A Phoenix startup recently launched a platform that helps businesses attract and retain employees through automated referral bonuses.
Refered’s platform is a “multipay solution” in which employees receive incremental paycheck bonuses for referrals, which can be paid monthly, quarterly or even over a worker’s entire tenure to encourage retention, according to the company.
“After 25 years of working with small to medium-sized businesses here in Arizona and across the country, I’ve found that employee turnover is a constant struggle,” said Olsen, Refered’s cofounder and CEO, said in a statement. “Research shows that loyalty to referrals can convert directly to company loyalty. Employees enjoy working with people they already like and respect. Referring a friend can lead to a job for the friend and a bonus for the employee.”
Employers can manage referral bonuses using Refered’s employee dashboard. The platform also features an AI assistant to create job postings, an option to sync payroll data with Paychex for automated bonuses and an applicant tracking system with the ability to post job openings through social media and job boards.
Olsen, also the founder of Phoenix-based digital marketing agency Fasturtle, was inspired to create Refered based on the belief that if businesses partner with employees to generate worker referrals, it could lead to reduced turnover and greater worker satisfaction.
“Unfortunately, businesses often lose employees for $1 or $2 an hour more, or the culture does not align,” Olsen said. “Think of an environment where employees can easily share the company's open positions with their friends and family through Facebook, LinkedIn, and X and are compensated when their friends or colleagues are hired.”
Refered has beta tested its platform with more than 24 medical and home health care agencies nationwide prior to officially launching it in June, Olsen told AZ Inno.
Platform has been fine-tuned for years
Olsen established Refered in 2016 and worked with multiple development companies throughout the years on various iterations of the platform before perfecting it with Ukraine-based web development company Everlabs, he said.
“Working with their software development team, we were able to revamp the look and feel of it,” Olsen said. “We were able to add an application tracking system. So if you have jobs, you can post it to 40 plus directories that are out there.”
The company is in the process of integrating its platform with payroll company ADP and accounting software QuickBooks Online.
What’s more, Refered is in platform integration discussions with Phoenix-based Kahala Restaurant Franchising and Italian eyewear giant Luxottica Group, whose subsidiaries include Sunglass Hut and Oakley, Olsen said.
Refered, which is primarily bootstrapped, has a team of five employees and plans to ramp up hiring for additional sales and retention support roles, Olsen added.
The company aims to scale its platform across the U.S. with future expansion to Canada and Europe, Olsen said.
“What I'm hoping is to change is the way that employers and employees look at referral bonuses and options,” he said. “I want this to be adopted by every company that's out there.”
