Strategic Referrals

Many companies offer referral bonuses, because it assists in building a friendly corporate atmosphere. Sometimes people are afraid to refer a friend. They are worried the friend might embarrass them or produce an uncomfortable work environment. This might be true; however, the benefit of having friends at work is enormous.

A company's culture is directly related to employees. People feeling outnumbered or strange at work have difficulty adjusting. Alone everyone is strange, so it helps having a band of employees with similar interests to talk to during lunch break. Talking to people all day, generally looks like "shop talk" until lunchtime. Groups representing a style make it less likely for management to make corporate decisions against an individual.

Long ago, a friend of mine worked in a call center. As the only person with a nose ring they were outnumbered by church going, quilters. Later on the company decided nose rings were inappropriate for the workplace. Management hung posters of pirates and no one was against ongoing harassment. The nose ring had nothing to do with their performance. In fact, before the harassment started they were one of their best employees. Losing their job they never formally reported the incident.

This happens when there is an overwhelming group of people at the workplace. People unite together for various reasons. The saddest part is management will side with the majority even when it is directly in violation of company code.

A place I worked for explained no one was allowed to bring religious paraphernalia to work. Within a week someone had a manger scene on their desk. Shortly before Christmas arrived supervisors placed a large Christmas tree decorated with angels, crosses and Jesus on the main floor. Happily, I did not participate in this activity. It seemed like a method to threaten anyone outside the group. We took sensitivity training.

Identify people to be apart of your group. Often it is difficult. I have tried breaking the ice over lunch and someone thought I was flirting. Assume people are interested in friendship, until otherwise stated. Chatting and regular lunch buddies is an excellent maneuver. With friends, even though the group is small, it is still a group. Members of a smaller group have a reason to show up everyday, because every person is important.

Next, give referrals to everyone. It doesn't matter if they have similar interests. Having close friends or family with other interests builds a bridge between groups. Other employees still think you're creepy, freaky, nerdy, dirty, pesky, sinful, problematic or stupid, but they won’t mess with their friend's buddy.

The worst part about going to work does not have to be culture. Take control and expand corporate culture to a larger degree of acceptance. It is healthy to bring people to a greater level of integrity. Finding the perfect job is difficult, so build a new culture.

Related Article
Stakeholder Actions
Tactical Business Modes
Where are the Jobs?