Employee Referral Bonus Program

At Texas State University, we recognize that candidates sourced from employee referrals are one of the University’s best recruitment tools. All TXST employees are encouraged to refer quality candidates who will successfully contribute to achieving the University’s goals and strategic plans.

What's happening?

Effective September 1, 2022, TXST will provide employees with a $500 incentive for each candidate referred and hired into a benefit-eligible position.

Program Guidelines

Who is eligible to participate?

All TXST employees are eligible to be a referring employee and receive the referral bonus, except:

  • those at the assistant vice president level and above
  • talent acquisition personnel
  • faculty and academic resources
  • human resources
  • those with hiring authority or involvement in the hiring process of the referred candidates (hiring managers and those within the hiring manager’s approval chain, search committee chairs and members, etc.)

Referring employees cannot be involved in the hiring process of the position, in direct or indirect oversight of the candidate being referred, or in violation of the university’s policy regarding nepotism and conflicting employment relationships. Referring employees must comply with UPPS 04.04.07 Nepotism and Related Employment.

To be a referred candidate...

The referral must represent the referred candidate's first contact with Texas State University. Temporary, contract, and former employees are not eligible.

What does the referred candidate need to do?

To be eligible for the bonus, the referred candidate must include the referring employee’s name on their employment application. If a referred candidate specifies more than one referring employee, the bonus will be split evenly.

Referring employees should make sure that the referred candidate lists their name on the initial application submitted through the university’s online application system.

If the applicant does not provide your name, you will not be able to receive a referral bonus if the person is subsequently hired.

How does the referring employee receive their bonus?

The referring employee must be employed by TXST during the hired candidate's first 90 days of employment to receive payment of the referral bonus. The referred candidate’s hiring department is responsible for coordinating the request for payment (submission of PCR) of an Employee Referral Bonus with the referring employee’s department.

Bonus payments will be paid for candidates referred and hired into a regular, benefit-eligible faculty or staff position and are subject to applicable taxes and withholdings. Incentive payments are considered extra compensation and, as such, are not included in base pay for determining benefits.

100 dollar bill folded into a box with a maroon gift bow on top

Bonus payments will be issued to eligible referring employees for all qualified referrals for referred candidates with a hire date within the fiscal year.

Both the referring employee and the referred candidate must be employed by TXST and be in good standing on the payout dates to receive payment(s).

Procedure

Expand FAQ List

  • The hiring department will submit the eligibility request form to confirm eligibility to process the referral bonus.

    *Upon submission of this form, the department contact will receive a form submission confirmation. Please note, this is not the eligibility confirmation notification referenced in Step 3.

  • Human Resources will confirm:

    1. that the referring employee’s name was included in the employment application
    2. new employee hire date
    3. that both individuals are still employed at TXST and in good standing

  • The hiring department will receive eligibility confirmation from Human Resources. This confirmation will include:

    • Referring employee name
    • Referred employee name
    • Position hire date
    • Eligibility date
    • Payroll date
    • Account information

  • The PCR must be initiated by the Department Head or Administrative Support Staff with Department Head SAP access of the referring employee.

    Instructions for submitting a PCR:

    1. Use the SAP Portal to initiate the PCR.
    2. Within the "Manage PCRs" section, select the tile: Employee in Org Unit (FPM)

    3. Search for the employee by A Number (i.e., A01234567) or last name by changing the "is" drop-down to "contains".
    4. Select the employee's active assignment number and click on the small note icon next to the employee's name to bring up the PCR options.
      Select Processes>HCM Inside ORG>Special Payment (FPM)

    A blank PCR will pop up on the screen. To accurately complete a PCR for the employee referral bonus, please follow these steps:

    1. Attachment: Attach the approval document to the PCR attachments at the top.
    2. Effective Date: Approval date from Human Resources to issue the Referral Payment
      Note: Please be mindful of PCR deadlines.
    3. PCR type: Special Payment
    4. PCR Reason: Referral Payment
    5. Amount: $500.00
    6. Recurring Payment: One Time

    7. Account Information: 
      Order: 009000003136
      Fund: 2000011023 (fiscal year-end fund will change for each FY)
    8. Comments: Add comments that pertain to the referral approval

    The confirmation eligibility received from Human Resources in Step 3: Eligibility Confirmation Notification must be attached to the PCR in PDF format for processing.

    Want to check your work? View a completed example.

Policies & Procedures

All referred candidates will be evaluated for employment consistent with TXST policies and procedures.

Referral bonuses are funded by the division of Finance and Support Services.

Have a question or dispute?

Any disputes or interpretations of this employee referral program will be handled by Human Resources.