LCLD. Since Intel began offering the additional diversity bonus, hiring of underrepresented minorities has increased more than 4 percent, and overall diverse hiring has increased from 31.9 to 43.4 percent.
Learn more about Intel’s commitment to diversity here.
* African American, Hispanic, and Native American individuals are underrepresented in the technology sector.
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