Recruitment software supports recruiters in many ways. From secure record storage, to creating an auditable compliance trail- there are hundreds of ways recruitment software has improved the efficiency and profitability of recruitment consultants. But when it comes to (arguably) the most important recruitment function of all, many consultants think software is little help.
We are of course talking about lead acquisition.
Lead acquisition is commonly regarded as the realm of the consultant- a realm where software has little bearing on the business outcome. Lead Acquisition is how consultants earn their keep- and their commission. It is a task that is solely achieved through the dogged determination and characteristic charm of the recruitment consultant.
The Role of Software in Lead Acquisition
But is this still the case within modern recruitment firms? Can recruitment software support consultant lead acquisition?
Consultant buy-in
One of most important factors in using your recruitment software to support lead acquisition is record and correspondence storage. Modern recruitment software can help consultants by keeping correspondence in a centralised and secure system. But in order to get the benefits of a fully featured recruitment CRM, recruitment firms must get buy-in from their consultants.
In many firms some consultants will use spreadsheets or keep track of lead information outside of the system. This is detrimental to lead acquisition for two key reasons:
First, all data in a recruitment CRM is relational. This means it is much easier to spot trends- what is working and what isn’t- by looking at the data your recruitment CRM compiles. Cold calling leads, for example, may yield little success, but a follow up call after an email campaign may be a much more successful lead acquisition tactic. This trend could be quite difficult to spot if you are using multiple systems for different activities.
Second, team trends and targets are much harder to manage if the information is not in a unified place. The more data that is stored in your recruitment software, the more powerful it becomes- so it is crucial that consultants buy in to the system and use it as the only source of lead storage.
Target Building
So, if we hold that the best place to store data in in your recruitment CRM, then creating accurate target lists for lead acquisition is much easier. Consultants and managers can analyse the data to see which lead acquisition tactics work well and which don’t. Target lists can then be built based on successful tactics and segmented by appropriate verticals or industry.
Gamification
Finally- drawing on the inherently competitive nature of your recruitment consultants, you can create some healthy competition using gamification. Using dashboards you can set up leaderboards to display progress towards a lead acquisition target to the whole team or office.
While it’s important to recognise that recruitment software plays very much a supporting role in lead acquisition- it can add tremendous value when you have buy in from your consultants.