Most recruiters waste up to a third of their week sourcing without a structured process only to miss out on great candidates and potential fees. In this competitive candidate market, you need to have an effective approach to candidate sourcing.
How can you engage more with your recruitment tech, data, systems, so you can nail candidate sourcing and improve your pipeline?
3 Ways to Improve Candidate Sourcing for Recruiters
I spoke with Ayla Tapper from Broadbean. They specialise in helping recruiters turbo boost the way they source, attract, and engage candidates and clients. I asked Ayla 3 questions about how recruiters can dramatically improve their candidate sourcing strategy to drive results.
1. What are your thoughts on the stat, recruiters spend 13 hours a week sourcing candidates?
I’d probably ask what admin they are wasting the rest of their time on if just under two days is being spent on sourcing candidates. While there will be time focussing on client relationships, spending just 13 hours a week sourcing candidates does suggest that recruiters are still spending a lot of time on administrative tasks including CV sifting and job posting.
With recruitment technology and software available to automate most of the mundane, repetitive tasks, recruiters should be able to invest more of their valuable time building meaningful relationships with candidates. With the UK in a recession while competition for talent remains high, freeing up some of this time is going to become more important.
2. 50% of candidate applications are a poor fit. Why is this the case?
There are a number of elements to this statistic that need to be addressed. In the first instance, the fact that there’s a mismatch between the job applications that are coming through and the job spec suggests the recruitment technologyor software that’s being used to promote the roles isn’t working as it should. Jobs need to be written in a way that appeal to the right audience. If the wrong people are applying – particularly at a time when there is still a skills shortage despite the slowdown in hiring – then it’s likely that the job advertisements themselves need a rethink.
It also indicates that any lead generation activity isn’t being optimised for the right keywords or target audiences. Today, recruitment requires an individual, tailored and targeted approach. The ‘spray and pray’ tactic of plastering a job advert everywhere won’t have the desired impact. Success isn’t getting more job applications. Instead, it’s defined by getting fewer, more relevant candidates to apply. With the right recruitment tech these ads can be pushed out in a more targeted manner and if half of the applications recruiters are receiving are a poor fit, then there’s a mis-alignment somewhere in this process.
It is important to add, though, that with skills shortages still rife, there is an increasing need to identify candidates with soft or transferable skills. It’s increasingly becoming apparent that the perfect candidate doesn’t always exist for very specific job specs, meaning that recruiters are having to look for applicants that meet some of the requirements in order to fill job roles. This could be influencing some of the results of the stat of 50%.
3. How can Broadbean help improve this stat - 73% of recruiters are suffering a candidate shortage?
It’s really not a surprise to see that the majority of recruiters are suffering from a candidate shortage given the pressure we’ve seen on the labour market in the last year. There’s no easy fix to the dearth of talent, but there are ways for recruiters to improve recruitment processes and use recruitment technology to free up a recruitment consultant’s time so they can focus on developing those all-important human relationships.
Broadbean’s technology can save recruiters between one to two hours a day by automating a significant part of the hiring process. The intelligent software is also designed to ensure jobs are being posted in real-time or at optimised times to ensure you’re getting the best results based on user experience candidate data.
Broadbean also provides the analysis and data recruiters need to ensure they are making truly informed decisions around the channels that are delivering the best ROI. As it is agile, it also allows activity to be re-adjusted or shifted in line with the latest real-time data.
Talking of Recruiters Improving Sourcing...
Our recruitment training platform - Recruitment HIIT - helps recruiters source quicker. We have a wealth of speedy recruiting tips designed to help recruiters reduce their sourcing time, including CRM sourcing and LinkedIn sourcing so you can source less and place more!
Plus, our Broadbean HIIT has cute tips on candidate sourcing, advertising your jobs and speedily managing your candidate pools so you can increase your placements and fees!
TRY RECRUITMENT HIIT FREE
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3 Ways to Make More Money from Bullhorn - "Bullhorn for Sales" Tips Inside!
Winning more deals, placing more candidates, having more long-term (profitable) relationships, and making more money, is a key goal for recruiters and leaders. But often, the path to making a sale isn't a smooth, straight, easy, or quick!The whole point of tech is that it's supposed to help, not hinder recruiters. Sales Prevention or Enablement?But, too much data, and not enough process or phone time is paralysing many recruiters. And many recruitment leaders are asking "why can't they just pick up the phone?"As a recruitment leader / recruiter, you should be able to rely on your Bullhorn CRM to power productivity and sales pipelines.But is Bullhorn really driving sales, or simply increasing costs?Why does using Bullhorn for sales matter?💪Recruiters that use their CRM effectively can improve sales by up to 29%. Plus, sales productivity increases by up to 34%, and sales forecast accuracy by 42%.💞It costs 6x more to attract a new lead than to nurture one already in your CRM. Reaching out to warm clients already in your system isn’t just faster—it’s smarter for your bottom line.😱Recruiters spend up to 64% of their time on non-selling tasks. Imagine Wednesday, Thursday, Friday being almost totally unproductive and not selling!💸Leads nurtured via CRM systems make 47% larger purchases. Who knew that nurturing a contact means you sell more to them?🔁80% of sales require 5+ follow-ups—but 44% of recruiters give up after 1. How many opps are not being converted due to a lack of resilience?🎯CRM users are 3x more likely to hit their sales targets. Compelling, and the ultimate reason to engage with Bullhorn.(Sources: Salesforce / Annuitas / Bullhorn)In short: Using your Bullhorn CRM for sales is a winner!But there's a catch! Perhaps your business doesn't feel that Bullhorn is the key to sales!💩Only 30% of recruiter CRMs are considered “clean and current”. Is a lack of faith in your system driving costs up? Do you need more systems and data to tackle this lack of confidence / adoption / productivity?How much is that costing your business?How Useful is Your Bullhorn CRM for Sales?We asked recruiters to give us one word to describe how they feel about using Bullhorn for sales and they said...Oh dear...And this is why you are potentially reliant on systems outside of Bullhorn for sales - eg. LinkedIn / Job Boards etc...Our Winning 3-Step TLC Strategy for Using Bullhorn to Make More MoneyChanging how Bullhorn is perceived and used for sales is critical!We help recruitment businesses weaponise their Bullhorn CRMs into clean, revenue-generating machines with a simple framework "TLC":Train recruiters to use Bullhorn for sales, help them understand WIIFM? “What’s in it for me?”, and get them loving using Bullhorn to drive sales.Legacy cleanse and activate: Find account management opportunities and create call lists based on existing data. Which leads already exist in Bullhorn that need re-activating?Campaigns: Create engaging outbound campaigns to new / legacy data to generate call lists / leads.No expensive tools. No time-zapping system overhauls. Just smart fixes that work with what you already have.📍 Book a Free "Bullhorn 4 Sales" ConsultationI’d love to hear how you’re tackling improving sales with Bullhorn —and pay it forward with a free 30-minute call to share ideas and insights from the 1000s of recruiters we've work with.Identify quick-winsShare smart tools and automation optionsWhether your recruiters and resourcers struggle with account management, spotting and nurturing leads, speedy placements, we can help you build a practical, profitable, recruiter-friendly fix.Ready to give your Bullhorn and recruiters some TLC, and get Bullhorn driving sales?BOOK YOUR FREE BULLHORN 4 SALES CONSULTATION🚀 Why Now?Because recruitment is too competitive to be slowed down by bad data, and unrewarding processes. The difference between making a placement and missing out is often just how quickly and accurately you can find and reach the right person.If your consultants / resourcers are wasting time not converting or placing —or worse, avoiding your Bullhorn CRM altogether—this is your chance to fix it for good.Bullhorn shouldn't be a necessary evil / nice to have / data dump - it should be a revenue generating business-critical recruitment system. Let’s get yours working the way it should.
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How to Maximise the Productivity of Your Remote Recruiters
The recruitment world has changed—and whether your team is hybrid, remote-first, or fully virtual, one thing hasn’t: performance still matters. But without the buzz of an office, the whiteboards, and the shoulder taps, the Mars Bar incentives, how do you keep productivity high without becoming a recruitment micromanager?With so much tech and data, it's easy for procrastination and "admin-first" mentality to sneak in - and phone and face time with candidates and client suffers - and pipelines are not robust enough.But as a leader of a recruitment team or firm, I bet you're still waiting for the memo on how to manage your teams to max productivity...Here’s are some thoughts on recruitment leaders can set up their remote / hybrid teams for success—with clarity, connection, and commercial focus.1. Shift the Focus to Outcomes, Not HoursThe most productive recruiters aren’t always the ones who log on early or appear busy all day—they’re the ones who deliver results. Set expectations around outcomes: interviews booked, candidates submitted, jobs filled. Productivity isn’t about presenteeism; it’s about performance.You can call these KPIs, or simply "brilliant basics" - call them what you need to but, be clear on your goals and expectations. 2. Run Daily Huddles to Set the PaceA short 10–15 minute morning huddle can align the team around daily goals, hot jobs, and potential roadblocks. It keeps activity visible and creates a sense of shared momentum, even across screens. Don't scrimp on these kick offs / cool downs - they are vital to help your team (and you) stay connected.3. Use Dashboards to Drive ConversationsLive dashboards in your CRM (like Bullhorn) are powerful tools—but only if used constructively. Track key KPIs / Analytics / deliverables like CVs sent, interviews scheduled, and pipeline activity. Ensure that your tech can easily track these goals to ensure that your CRM/ATS is a single source of truth.4. Coach in the MomentFeedback shouldn't wait for end-of-week reviews. If a recruiter is struggling with outreach, sourcing, or conversion—jump on a quick call or screen-share. Remote doesn’t have to mean distant.5. Over-Communicate (Yes, Really)In an office, information travels quickly. Remotely, you need to be intentional. Encourage regular Slack / MS Teams / Zoom etc... updates, team chats, even voice notes. It’s not about overloading people—it’s about keeping everyone in the loop and engaged.6. Structure the Day for SuccessHelp recruiters design their day with clear time blocks: sourcing, BD, admin, follow-up. Get these diarised and transparent. Without the natural rhythm of an office, distractions creep in. Time-blocking restores focus.7. Celebrate the Small WinsThat candidate who finally returned the call? The new job lead from an old client? Shout it out! Wins matter more than ever when working remotely—recognition drives motivation and retention.We recommend, for example, an MS Teams channel devoted to team / people successes. And ensure that the team feel empowered to shout out each other's successes.8. Check In (Not Just Check On)Don’t just ask for numbers. It's too easy, when managing people remotely, to focus on the work outputs - as a leader you need to be better / different. Ask how they’re doing. Engage in what makes them tick. Remote work can feel isolating, for both you an them, especially in high-pressure sales environments. Regular check-ins help uncover hidden blockers—and show that you care.9. Give Them the Right Tools (and Training)Make sure your recruiters and resourcers have access to the tools they need—video calling platforms, up-to-date CRM access, and workflow automation. Then layer in continuous training so they can use the tools confidently and commercially. This is especially important if you have AI / Autoamtion tools. Training on the why, as well as the how, can be empowering and drive change quicker. Simply turning them on with minimal training risks "buy-out".10. Keep the Culture AliveFrom monthly leaderboards to virtual quizzes and Friday wrap-ups, make space for team bonding. How about a weekly quiz, using Kahoot or MS Teams, and each week a different team member runs it? High-performing teams thrive on connection—don’t let geography erode your culture.Final Thought: Set the Standard, Then Drive ItRemote recruitment teams thrive when there’s clarity and consistency.Create a simple “how we work” playbook—when check-ins happen, how KPIs are tracked, what good looks like.Then empower your recruiters to own their day, backed by your coaching and tools.The market won’t wait—and neither should your recruitment team. Productivity is a habit, and with the right leadership, remote recruiters can be a super-powerful asset.Want help building a remote recruitment process or smarter Bullhorn workflows? Let’s talk. I offer free consultations to help leaders like you unlock better performance—wherever your team logs in from.BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION
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