Real pages from the kit files. Example figures are illustrative.
Employee Referral Program Kit
Launch an employee referral program you can run and defend, without making up the rules as you go. It sets the bonus and the credit rules once, gives you the policy and the comms to launch it, and includes the tracker that shows what each referral costs and what it saves.
One-time purchase, no subscription. Instant download.
Built by expert HR practitioners and leaders
- An adoptable Employee Referral Policy: a two-part policy you fill in, covering who is eligible, covered roles, how to submit, timing, duplicates, prior applicants, family referrals, and the bonus, payout, and tax handling
- A design worksheet that decides the program once: ten decisions with a typical default and room for your call, so the bonus amount, the payout timing, and the credit rules are set before you announce anything
- A one-page credit-rules sheet: nine rules that settle who gets paid when two people refer the same candidate, when a candidate already applied, and when a manager or a family member refers
- The launch comms, ready to send: a manager huddle script, an announcement email and short texts, status updates to the referrer, and messages to the referred candidate, for both desk-based and deskless teams
- The Excel Referral Program Tracker: log each referral and bonus payout, and read a one-page dashboard with the conversion rate, total bonus cost, cost per referral hire, and net savings against other channels
- The judgment-call backups: employee and manager FAQs, a common-mistakes page with the fix, and a deskless and hourly playbook for the workforce that does not read company email
The kit gives you the program and the record. You set the amounts and confirm the payroll handling with your provider.
A guided kit, templates, and general business information for planning, not legal or tax advice. Referral bonuses are taxable wages paid through payroll, and for non-exempt staff they can affect overtime, so confirm the handling with your payroll provider, and confirm the policy with qualified help before you rely on it.
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Last reviewed June 2026
Buying for clients or multiple entities? The White-Label tier is in the license.
Three pieces that launch the program and keep it running
A guide that doubles as the policy and the comms, a tracker that runs the numbers, and a one-page Start Here that tells you where to begin. Built to take a program from a decision to live in an afternoon, then keep it consistent month to month.
Start Here
A one-page map: open the files in the right order, set the bonus and the credit rules, fill in the policy, announce it, and start the tracker. Read it first, and confirm the payroll handling before you publish a bonus amount.
The Kit Guide (15 pages)
The whole program in one document: the two-part referral policy, the design worksheet, the credit rules, the submission form, the manager huddle script, the announcement email and texts, the referrer and candidate messages, the employee and manager FAQs, the common-mistakes page, and the deskless and hourly playbook. Print-ready PDF and an editable Word version you adapt.
Referral Program Tracker
Set your bonus tiers and the savings inputs once, then log each referral and bonus payout. The dashboard reads the referral conversion rate, the total bonus cost, the cost per referral hire, and the net savings against other channels. It opens pre-filled with a worked example, and it works in Excel or Google Sheets.
The method from decision to live
Decide the program, write it down, launch it, and track it. The kit does each step; you set the amounts, and your team does the referring.
Decide the program once
Work the design worksheet: set the bonus by role difficulty, decide when it is paid, set the recency window for prior applicants, and write the credit rules. Each line on the worksheet prevents a specific argument later, and the choices you make here become the blanks you fill in the policy.
Write it down and confirm payroll
Fill the bracketed blanks in the editable policy with your decisions, then confirm with your payroll provider how the bonus is taxed and, for non-exempt staff, how it affects overtime. The policy is adoptable, but have it reviewed before you rely on it.
Announce it and make referring easy
Run the manager huddle script in a team meeting, send the announcement email to desk-based staff and the short texts to a deskless team, and put the submission form where people can reach it. A referral counts only when it comes through the form, so the channel matters.
Track it and keep referrers in the loop
Log each referral and payout in the tracker, send the status updates so people keep referring, and read the dashboard for the conversion rate, the bonus cost, and the savings against other channels. The record is also how you settle a credit dispute under the first-valid rule.
A referral program lives or dies on three decisions
Most referral programs do not fail on the idea. They fail on the details nobody settled first: how much the bonus is, when it is paid, and who gets credit when two people refer the same person. Decide those once, write them down, and the program runs on its own. Leave them vague and the first disputed bonus turns goodwill into an argument.
Who it is built for
Who this kit fits, and where to go if your need is different.
Built for
- A manager or business owner standing up a referral program for the first time who wants the policy, the rules, and the launch comms ready to go, not a blank page.
- An HR team of one, or a small HR function, that needs one consistent program across managers, with the bonus, the credit rules, and the tracking in one place.
- A company with an informal referral habit that keeps causing disputes, that wants a written policy and a clear credit rule behind it before the next argument.
If you are looking for
- Just the spreadsheet to log referrals, track payouts, and read a dashboard, with a program already in place. The Referral Program Tracker is that workbook on its own, and it is the same tracker included in this kit.
- A way to keep the people you already have, rather than source new ones. Referrals are an inbound hiring tool, so the Retention and Stay Interview Action Kit is the better fit for that.
Before you buy
What is in the kit and can I edit everything?
How is this different from the free referral ROI calculator?
The Referral Program Tracker is $24 on its own. What does the kit add for $49?
How are referral bonuses taxed and do they affect overtime?
What is the refund policy?
What happens after I buy?
Can I expense this purchase to my business?
Most customers buy TrueStep HR tools for business use, and a tool you use for work often qualifies as a deductible business expense. Whether it does for you depends on your situation, so confirm with your accountant or tax professional. Your receipt arrives by email at checkout and works as documentation.
The 6 red flags to check before you discipline or fire someone
A five-minute screen that catches the most common and most expensive people-decision mistakes before they happen. Free PDF, sent to your inbox. Unsubscribe anytime.
Get a referral program live and keep it fair
Set the bonus and the credit rules once, send the comms, and track what referrals cost and save, in files you keep and adapt.
A guided kit and templates for planning, not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed June 2026.