Why has the employee-referral program been such a successful recruiting tool at TI?
Through employee referral, we tend to get candidates that fit our needs better because the people that are working here know what kinds of skills and talents are involved. We encourage all of our employees to be talent scouts, and we use the giveaway of a vehicle to really get the word out. Anyone who successfully refers a new hire gets a bonus that ranges from $500 to $6,000. The normal bonus would be $1,500 for an engineering position. Q: How else do you find the best people? A: Through the Internet, at conferences, or places where other people like the employees who work here would be. We also do “radical sourcing,” in which we go to places where other people are not recruiting in order to get the attention of passive job seekers. We recently had booths at an arts and crafts show [in Dallas], at a flea market, at the symphony. Q: What percentage of your U.S. employees work in Dallas or the surrounding area? A: It’s close to half. Dallas is a very attractive area because there are a
