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Every recruitment leader I speak to wants stronger pipelines, speedier placements, accountable recruiters, and more sales!
But often at least one of these 4 elements is a struggle. Here are my thoughts to help recruitment leaders connect their tech, people, data, and process to drive revenue.
Running a Recruitment Business Is a Struggle?
I often see recruitment businesses suffering:
Too much data, not enough information.
Too many applicants, not enough candidates.
Too many jobs, not enough placements.
Too many systems, not enough process.
This creates unnecessary lag, enables your competitors to win, and limits sales.
Now is the time to seriously accelerate effective tech adoption and improve recruiter performance.
But with world events, economic frustrations, tech evolving at an accelerated rate, and "new normal" changing every day, how do you do this?
1. Recruitment Tech: All the Gear, No Idea?
Technology can and should free up your recruiters and drive your business, but perhaps due to:
Massively distracting market conditions and world events.
WFH, hybrid, remote working.
... you're investing in tech which delivers little ROI, and may even be seen by your team as sales-prevention technology? Adoption is poor, and if you have 20 staff, you have 20 different ways of delivery.
For example, as part of one of our Bullhorn ROI projects my team reviewed a 25-person recruitment business with a tech stack costing £150k+.) The business wanted to be more effective at attracting, sourcing, engaging, converting, and retaining. They had some great tech, lots of data, and passionate recruiters… but poor adoption and no "way".
Tech has a job to do. Be clear on what that is and work to realise your expectations. But be careful not to spite yourself by turning tech off that hasn't been adopted correctly.
2. People: The Problem in Between the Chair and the Keyboard?
Are you suffering from PIBKAC?
Are your recruiters engaging with tech, driving sales, consulting in their space, or simply administrating?
Is your culture geared up to get the best from your people? Or does it drive PIBCAK?
Ask yourself - Is your recruitment training:
Induction and "off you go" (high failure rate).
Designed for robots - "they've been told once and need to remember" (hope is not a strategy).
Continuous and part of your culture - they are only human and need constant development.
Hint - point 3 is the most successful antidote to PIBKAC. If you're struggling to adopt tech and drive sales, think about what you need to do to eradicate PIBCAK. Continuous training is way cheaper than very little training resulting in lots of missed opportunities and high attrition.
3. Data: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
What state is your data in?
Do you make money from it, or do you need to spend money finding it?
Do you have to advertise your jobs and waste cash on LinkedIn Recruiter to find candidates that you likely already have?
Are your recruiters data / community managers or just data collectors and hoarders? Is FOMO driving poor trust / data health / ROI?
Or is your Bullhorn system "1st" for sourcing and sales? Have you automated the administration and dirty data out of your business so your recruiters can thrive?
4. Process: Develop and Drive Your "Way"
What is your process? What is your "way"?
If you have 20 staff, do you have 20 ways?
If someone new joins do they find it easy to deliver your way, or is it not clear enough?
Does your tech and training drive your way, or contradict it?
Are you using automation to enable your way?
Is your process aligned with how tech has evolved and how the recruitment market has changed? Or is your recruitment and sales process reliant on the good will and skills of a few naturally gifted high performers?
Recruitment Leaders! Within a Year You Could...
Now's the time to review your tech, people, data, and process.
Perhaps take one workflow at a time and tighten it up, or even innovate it. (My team can help you do this via a Bullhorn ROI project.)
Take each workflow and spend a couple of months driving it. How much more could you bill if you are smarter with your sourcing, BD, account management, and candidate management?
Start now, and within a year you could have it nailed!
Imagine what your business would be like now if you'd started this a year ago.
Imagine how you'll feel in a year if you don't do anything...
Bullhorn ROI + Trained Happy Recruiters = More Sales
We help recruitment leaders achieve Bullhorn ROI. We create a Bullhorn1st vision, reduce the need for other tech, optimise Bullhorn, and train recruiters to trust it and use it.
Arrange a Free Consultation Now
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Lisa Jones
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Why AI Might Not Fix Recruitment Productivity
Recruitment Leaders - are you looking to engage with tech to help you drive productivity? Are you needing significant RoI from your tech stack? Be careful you don't fall into the pit of "tech before process".In the 2 decades we've been working in recruitment, a persistent, cyclical problem is starting over again — and it's being amplified by the advent of new technology like AI.😔History Repeating Itself: Tech Before ProcessMy team has watched a trend unfold: the belief that simply "buying data and tech and throwing it at a problem" will magically fix it.Unfortunately, it rarely does, and I fear we are seeing this pattern play out again with Artificial Intelligence.The core issue is that the recruitment industry often engages with technology without truly engaging with the process the technology is supposed to fix.We get why. A LOT has happened in and to the recruitment sector in the last 2 decades - it's a big ask for leaders to stand back from the coal face and really invest time in the problem when it's been so disruptive...But, we've seen this cycle before:The CRM wave: A sophisticated recruitment system is bought, added to the recruitment business, and recruiters are told to use it, often without a fundamental change to the underlying workflow.The Automation trend: Tools are purchased to automate tasks, but the initial problem (unproductive activities) remains because the why and how of the automation weren't properly addressed.Now, AI: In the rush to purchase the latest AI tools, many recruitment firms are overlooking the essential step of asking: "What problem are we trying to solve, and how will this technology specifically help me do that?"🤔Purchase V ProblemI recently said to a client who was trying to get buy-in from his recruiters for the AI tools he's bought:Are you processing the AI, or AI-ing the process?One way is wrong, the other right. Food for thought...This focus on the purchase over the problem means we miss the fundamental goal:Fixing recruitment productivity. Empowering recruiters to do the right things at the right time.🙋 WIIFM? What’s In It For Me? The Missing LinkA healthy skepticism - or outright fear - exists among many average recruitment consultants about what AI and automation are really there to do for them.If you're an innovation leader, your mind is likely 20 steps ahead, focused on the competitive edge, efficiency metrics, future-proofing, and adding value to your business. But when introducing new technology, you must take it back to basics and think with the recruitment consultant / resourcer / manager in mind.You need to answer the crucial question for them: "What’s in it for me (the consultant)?" - WIIFM?Stop talking about backend efficiencies and start talking about the individual's tangible benefits:"This will help you make more money.""This will enable you to take a longer lunch break.""This will free you up to see your kids' school plays."Ultimately, this tech is meant to enable recruiters to spend less time on low-value, time-consuming tasks (often up to 80% of their day) and more time on high-impact, revenue-generating activities. Because right now, the stats clearly show they are incredibly busy... potentially doing the wrong stuff.If you want technology to succeed, you have to connect it directly to the recruiter’s personal and professional drivers.What are your thoughts?What is the biggest barrier to getting your recruiters to use new technology effectively?And how will you ensure that you get true value from your tech, data, and people in the next year, and beyond?Automation Buddy / Bullhorn RoIWe are Automation Buddies set on helping ambitious recruitment businesses who want to increase speed and sales.We coach to inspire, and build your automations so you can recruit and sell!Plus, through our Bullhorn Vision service we help generate serious ROI from your Bullhorn, data, and people.READ MORE ABOUT OUR BULLHORN VISION SERVICEREAD ABOUT OUR AUTOMATION BUDDY SERVICEBOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION
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Lisa Jones
Blog
Recruiters! Is the Myth of GPDR Holding You Back?
Recruiters / Leaders / Marketers... Are you nervous of contacting candidates and clients without having their express consent?The advent of GDPR created some myths including “no more email marketing”. This blog will tell what total rubbish that is AND why you should be email marketing more than ever before!So, if you are a recruiter, recruitment marketer or recruitment leader, and:Want to generate more candidatesNeed more viable leadsShould be attracting more recruiters to your recruitment businessWant to be smart and use automation / email / WhatsApp / or dare I suggest, the phone…...you need to read this blog!🤔The Myth of GDPRGDPR has caused stupid amounts of disruption and confusion. Myths were created. Data was deleted. Business stopped… but at least we are all compliant, eh?Meanwhile, a little regulation called PECR – (Guide to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations) has almost been ignored.I’m going to quote the regs throughout so to avoid further myths and nail down facts. This guide covers the latest version of PECR which covers marketing by phone, fax, email, text or any other type of ‘electronic mail’.*I am not a lawyer – I am a mere mortal. I have read the regs and interpreted them to suit myself and my recruitment clients.🔮Recruiters Need to Run Talent and Sector SurveysFirst – if you are conducting genuine market research (and a good recruiter should!) then:Genuine market research does not count as direct marketing. However, if a survey includes any promotional material or collects details to use in future marketing campaigns, the survey is for direct marketing purposes and the rules apply.AndRoutine customer service messages do not count as direct marketing – in other words, correspondence with customers to provide information they need about a current contract or past purchase (eg information about service interruptions, delivery arrangements, product safety, changes to terms and conditions, or tariffs). General branding, logos or straplines in these messages do not count as marketing. However, if the message includes any significant promotional material aimed at getting customers to buy extra products or services or to renew contracts that are coming to an end, that message includes marketing material and the rules apply.🚫But Recruiters Don’t Have Consent to Mail Clients and Candidates (Or Do They?)How about if you want to send a mail / text / automated campaign, without consent? It’s not against the law!An unsolicited message is any message that has not been specifically requested. So even if the customer has ‘opted in’ to receiving marketing from you, it still counts as unsolicited marketing. This does not make all unsolicited marketing unlawful. You can still send unsolicited marketing messages – as long as you comply with PECR.This is interesting – note the word “often”:You will often need a person’s consent before you can send them a marketing message. But,You must not send marketing emails or texts to individuals without specific consent. There is a limited exception for your own previous customers, often called the ‘soft opt-in’.🥰Recruiters Now Need to Rely on Being Soft!Is this a proper “get out of jail free card”?The rules on electronic mail marketing are in regulation 22. In short, you must not send electronic mail marketing to individuals, unless:they have specifically consented to electronic mail from you; orthey are an existing customer who bought (or negotiated to buy) a similar product or service from you in the past, and you gave them a simple way to opt out both when you first collected their details and in every message you have sentHold on – you mean that if you have been dealing with someone already, they are a “soft” op-in? And you can mail them? Yes – as long as you make it easy to unsubscribe.The term ‘soft opt-in’ is sometimes used to describe the rule about existing customers.Existing customers, recruiters! What does this mean to you?The idea is that if an individual bought something from you recently, gave you their details, and did not opt out of marketing messages, they are probably happy to receive marketing from you about similar products or services even if they haven’t specifically consented. Probably happy! (Yes please!)The soft opt-in rule means you may be able to email or text your own customers.Read this:You can also email or text an existing customer who has bought (or discussed buying) a similar product or service from you in the past – but only if you gave them a clear chance to opt out of getting marketing emails or texts when you collected their details, and in every message.💡So Recruiters! What’s the Best Way to Create a Marketing List and Use Automation to Drive Comms? This paragraph had me clapping my hands… According to the ICO:You may want to compile your own in-house marketing list using details of people who have bought goods or services in the past, or who have registered on your website or made an enquiry. However, you should not assume that everyone is happy to receive marketing just because they have provided their contact details.So, basically, you can create email marketing lists from people who have not specifically consented!But have a little think! Your goal is longer term to create consent, and to create really good email marketing campaigns to get them to say “don’t delete me – I think you’re great!” Then you can take that engaged mailing list to your sassy clients and ask them to pop that in their pipes and smoke it –whilst you place lots of candidates with them at your rack rate fees!🏃➡️Now to Start Building an Email Marketing and Automation Strategy to Attract Your 3CsRecruiters!Candidates, clients, and colleagues (your 3Cs) need to hear from you!You need to maintain your legitimate interest in holding their data. You need to give them compelling reasons to stay on your mailing list - and your recruitment marketers have the keys to this!Automation Buddy / Bullhorn RoIWe are Automation Buddies set on helping ambitious recruitment businesses who want to increase speed and sales.We coach to inspire, and build your automations so you can recruit and sell!Plus, through our Bullhorn Vision service we help generate serious ROI from your Bullhorn, data, and people.READ MORE ABOUT OUR BULLHORN VISION SERVICEREAD ABOUT OUR AUTOMATION BUDDY SERVICEBOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION
