Case study: How InMobi’s fresh employer brand raised referrals by 100%

Kevin Freitas, InMobi’s human resources leader (Asia) reveals how the firm raised referral rates by over 100% by using a fresh approach to employer branding.

High wage costs, coupled with a limited talent pool, is a challenge for any company, especially for one trying to attract talent in the dynamic and highly competitive technology space.

This challenge was what InMobi had to overcome, having realised its internal hiring practices needed a performance boost.

Only 1% of the organisation was involved in recruitment, and the hiring function was devoid of set processes.

The firm’s mission was to rebuild an entire recruitment team to cut down on costs and produce beneficiary results. Hence, InMobi began a long-term sustainable approach to tackling the problem of talent shortage and to make significant improvements in its employee retention, attrition and attraction rates.

Rather than winning the war for top talent purely by enhancing compensation, the firm began to launch initiatives that defined what made InMobi an employer of choice, as Human Resources’ found out.

Strategy: Prioritising employee needs

InMobi saw a tremendous opportunity to build on its employee-centric culture. Rather than concentrating on business alone, its initiatives reiterated the firm’s commitment to prioritise the needs of its employees.

For example, branding and communications were highlighted with the launch of its new social networking handles. InMobi began posting all office happenings on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, which were then mass shared by the employees. It targeted every medium: video, blogs, posts, posters and others.

Instead of hiring external experts to lead its branding strategies, the firm hired two college interns to help it craft an authentic employer brand. The reason? InMobi wanted a fresh set of eyes to help it discover its culture in the eyes of its employees and enhance the brand.

The firm didn’t incur any additional people costs, but the help of its interns empowered the entire team, along with 900 InMobians, to be the brand ambassadors for InMobi.

READ the full feature: The secrets to designing a top-tier recruitment strategy

In addition, the company encouraged InMobians to decide on the best people to join the firm. It rewarded “experiences” for referrals, as opposed to cash amounts – such as international vacations, iPhones, Rockrider bicycles and the Royal Enfield Terminator.

“Our culture is our brand. InMobians take pride in speaking positively about our culture and sharing it with the world every day,” revealed Kevin Freitas, InMobi’s human resources leader (Asia).

Meanwhile, the sabbatical policy encourages InMobians to try their hand at entrepreneurship, and take a break to return refreshed. The company offers infrastructure, support and meals free of cost for InMobi alumni who have turned into entrepreneurs.

Besides this, InMobi’s springboard philosophy, rooted in career development, also offers internal internship opportunities across functions to every InMobian.

Results: Referrals and recruitment costs

As a consequence of these changes, InMobi significantly improved its attrition and referral rates. Referral numbers rose by over 100%, while InMobi’s recruitment costs reduced by 95%.

The metric of saving-per-hire also increased to 107%. Importantly, InMobi’s branding programmes evoked positive responses from its employees. They proved their commitment towards the company by referring the finest talent in the industry and closing more positions in less turnaround time, along with improved quality of hires.

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