What’s the best way to recruit people? This question is asked of me more than all others combined. Everyone is looking for the answer, and I’m going to give it to you. The ultimate recruiting method is for your current team members to become your recruiters, not because recruiting has been assigned to them or because you have incentivized them, but because they cannot help themselves. Employee referrals have always been and will continue to be the strongest method for recruiting — forever. Let me explain.

Your team members will not go out of their way to recruit others unless they are in love with your company. They won’t talk to their friends about openings; they will shy away from these conversations. They may even attempt to dissuade someone from seeking employment with your company. In other words, they will be passive at best and destructive at worst. But they will never be actively recruiting on the company’s behalf unless they are very happy campers.

Even worse, your team member’s lack of enthusiasm about the company will impact new hires. When new crew members are brought on board, they may quickly realize they made a mistake joining your company and will dust off their resume and start looking again. Over half of all millennials are planning to change jobs in the next 12 months, not because of a promotion, but just because they aren’t feeling the love where they are today.

The opposite is true as well. If your team members are so in love with your company that they go around telling everyone they run into about how amazing it is or how lucky they are to be a part of something so special, they will be the best recruiters you could ever have. And … they will never leave.

I have a question for you. Would you still have a recruiting problem if all of the people you lost in the last several years had never left? Do the math. In most cases, the answer is no. There’s only a recruiting problem where there’s a retention problem. Put an end to the revolving door and you will solve the recruiting problem. In fact, people will be beating down your doors to fight for a spot, even in today’s tight labor market.

You may be scratching your head right now, wondering what you could possibly do that would cause your team members to be so in love with your company that they would begin to recruit for you. That’s a great question to ask your team members directly. They will tell you if they care enough to do so. That’s a great question for your peer group. What are others doing? Identify some things to work on, prioritize them and roll up your sleeves. Involve your team members so they begin to see that their ideas matter. You never know, they may just do some recruiting for you.

Now go forth.