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FOUNDER THE REFERRAL SPECIALIST
Michael Boud
I help organisations, regions and collaborative partnerships map, connect and activate existing relationships and social networks. To support referral recruitment, build a sustainable flow of talent and engage people in a shared goal.
I combine over 25 years of experience in recruitment and labour market consultancy with research into what motivates people to recommend others and get involved.
My starting point is always the same question: who already has a relationship with the people we want to reach?
MY PERSPECTIVE ON THE LABOUR MARKET
A labour market challenge is often also a network challenge
When we think about attracting talent, we usually think of vacancies, campaigns, sourcing and recruitment capacity. Yet every organisation already has relationships with employees, former employees, candidates, customers, students, volunteers and partners.
Those people know other people. Information, trust and opportunities travel through their relationships. A personal introduction can therefore help reach someone who might remain outside the scope of conventional recruitment.
Drawing on my experience in referral recruitment and network activation, I developed my own approach to Social Network Strategy for labour market and talent attraction challenges. I explore which networks already exist, who connects different groups and what is needed to reach and engage people through those relationships.
Referral recruitment is one practical application. The same perspective can help engage volunteers, create pathways for people moving into a new profession or connect partners around a regional labour market challenge.
MY VIEW ON THE LABOR MARKET
The people behind the Referral Specialist
Social Network Strategy
Which relationships and networks already exist around your organisation or the challenge you are addressing? Who can help you reach the right people? And which connections are still missing?
I map those networks and explore where they offer reach, trust and opportunities to attract talent. I translate these insights into an approach to reach, connect and engage people.
Referral Recruitment
Employees know people who could be a good fit for their organisation. But a referral programme only works when employees understand how they can contribute and see that their recommendations are handled with care.
I help with research, internal buy-in, rewards, communication, software, activation and follow-up.
Network activation
Mapping a network is a starting point. People then need a clear, relevant reason to recommend someone, make an introduction or get involved themselves.
Together with the team, I turn insights into personal outreach, stories, encounters and activities that encourage participation. With attention to trust, appreciation and follow-up.
GROUNDED IN RESEARCH
What motivates people and activates their networks?
I founded the Referral Recruitment Benchmark. Since 2019, more than 2,000 organisations from the Netherlands and Belgium have participated in the research.
The benchmark explores how organisations manage referral recruitment, what motivates employees to get involved and where programmes encounter obstacles. The findings help inform decisions about internal buy-in, activation, recognition and processes.
Research and practice inform each other. I bring questions from client projects into the research and use the findings to design and improve programmes in a more focused way.
MY BACKGROUND
From recruitment practice to a broader perspective on networks
From 2001 to 2024, I built several specialist recruitment brands within Search & Co into an organisation with 25 employees. During that period, we helped more than 2,500 professionals take the next step in their careers.
Existing networks and personal introductions played an important role. From 2011 onwards, my focus increasingly shifted towards labour market consultancy, sustainable talent attraction and ambassador programmes. I also initiated benchmark research into candidate experience.
After selling the business in 2024, I continued this work through De Wervingsspecialist and The Referral Specialist.
At De Wervingsspecialist, we help organisations fill hard-to-fill vacancies: from labour market and target group analysis to search, sourcing, personal outreach and placement. At The Referral Specialist, I help organisations and collaborative partnerships better understand, connect and activate their own relationships and networks.
I work alongside Maaike Willems. She combines recruitment experience and candidate experience expertise with programme management, ensuring clear delivery and personal follow-up. Where needed, we involve specialists with complementary expertise.
FROM INSIGHT TO PRACTICE
How existing relationships help reach new people
Our work began with one question: how can we reach and engage more people who want to contribute to the Woonbrigade?
During our research, we found that many people were already willing to help others, but conventional recruitment was not reaching them. Those same social networks also offered a way to reach households that were difficult to connect with.
Together with Maaike Willems, I am translating these insights into an approach to network activation and personal follow-up. This project shows how the principles behind referral recruitment can also help address a social challenge: reaching people through relationships where trust already exists.
PUBLICATIONS AND CONVERSATIONS
My research and perspective in the media
My work features in interviews, industry articles, podcasts and webinars. In these, I share research insights and practical experience on referral recruitment, employee advocacy and the role of social networks in labour market development.
WERF& · MY OPINION PIECE · 30 JULY 2026
The biggest labour market opportunity is closer than you think
WERF& · RESEARCH · 27 JANUARY 2026
Why most referral programmes still fail
UWV · INTERVIEW · 12 MARCH 2025
The benefits of referral recruitment
In this opinion piece, I explore my perspective on social infrastructure: the relationships and networks through which people connect, build trust and share opportunities.
Werf& discusses the Referral Recruitment Benchmark and my insights into the challenges organisations face in activating their employees’ networks.
In conversation with UWV about the role of pride, recognition and engagement in referral recruitment, and what it takes to get employees actively involved in a referral programme.
EXPLORING IDEAS
On relationships, trust and what motivates people to act
On LinkedIn, I share observations from research and practice: why people recommend others, what it takes to be an ambassador and how organisations can take a more deliberate approach to their existing networks.
In my articles, I explore these ideas further. For example, why referrals often happen without being supported by a structured approach, and why the biggest labour market opportunity may be closer than we think.
GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER
Who already has a relationship with the people you want to reach?
Would you like to improve your referral recruitment or reach people as part of a broader labour market challenge?
Tell me about the challenges you’re facing and what you’re already doing. I’d be happy to explore the relationships, networks and approach that could help.
Call Michael: +31 6 24 76 87 58 or email him at michael@dereferralspecialist.nl