---
title: Getting started with Referrals
description: Understand the Referrals module, its five tabs, its permissions and what each profile sees, then get it going.
url: "http://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/employee-referrals-getting-started/"
updated: "2026-11-11"
category: Employee referrals
---

# Getting started with Referrals

An employee referral is when someone in the company recommends a candidate. In Illizeo, the **Referrals** module extends Recruitment: every employee sees the jobs open to referrals and the bonus on offer, refers someone or shares their personal link, then follows their referrals through to hiring and the bonus. The HR team decides what is specific to the referral — the bonus, the hire date, declining a referral — and sends the bonus to payroll. This article introduces the module, its screens, the permissions it uses and what each profile sees. It is written first for the HR staff and administrators who set it up.

## The module at a glance

The module opens from the **Referrals** menu entry. It has five tabs; each one only appears if your role carries the matching permission, and the tab bar only shows if you have more than one.

- **Refer**: the jobs open to referrals, with the bonus on offer, and the employee’s two actions — referring someone or sharing their link. See [Referring a candidate or sharing your link](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/employee-referrals-referring-a-candidate/).
- **My referrals**: where each of your referrals stands, your counters and your badges. See [Tracking your referrals, badges and the ranking](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/employee-referrals-tracking-your-referrals/).
- **Ranking**: the top ten referrers of the period, your rank and your badges. It only exists if the programme’s **Ranking** setting is on.
- **Management**: all referrals received, for HR and recruiters — bonus promised, hire date, declining, bonus approval, CV analysis. See [Managing referrals and approving the bonus](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/employee-referrals-managing-referrals/).
- **Programme & campaigns**: the default bonus, the required period of presence, the jobs open to referrals, the campaigns and the three optional features (AI CV analysis, ranking, badges). See [Setting up the referral programme and campaigns](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/employee-referrals-programme-and-campaigns/).

In the side menu, the **Referrals** entry also offers shortcuts: **Refer**, **My referrals**, **Referral management** and **Programme & campaigns**, depending on your permissions.

![Refer tab seen by an employee who is a manager: the Referrals heading, the sentence “The jobs open to referrals and the bonus on offer”, the three tabs Refer, My referrals and Ranking, then three job cards (Conseiller de vente, Administrateur systèmes et réseaux, Développeur Full Stack) with their department, location, referral bonus in CHF and the Share my link and Refer buttons; the Développeur Full Stack card also shows the autumn campaign badge until 10/12/2026 and a CHF 2’500 bonus.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/cooptation-01.en_-scaled.png?resize=800%2C308&quality=80&ssl=1)
The employee’s starting point: the jobs to refer and their bonus.

### How a referral moves forward

1. An employee refers a person for a job, through the form or through their personal link. The application enters the Recruitment pipeline with the source “referral”. The bonus that applies that day is recorded and **fixed** on the referral.
2. The referral follows the application’s stages in Recruitment: while the application moves forward it is **In progress**; at the “Hired” stage it becomes **Hired**; if the application is rejected it becomes **Not selected**.
3. Once the person is hired, the required period of presence runs from the hire date (three months by default).
4. When the period is over, someone in HR approves the bonus: it goes into the referrer’s bonuses, to payroll, and the referral becomes **Bonus approved**.

At any time before approval, HR can **decline** a referral (duplicate, candidate already known, outside the rules): it becomes **Declined**, with no bonus, and the application stays in Recruitment.

### What each profile sees

- **Every employee** sees the **Refer**, **My referrals** and, if it is on, **Ranking** tabs. They only see their own referrals, never the content of interviews or the candidates’ contact details.
- **Recruiters** also see the **Management** tab: they change the bonus promised and the hire date, decline a referral and can request a CV analysis. They can read the **Programme & campaigns** tab without changing it, and do not approve bonuses.
- **HR staff and administrators** do all of the above, approve bonuses and set up the programme and campaigns.

## Before you start

- The Referrals module is an add-on to Recruitment: it must be subscribed to and installed in your workspace (**App Store**, **Employee referral** card), and the Recruitment module must be active. The module must also be open to your account.
- Only jobs **published** in Recruitment can be referred. A published job is open to referrals by default.
- The module relies on four permissions, each with its levels:
  - **Referrals** (module access): at the **Access** level, see the jobs to refer and follow one’s referrals; at the **Execute** level, refer someone, share one’s link and choose whether to appear in the ranking. The Administrator, HR, Manager, Recruiter and All employees roles hold it at both levels.
  - **Manage referrals**: at the **Access** level, read all referrals; at the **Execute** level, enter the bonus and hire date, decline a referral and request a CV analysis. Administrator, HR and Recruiter roles.
  - **Approve the referral bonus and send it to payroll**, at the **Execute** level. Administrator and HR roles.
  - **Programme and campaigns**: at the **Access** level, read them; at the **Execute** level, set the bonus, open jobs and campaigns. Administrator and HR roles at both levels; Recruiter read-only.
- These are the default grants; your administrator can adapt them in the roles.

## Getting the module going

1. Check that your jobs are published in Recruitment.
2. Open **Referrals › Programme & campaigns**. Enter the **Default bonus**, the **Currency** if it differs from your organisation’s, and the number of **Required months of presence**, then click **Save**.
3. In the **Published jobs** card, close to referrals the jobs that should not be referred, and give a bonus of their own to those that deserve one.
4. To push certain jobs for a while, create a campaign with **New campaign**.
5. Finally, choose whether to switch on the three features: **AI CV analysis**, **Ranking** and **Badges**. They are on by default.

Each setting is explained in [Setting up the referral programme and campaigns](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/employee-referrals-programme-and-campaigns/).

## Good to know

- Illizeo calculates no bonus: every amount is entered by a person (programme, job or campaign) and can be changed on the referral until it is approved.
- The bonus promised and the required period of presence are fixed on each referral when it is received: changing the programme or ending a campaign does not change what has already been promised.
- The referrer is notified at each step of their referral (received, hired, not selected, declined, bonus approved), in the notification centre and, if the “Follow-up on my referral” e-mail template is active, by e-mail.
- Two workflow triggers are available: **Referral received** and **Referred candidate hired**. The **Referral bonus: referrer’s manager approval** circuit lets the referrer’s line manager approve the bonus before it goes to payroll.
- Referral badges also show on the employee’s profile and in the directory, as long as the **Badges** feature is on.

## Frequently asked questions

### An employee cannot see the Referrals entry in the menu. Why?

Either the module is not installed or Recruitment is not active, or the module is not open to their account, or their role does not carry the Referrals access permission. Check these three points in that order.

### The Refer tab shows “No job is open to referrals at the moment.”

No job is both published in Recruitment and open to referrals. Publish a job, or open it to referrals again in **Programme & campaigns**.

### The Ranking tab does not appear.

The **Ranking** feature is switched off in the programme. Once it is back on, the tab reappears for every employee in the module.

### Are interviews tracked in Referrals?

No. Stages, interviews and the decision stay in Recruitment. The referral follows its status and only handles what is specific to it: the bonus and the hire date.

### *Similaire*