Job boards have been a favored resource for recruitment teams, offering easy-to-post listings and a broad reach. However, they often fail to deliver high-quality candidates. Moreover, they increase recruitment costs and decrease hiring efficiency.
This article explores these challenges and compares how the Boon platform stacks up against traditional job boards. We’ll review how referral-based recruiting is more effective in delivering higher-quality candidates faster and at a lower cost. Finally, in comparing Boon and traditional job boards across key metrics like cost-per-hire, candidate quality, and passive candidate engagement, you’ll see there’s a clear winner. Let’s dive in …
How Traditional Job Boards Attract Candidates
Traditional job boards allow companies to post job listings, making them visible to active job seekers. They provide access to a large audience but have limitations.
While job boards like Indeed and Monster attract millions of visitors monthly, oversaturation undermines their effectiveness, with countless job postings competing for attention. For instance, a typical corporate job posting attracts around 250 applications, according to Glassdoor, but most applicants are not a good fit for the role.
Job boards cast a wide net, which can be beneficial for visibility but also leads to a flood of unqualified applicants. CareerBuilder reports that 75% of HR managers have caught lies on resumes submitted through job boards, highlighting a broader issue: the volume of applicants does not guarantee quality.
Companies using job boards often waste time screening unqualified candidates, increasing both the time to hire and the overall cost of recruitment.
Additionally, job boards primarily reach active job seekers, representing only about 30% of the workforce. LinkedIn research shows that 70% of the global workforce consists of passive candidates who are not actively looking for a job but could be open to the right opportunity. Traditional job boards fail to engage this significant pool of potential candidates, leaving companies disadvantaged when sourcing top talent.
How Boon Attracts Candidates
Boon uses existing employees’ networks to source candidates. This referral-based model allows companies to reach high-quality candidates who often don’t appear on traditional job boards. Through AI, Boon helps employees refer contacts who are a strong fit for open positions. This streamlines the recruitment process and increases the likelihood of a successful hire.
One of Boon’s key advantages is its ability to reach passive candidates. Boon helps companies access the large majority of workers not actively seeking new jobs by encouraging employees to refer individuals from their personal and professional networks. These passive candidates are often among the most skilled and experienced in their fields and are much more likely to respond to personal referrals than a generic job posting.
Boon also simplifies the referral process by offering multiple channels for submitting referrals, including through its app, email, instant referral links, and even Slack. The platform’s user-friendly design ensures that the referral process is accessible to all employees, making it easier for companies to generate a steady stream of high-quality candidates.
Comparing Candidate Quality: Boon vs Job Boards
Candidate quality is one of the most essential factors in any hiring decision, and this is where the difference between Boon and traditional job boards becomes apparent.
Traditional Job Boards
Job boards often deliver a high volume of applicants, but the quality is questionable. HR professionals spend countless hours sifting through resumes, many irrelevant to the position. The lack of pre-vetting often means dealing with applicants who don’t match the role or the company culture. Moreover, only 25% of hires made through job boards stay longer than two years, whereas 45% of those hired through an employee referral stay for more than four years.
Boon’s Referral Platform
Boon’s referral platform, on the other hand, delivers candidates pre-vetted by trusted employees. This improves the chances of finding a candidate who fits the role and the company culture. According to a Jobvite report, referred candidates are 55% faster to hire and have a 46% retention rate after one year, compared to just 33% for hires made through job boards. The result is a more efficient hiring process with better long-term outcomes.
Boon also allows companies to leverage their employees’ unique insights. Employees are more likely to refer individuals they believe will excel in the role, further increasing candidate quality. Personal vetting helps ensure that referred candidates are qualified and an excellent cultural fit, leading to higher retention and better team cohesion.
The Cost Comparison: Boon vs Job Boards
Recruitment costs can quickly spiral out of control when relying on traditional job boards. While posting a single job may initially seem affordable, the hidden costs rapidly increase. Companies often need to pay for premium listings or sponsored ads to ensure their postings are visible, costing between $200 and $500 per post.
The administrative burden of sorting through unqualified applicants also increases labor costs. In addition, the high turnover rates associated with job board hires can make the total cost of using traditional job boards quite substantial.
Reaching Passive Candidates
One of traditional job boards’ most significant drawbacks is their inability to reach passive candidates—those who are not actively looking but could explore the right opportunity. Passive candidates are often some of the best potential hires, as they are typically already employed and succeeding in their roles.
Job Boards
By design, traditional job boards cater almost exclusively to active job seekers. This limits their ability to attract passive candidates, who are unlikely to browse job listings in their free time. As a result, companies miss out on a large portion of the talent pool.
Boon’s Referral Network
Boon excels at engaging passive candidates by tapping into employees’ networks. When an employee personally refers someone from their network, it is more likely to get the interest of a passive candidate who may not have otherwise considered a new opportunity. Boon’s AI helps identify these connections, ensuring employees can make the most relevant referrals. This approach can increase referrals by up to five times compared to traditional job boards, dramatically expanding a company’s reach into the passive talent market.
Case Studies
Boon’s referral-based platform has helped companies across various industries improve their hiring processes, reduce costs, and attract higher-quality candidates. Let’s explore how Red Bull and Medium benefited from switching to Boon.
Red Bull: Doubling Support Team Hiring Through Employee Referrals
Challenge
Red Bull, one of the world’s largest distributors of energy drinks, faced a challenging hiring landscape. Low applicant volumes, poor-quality candidates, high turnover rates, and limited engagement with their existing referral program made it difficult to fill critical roles such as drivers, maintenance staff, and shipping personnel.
Their existing referral program had low adoption due to a cumbersome and confusing process. Employees didn’t actively participate, so the company relied heavily on external recruitment firms, increasing their hiring costs.
Solution
After partnering, Red Bull implemented a gamified employee referral platform to engage their workforce. Boon’s software allowed seamless adoption, with employees from engineering, sales, and IT departments piloting the platform in phases. The program really took off when drivers and other operational roles started using it. Drivers were quick to engage with the referral process through their mobile devices, with Boon making it as simple as sharing a social media post.
Results
Red Bull saw a 40% increase in employee referrals, leading to double the number of support hires compared to conventional recruitment methods. Boon’s platform also reduced the company’s reliance on external recruiters, contributing to significant cost savings. Within six months, 100% of placements made through Boon remained in their roles, reducing turnover and stabilizing the workforce.
As Red Bull’s VP of Talent Acquisition noted, “Working with Boon was one of the best strategic decisions we’ve made as a company. We now have a powerful advantage in the war for talent against our competitors.” Ultimately, Boon’s referral program saved Red Bull nearly $10 million annually in recruitment costs.
Medium: Streamlining the Referral Process for Increased Efficiency
Challenge
Medium, a popular online publishing platform, relied heavily on employee referrals for talent acquisition, accounting for about 40% of their annual hires. However, managing this referral system was becoming labor-intensive, with various departments responsible for different aspects of the process. The lack of a formalized referral program created inefficiencies, including:
- Limited tracking: Employees had no visibility into the status of their referrals, leading to frustration and frequent inquiries to HR.
- Manual reward processing: Referral rewards were tracked manually, often resulting in delays or errors.
- Resource-intensive program management: HR and marketing teams shared the burden of promoting and managing the program, draining valuable time and resources.
Solution
Boon’s referral automation streamlined Medium’s hiring process. A straightforward, easy-to-use referral process automatically generated referral records, tracked progress, and eliminated the need for manual data entry. Employees received real-time updates on the status of their referrals, and reward payments were processed automatically.
Results
Thanks to Boon’s automation, Medium saw immediate improvements. The number of referral hires increased from 139 to 196, a 41% increase year-over-year. Boon’s automation saved 10 hours per week for HR teams, and the time-to-hire for referred candidates dropped by 33%, reducing the average time to fill a position from 45 to 30 days. Boon’s platform provided real-time tracking, which improved communication and reduced the administrative burden for HR.
Why Boon is the Future of Talent Acquisition
Boon’s referral platform offers companies a more innovative and efficient way to hire. Unlike traditional job boards, Boon taps into employee networks, engages passive candidates, and delivers higher-quality referrals. The platform’s AI-powered automation streamlines the referral process, reducing administrative burdens and recruitment costs.
Companies that adopt Boon benefit from faster hiring, higher retention rates, and better cultural fit among new hires. By eliminating the need for expensive job postings and reducing the time spent screening unqualified applicants, Boon offers significant cost savings. Moreover, Boon’s ability to engage passive candidates—who comprise 70% of the workforce—ensures companies can access a broader, more skilled talent pool.
Conclusion
Traditional job boards may still have a place in recruitment strategies, but their limitations are apparent. Boon’s community-driven, referral-based platform offers a superior solution, delivering high-quality candidates, reducing costs, and improving hiring efficiency. With proven results from companies like Red Bull and Medium, Boon is paving the way for the future of talent acquisition. Ready to join the elite?