The Real Recruitment Tool

Recruitment is perhaps, one of the most complex and daunting sectors I have ever worked in, and having spent 10 years in the armed forces, I think that says a lot.

The demand to multi-task is one of the most complex challenges of all, moving from candidate to candidate, handling phone calls and emails, hitting the road to fully understand what it is that your clients want, searching CV’s, and so much more. My head hurts even thinking of it all! How is it even possible to manage and prioritise all this in our minds? The truth is... it just simply isn’t possible, hence why every recruiter needs a CRM system.

As the CRM Administrator here at Westray Recruitment Consultants I was brought in to aid our recruiters with our internal system, ensuring they are using it in a more efficient and effective manner. In just a few short months I have already seen significant changes that have in turn, massively improved the way in which the consultants manage their day to day tasks and the service that our candidates and clients receive. Fast becoming the go to tool used for sourcing candidates, updating their information and logging all activity, our CRM allows us to essentially have all the information we’ll ever need in one place.

Picture this – let’s say, Jane takes a call from a client who would like to speak to fellow consultant John, but oh dear, John is on holiday. Rather than taking a message or getting this important client to call back another day, a quick search into the company from which they are calling allows anyone in our office to see all recent activity from John, resulting in us being able to give him a decent response to his query. Now obviously, this is just an example and there will be times when it is only the consultant that isn’t in that day that they need to speak with, though how much more professional do we seem if we at least know and understand a little to what they’re calling about? In an industry where professionalism is key, the ability to do a quick search and be able to solve a client’s query or simply give an update is immeasurable.

Every reputable consultancy will have invested in some form of system at some point, whether it’s in full use, or has become a back thought due to the consultants ignoring the system out of laziness or due to workload, it simply isn’t good business sense to rely on the likes of Excel and emails to track Client or Candidate contact. There may be those who argue that Excel is easier to use, it’s cheaper and gets the job done in the same way. But those people are wrong. Put Excel and CRM in a fight and Excel will lose every time. A generic Microsoft platform cannot go up against a specialised, tailored system, that you can make your own, and if your company has invested money in a system but you’re still relying heavily on the likes of Excel and emails, then you my friends, are the ones to blame for its failure. The concept of CRM is not a minefield, it’s not confusing nor time consuming, though it will only work effectively if you are willing to cooperate.

With dozens of new recruiting focused candidate relationship management systems now flooding the market all offering different solutions to problems our industry longs to fix, it is difficult to not be blinded by the successful marketing. Whether they all offer a unique approach is another story, obviously the size of your consultancy and what you’re looking to achieve from it are all key factors, though one thing it won’t be able to do, is fix a lazy recruiter. I can promise however, if you start using a system properly, not only will you get the hang of it, you’ll save time, become more organised and efficient and be on your way to becoming a true recruiting rock star, and who doesn’t want that?

So embrace your system, give your administrator a break and enjoy your new found freedom.

The agencies that stay on top of their CRM and do not forget the human element attached to the role of recruitment, are the true winners, enabling a truly bespoke experience.