Refer A Job Candidate, Get Cash BackRefer A Job Candidate, Get Cash Back

For many employers, the most successful job hires are often the people referred to the company by others.

Now there's a high-tech way to get them: Venture-backed startup firm H Three Inc.'s H3.com Web-based "cash-reward-based referral-hiring tool," which helps companies track all the individuals involved in the successful hiring of a job candidate so each of those people can be monetarily rewarded by an employer.

Say "Kim," a human-resources manager of Company XYZ, needs to fill an IT-manager position. She'd go to the H3 site to create the job requirement info, including a $2,000 reward. Kim would click on a button that lets her use her own company's E-mail system to create a message containing that job info and send the E-mail, asking for suggestions.

Say "Craig" gets the E-mail and knows someone who might be qualified. He'd click on a link in Kim's E-mail that directs him to the H3 site, where he can create an E-mail about the job to send to his friends using his company's own E-mail. If Craig's friend "Maria" is interested, she'd click on the H3 site, which would tell her how to get in touch with Kim. H3 would also send a message to Kim, informing her that Maria is interested.

If Maria is hired, Kim's company would receive an invoice from H3 for $2,200. That covers Craig's $2,000 reward and a 10% fee for H3. If Maria leaves the job within 90 days of being hired, Kim's company would get a $2,200 refund. If no one is hired using the H3 job referrals, H3 doesn't charge the employer.

Rewards can range from $500 to several thousand dollars, says Hans Gieskes, president and CEO of H3. Headhunters, Gieskes says, often charge a finder's fee that can range from 17% to 33% of the person's first-year salary.