How Can You Place More Candidates Quicker? by Barclay Jones

Blog Content

I recently spoke in Bullhorn’s Connected Recruiting Series. The topic was “Connected Recruiting: Attract, Engage, Onboard, and Nurture Your Talent Like Never Before”. They wanted my insight into how to nurture your current recruiting database and increase redeployment rates.

Recruitment tech has evolved in the 24 years I’ve been in the recruitment industry. In recent years, my team have enabled over 400 recruitment businesses to do what we call "Bullhorn1st" and automate their sourcing, screening, sales, and placements. I’ve seen and learned a lot about data, recruitment, automation, tech, and what makes for a profitable recruitment process.

Here are the highlights of what we discussed on the webinar and you can watch the webinar here.

1. Too Much Data, Not Enough Pipeline

Recruiters often have great data (often too much data) and are not monetising it.

They are sourcing it, advertising for it, buying it, scraping it, gathering it, storing it, but not nurturing it into sustainable fees.

They are reliant on systems outside of their CRM and this creates lag, cost, and risk.

Is this you?

There’s not enough strategy in managing their data. There’s not enough focus.

Data isn’t seen as valuable unless it has value today! Candidate applications and client leads often fail to convert, if not converted immediately. And often recruiters have way too much data to manage. Dunbar’s theory is that you are limited to the number of relationships that you can actively maintain. Recruiters need to get real with their data.

2. All the Gear, No Idea!

Plus, often there’s not enough specialist knowledge (or confidence) for recruiters to speak about their niche in the spaces where your candidates and clients are.

The majority of millennials and GenZs expect an omni-channel approach, not just phone and email. Read Bullhorn's Grid report for more insight on this.

Why are recruiters often silent where their communities are?

Is it because recruiters have too much data and not enough process? Perhaps!

They may not understand how to manage their data, or engage with these “new” channels, and opt for a “start at the top” and “get on the phone” approach.

That strategy isn’t sustainable when the average recruiter has thousands of records which they are supposed to manage and monetise. Plus, even if they have the tech which could drive a great experience, they haven’t always had the training they need to use this tech.

The volume of data recruiters have access to, and the tech they are expected to communicate with, has created something beyond a mere numbers game.

Distraction, FOMO, and procrastination are rife. Plus, there’s still an unnecessary reliance on LinkedIn and job boards which drives up cost, slows you down, and enables your competition to sneak past you.

3. Leads Generated – Sales Suppressed

I’ve also learned that recruiters are great at lead gen… but often not so great at converting these leads.

Leads, on average, last 48 hours. It takes on average 8-15 interactions to convert – BUT 85% of recruiters give up after 3 attempts.

Again, this numbers game and lack of tenacity, process, and urgency is generating more losses than wins.

4. It's All About the Journey, and Dunbar!

What’s the fix?

I see too much effort at the start of the candidate and client relationship, whether it be adverts, application acknowledgements, screening, job qualification. I see nowhere near enough engagement and nurturing after “hello”. Again we have a lot to learn from Dunbar.

Why? This is normally down to 3 things:

Too much data.
Not enough process.
A lack of understanding of what candidates and clients want (and need).

AI and automation will really help you kick the butt of points 1 and 2 above. Bullhorn’s recent GRID report tells us what candidates expect and helps you with point 3, too:

62% of candidates quit when the process takes “too long” – and in my experience this is often down to a lack of expectation management (and communication).
60% of candidates expect weekly contact from recruiters.
¾ of candidates expect to be placed in a new job within 4 weeks.
And most of them will expect communication beyond email – via an omnichannel approach.

Takeaways

Data = Asset: Treat your data like your most valuable asset. Less hoarding, more placing.
Get real: Understand the limits of what a recruiter can do with their day and data. Less is more.
Monetise: Use tech to keep data warm and monetise it. Give your community what it wants!
Free up: Use tech to free up your recruiters to do what they are paid to do.

You can watch all of Bullhorn’s Connect Recruiting series here.

Automation, Training, Bullhorn1st

We're a passionate team of recruitment, tech, training professionals set on helping ambitious recruitment businesses, big and small, improve speed and pipeline.

For help with Automation, creating a Bullhorn1st culture, and Recruitment Training...