Frequently Asked Questions | Missouri Office of Administration

Referral Program - General Information

What is the State of Missouri's employee referral program?

The statewide employee referral program is designed to provide a referral incentive to current State of Missouri team members who are employed by a department actively recruiting on the MO Careers platform. When an individual referred by the team member is hired into a full-time, benefit eligible position advertised on MO Careers, and remains employed for at least 90 days, the referral incentive is distributed.

How is the referral program funded?

House Bill 5.055 (2023) provides spending authority to the Division of Personnel in the amount of $284,500 for the employee referral program to begin in fiscal year 2024. Funding sources include approved Federal and/or Other funds identified by participating departments in October 2023 and general revenue appropriated to the Division of Personnel. The program is subject to funding availability and may change at any time.

What happens if funding runs out?

The program will be active until appropriated spending authority and General Revenue (GR funds) are expended. Once funds are depleted, any outstanding incentive payments will be held for consideration if additional funding is identified in the next fiscal year.

What happens if a department is already running their own employee referral program?

Departments may recruit for identified positions in a department-specific program, but will participate in the statewide program if actively recruiting in MO Careers.

Who manages the referral program?

The employee referral program is managed by the State of Missouri Office of Administration, in conjunction with the Divisions of Personnel, Accounting, and Budget and Planning. For operational questions please direct them to the Talent Acquisition team in the Division of Personnel at MoCareersHelp@oa.mo.gov

How do I participate in the Employee Referral Program?

Follow these easy steps to create your account in MO Careers and join the Show Me's Got Talent Employee Referral Program!

Access the step-by-step instructional document that will guide you through how to participate in the referral program.
View a quick tutorial video that demonstrates how to create your account in MO Careers.

With just a few minutes of your time, you'll be registered in the referral program and ready to help us find the most talented candidates to join our team!

Who should I contact for more information on the Employee Referral Program?

More information and other inquiries can be routed to a department's Human Resources team or email MOCareersHelp@oa.mo.gov.

Eligibility

Which departments qualify for the Employee Referral Program?

Current executive branch departments that recruit using the MO Careers platform are eligible to participate in the statewide program.

The program does not include the judicial branch, legislative branch, Statewide elected offices of the executive branch, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Missouri Department of Transportation, or the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Which team members qualify to receive a referral incentive?

All regular State of Missouri team members actively employed by one of the MO Careers participating executive branch departments, not involved in the hiring/recruiting process, are qualified to receive a referral incentive, including all active employment types. Open positions must be advertised on the MO Careers platform to be eligible for referral.

What positions are eligible to be considered for the employee referral program?

All full-time, benefit eligible positions of the executive agencies that utilize MO Careers are eligible for a $250 referral. For hard to fill positions, as identified by Departments once a year, a current team member can receive $500 referral.

Will referrals be accepted for generic job openings, specific positions, or by department?

Referrals must be assigned to a specific job posting advertised on MO Careers. Referring team member’s identification must be on the application submission.

Will a referral incentive be considered if the applicant submits their application through an external job board/website outside of MO Careers?

No, the application must be received through the MO Careers platform to provide the referral submission.

Can someone from outside the executive departments participate in the employee referral program?

No, non-executive department team members will not be able to access a referral code through MO Careers, making them ineligible.

Are only first-time hires eligible? What requirements exist for rehires?

Candidates must be a first-time hire or a candidate that has not been employed by the State of Missouri within the last 6 months before hire date listed in MO Careers. All other eligibility requirements must be met to qualify, including full-time, benefit eligible position posted on the MO Careers platform with a referring team member’s credentials on the application.

Will disciplinary status be a consideration for referrals?

No, as long as all other eligibility requirements are met. All State of Missouri team members actively employed by one of the MO Careers participating executive branch departments not involved in the hiring/recruiting process are qualified to receive a referral incentive, including all active employment types.

Will those directly involved in hiring be eligible for the incentive?

No, the Human Resources team, hiring managers, department leadership, or other staff directly involved in filling the specific position are not eligible for rewards. Questions about eligibility should be directed to the department’s Human Resources team. Ineligibility beyond the scope of the employee referral program administered by the Division of Personnel is at the discretion of the department leadership. Human Resources departments will have final discretion on eligibility and other key elements of the program.

What happens if the referring team member is no longer employed at 90 days when the payout processes? (i.e. leaves state government, retires, terminates)

No payment will be made if a team member has been terminated and/or is no longer considered employed/active at the State of Missouri at the new hire’s 90-day tenure.

What happens if the referring team member transfers into a different position during their 90-day tenure?

Payment will be processed based on the employee’s current department location at time of payment.

What happens if the new team member goes on leave within the 90-day timeframe? (Ex: ADA, etc.)

The payment will continue to be processed if new team member remains employed.

What happens if the new team member transfers into a different position during their 90-day tenure?

If the new position is tied to a participating department and meets eligibility requirements then the referral can be processed. Eligibility includes a full-time, benefit eligible position posted on the MO Careers platform with a referring team member’s credentials on the application.

What happens if a referral is received after the position closes?

Submission of referrals are only valid if received while the position is open and active on MO Careers platform. Referrals that generate after the close date of a position will not be eligible.

What happens if a referral comes in before the launch of the employee referral program?

If a referral source comes in before the program is launched, it is not eligible. Only referrals that are submitted after the launch of the referral program will be eligible.

If the referring team member and applicant are relatives, is the referring team member eligible for the incentive?

Yes, there are no restrictions on the relationship. However, those directly involved in the hiring process of the position are not eligible.

What happens if the candidate lists two referring team members as their referral? Is that an option? If yes, will they both receive full incentive or will it be split?

The referral source on the application will be limited to one name and corresponding work email address. Only one referral code may exist per application.

What happens if multiple team members refer the same candidate?

The email or referral code used by the applicant on the submitted application will determine which team member receives the referral incentive.

Are there any additional employment requirements for referring team member?

The referring team member must be employed at the time the referral is given, as well as 90 days after the new team member is hired in order to obtain payment.

Payment

What is the incentive amount?

$500 for hard to fill positions identified annually by departments and $250 for all other eligible positions posted on MO Careers.

What positions are considered hard to fill?

Hard to fill positions are identified by department leaders at the beginning of each fiscal year.

When can departments change their hard to fill positions?

Hard to fill positions can be modified by department leadership at the beginning of each fiscal year.

What actions are required in MO Careers to start processing the referral?

The status of a new team member will need to be changed to “Hired” and start date will need to be entered to generate the automation.

How will the employee referral payouts be reflected on the team member’s paystub?

The employee referral payment will be listed by the category code on the paystub.

How and when will the referral incentive be paid?

After the new team member has been employed 90 days, the referring team member incentive will be processed within the next two pay cycles. The incentive will be included with the regular paycheck. Payout is subject to withholdings and taxes.

What event code will be used for this program?

The pay event code will be EEREF. The object code will be 2005 (Regular Wages) and is subject to withholdings and taxes. The employee referral program will be paid concurrently with regular wages and considered a single payment during the regular payroll period. For more details: IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide 2024 , Section 7 Supplemental Wages or for individual tax implications or questions, please contact your tax accountant.

Are referral payments subject to retirement calculations?

Yes, the referral payment will be included in retirement calculations.

Will the referral payment count towards worked hours?

No, the referral incentive is in addition to normal pay earned during a normal work day.

Will the referring team member’s department be notified of the pay cycle in which they will receive the reward? If so, how and when?

ITSD will prepare and distribute to Division of Personnel Talent Acquisition a report that includes the payouts scheduled, including recipient name, department, and division. Talent Acquisition will share with department HR Directors/teams.

Is there a way for a referring team member to track the status of a referral?

Yes, team members have a dashboard on MO Careers that provides information regarding referrals.

How will payments be processed if a team member is receiving more than one referral incentive in a pay cycle?

The referral incentives will be combined.

How will payments be processed if a team member is employed by more than one state department?

The funding will be tied to the primary position as established in SAMII.

Is there a limit of referral incentives that a team member can receive in a calendar year?

There is no limit to the number of referral incentives a team member may receive. Availability of funds is limited to the total appropriation allocated for the program.

What happens if the referring team member transfers to another department before the referral payout occurs?

If a referral is already in process, then the payout will occur and will be paid by the department where the referring team member is employed at the time of payout. For any new referrals, the team member will need to setup their employee referral account with their new work email.

What happens if funding is no longer available?

A mass communication will go out regarding any significant changes to the program. Further information will be provided to impacted team members as applicable.

Which department’s coding is used to fund the referral program incentive?

The department whose employee made the referral will be assessed. The employee referral program payout is based on LDPR and funding availability, consistent with restrictions noted by each participating department, from general revenue, federal, and/or other funds. This is an incentive for the referring department as a valued team member for the State of Missouri and the department is able to recognize the team member for their effort in referring other team members. The benefit to the referring department is retention of a valued team member.

Make a Referral

Is there a step-by-step tutorial for candidates that are interested in applying for a position?

Yes, there is a step-by-step tutorial for candidates that can be found here.

How does a team member make a referral?

In the MO Careers portal, current team members will click on the Refer/Share icon to set up a referral account. Specific referral code and links will be generated that can be shared directly with candidates.

How and when will the referred candidate's information be collected?

Referrals must be submitted through the MO Careers portal prior to the job posting close date or job posting being removed.

How and when will the referring team member's information be collected from the candidate?

Candidate must list referring team member name and work email or referral code on application before submitting.

What information must a referring team member enter on the MO Careers referral program portal?

Team member must set up an account on MO Careers to create unique referral codes options to share with candidates. The information collected will ensure the referral is properly processed (i.e. full name, last four of social security number, work email address, division/department). A verification link will be emailed to the team member to confirm account setup.

What happens if the referral name on the application and team member referral portal doesn’t match?

Referral information collected from the candidate will supersede the referral portal and is limited to one name and work email or referral code.

What if the referring team member makes an error when entering the referral information of candidate?

Referral will be considered invalid. Editing can be completed by the MO Careers team. Please contact MoCareersHelp@oa.mo.gov.

What if the candidate makes an error when entering the referral information of referring team member?

Referral will be considered invalid. Editing can be completed by the MO Careers team. Please contact MoCareersHelp@oa.mo.gov.

What if the candidate fails to list the referring team member when they apply?

The referring team member can ask the candidate to edit their application to 1) list their referral source as “State Employee Referral” and 2) list the referring team member’s referral code. Editing an application can only be completed while the position is still posted, and it would be up to the team member to coordinate details with the candidate.

Will the referring team member be notified if a referral was hired?

Referring team member will receive a thank you email generated from the MO Careers employee referral program.

Will candidates be offered the opportunity to add a new referral source if matched to a position?

No, if matched to a position, the candidate will not be prompted to provide a new referral code. If a new referral code is needed, the candidate should be directed to complete the application for the new position.

Will there be a way to distinguish candidates who have been referred in MO Careers?

Referral source can be viewed on the candidate’s page for each application submission.

Will team members be limited on the number of referrals they can enter on the referral portal?

There is no limit.

What if a referring team member forgets to enter referring candidate's name in the referral portal? Can they add this information once the candidate is hired?

No, this information will need to be collected prior to the position closing or being unposted.

What if a candidate forgets to enter referring team member’s name on their application? Can they add this information once hired?

No, this information will need to be collected prior to the position closing or being unposted.

How will common names be distinguished?

The referral code and email will be unique and must be entered correctly.

Approval Process

Who will give final approval on referrals?

Department Human Resources teams will provide final approval before referral incentives are processed for payment. During the fund verification, Budget and Planning will provide final approval for payout to ensure funding exists and is available.

What are the responsibilities of the Human Resources representative that is hiring the applicant?

Once the candidate is hired, their status in MO Careers should be moved to ‘hired.’ All necessary verification will be automated, but the ‘hired’ status is required in order to advance the referral to the payout option.

What are the responsibilities of the Human Resources representative for the referring team member?

Once a candidate has been moved to the “hired” status in MO Careers, the referring team member’s Human Resources representative will receive an email with onboarding task instructions from MO Careers. Within 45 days of receiving the onboarding task, the representative must confirm SSN, eligibility, and funding is different than default funding sources.

Miscellaneous

Will the referral link be specific to each team member?

Yes, the referral link is tied directly to a team member and will be the same for all jobs.

How will the referring Human Resources representative receive notification once a hire has been made that includes a referral from one of their team members?

Each participating department must submit to the Division of Personnel Talent Acquisition team a team email address or identify representatives within the HR team to receive and complete onboarding task. For any needed updates please email MoCareersHelp@oa.mo.gov.

Will there be any distinction within MO Careers that an applicant has been successfully referred to a position by a current team member?

Yes, this icon will be added to their candidate page within MO Careers.

Technology

How will departments track their referrals?

Department Human Resource teams have a dashboard in MO Careers to provide all referral information. Human Resource teams may also run reports in SAMII based on the event code used. If there are any discrepancies between MO Careers and SAMII, SAMII is considered the most up-to-date and accurate information.

ITSD will prepare and distribute to the Division of Personnel Talent Acquisition team a report that includes the payouts scheduled, listing recipient name, department, and division. Talent Acquisition will share with department HR Directors/teams.

Who can I contact if there is an issue regarding MO Careers technology?

Please email MoCareersHelp@oa.mo.gov.

What information will a team member be able to see about their referrals?

They will be able to see their complete and incomplete referrals through the MO Careers platform.

As a team member do I have to set up a referral code every time I want to refer an candidate?

No, only one referral code will be generated for each team member after initial set up in MO Careers is completed.