Executive summary

  • 1,000+ placements generated through Staffing Referrals in 2025
  • 80%+ placement rate for referred candidates
  • Referred candidates stay on assignment 64% longer
  • No referral bonus — results driven entirely by brand reputation and experience
  • Two new client leads generated within 24 hours of first client referral campaign
  • Fully integrated with Avionté ATS

Your Employment Solutions (YES) has been placing workers in industrial and commercial staffing positions across Utah for more than 30 years, operating five branch offices and five on-site locations embedded at major client facilities. During that time, they’ve won both the Best of State Employment Agency and Best Companies to Work For awards seven times each.

That’s not luck. It’s the result of a deliberate strategy built around genuine commitment to the people they place. Their vision statement, “Through simple human kindness and friendship, we have a place where every person is valued and progressing,” is posted in every branch and built into the operational standards the entire organization is measured against. That commitment has given YES a competitive advantage their rivals can’t easily replicate, and one they’re now harnessing to drive growth into the future.

The goal: Preparing for the coming storm

When Steve Farrell joined YES as COO just over two years ago, one of his first moves was a deep dive into the labor market. What he found was sobering. According to Lightcast’s The Rising Storm, a significant labor shortage is coming, and companies that aren’t prepared will struggle to survive it.

The agency already had Staffing Referrals, though they weren’t actively using it. But when Farrell looked at the data, he noticed something that shocked him: even without a formal program or a referral bonus, Staffing Referrals was quietly generating a steady stream of referred candidates every week.

Farrell immediately saw an opportunity: if referrals were already working this well without effort, systematizing them could become the foundation of a sourcing strategy that would enable YES to thrive even in the face of the coming labor shortage.

What makes YES referable

“Our talent isn’t just a cog in the machine. We make sure every placement is the right fit for the role.” ~ Steve Farrell, COO

Agencies that struggle with referrals are often asking the wrong question. They’re asking, “How do we get more referrals?” What they should be asking is, “Are we worth referring?” YES had already decisively answered that, which is why referrals were flowing in even without a bonus. Here are a few of the ways the agency lives their vision statement every day:

  • Service non-negotiables. YES has codified their candidate experience into formal service standards (including responding to candidates within two hours), which are tracked at the company, branch, and recruiter level through an internally built operational dashboard.
  • In-person first-day check-ins. Across all 200-plus client locations, YES shows up in person on a new hire’s first day, a meaningful differentiator in an industry where that handoff is often the last contact a candidate has with their agency.
  • Ongoing recognition. Associates at three months receive a care package, and branded gear arrives at the holidays. The effect is that working with YES feels less like a transaction and more like joining a community.

Automation that amplifies relationships

“Referrals aren’t something we’re chasing. They’re something we’ve earned. Staffing Referrals is the engine that automatically scales what we’ve already built.” ~Steve Farrell, COO

Staffing Referrals runs automated text campaigns that reach candidates at the right moments, e.g.,, after an interview, during an assignment, as a contract winds down. The prompts are soft and organic, not a marketing push. Candidates refer people they genuinely believe will be happy at YES, not because they’re chasing a bonus.

Crucially, none of this requires recruiter action. YES recruiters live entirely within the Avionté ATS. When a referred candidate enters the pipeline, they surface automatically with the source labeled, and recruiters know to prioritize these valuable referral leads.

Staffing Referrals also integrates with Great Recruiters, which provides another opportunity. When a candidate gives a positive score after their initial interview, the system automatically prompts them to refer a friend. In 2025, that flow alone produced close to 100 referrals, all from candidates who hadn’t yet been placed.

The results

1,000+ placements; 80%+ placement rate

In 2025, YES generated more than 1,000 placements through Staffing Referrals. Their referred candidate placement rate exceeds 80%, which is nearly six times higher than the 14.5% industry average, and vastly ahead of the roughly 1% placement rate typical of job board candidates. Farrell attributes this to three factors: the ease of submission, the quality of the candidate experience, and the trust that YES’s reputation carries into every interaction.

64% longer on assignment

Referred candidates stay on assignment an average of 58.1 days, compared to 35.5 days for non-referred placements, representing a 64% increase. In light industrial staffing, where retention directly affects client relationships and gross margin, that gap compounds quickly.

No bonus needed

YES is unique in that they do not pay a referral bonus. Their results are generated entirely by reputation and experience, with Staffing Referrals providing the infrastructure that makes the engine run. For agencies that assume a competitive bonus is the price of admission, YES is proof otherwise: if candidates love working with you, they’ll tell their colleagues without being paid to.

New client referrals

In the same week as this interview, YES ran their first client referral campaign, asking top ambassadors whether they knew of companies YES should be working with. Within 24 hours, two referrals came in, both of which led to successful discovery meetings. This points to the underrecognized fact that the same network generating candidates can also open doors to new clients.

A strategy built to last

For YES, formalizing their referral infrastructure wasn’t a reaction to a problem. It was a strategic move driven by their internal data as well as insights about where the labor market is heading. YES is building now so they’re not scrambling later.

“If you want to grow in 2026 and beyond, you absolutely need a referral platform that integrates with your ATS. Job boards keep getting more expensive. If you want to reduce that spend, increase placement rates, and keep your talent on assignment longer, you need this.” ~Steve Farrell, COO

Staffing Referrals