A Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) system is software that is designed to help manage relationships with candidates – both old and new. CRMs are commonly used by recruitment agencies and, many larger organisations.
Benefits of Recruitment CRMs
There are several key benefits of using a recruitment CRM.
Centralisation: Having all your candidates’ details and information in one central place means that the entire team can see them. This also means that there is improved continuity for candidates when they contact you.
Time-Saving: CRMs significantly speed up the process of finding and contacting suitable candidates. When a client tells you about a new vacancy, you can use keyword and custom searches to find suitable candidates in a matter of seconds.
Reduced Paperwork: A CRM will enable you to do many things electronically, and some tasks can even be automated entirely.
Personalisation: CRMs enable you to personalise communications from email newsletters with the week’s top vacancies through to text messages informing candidates of new roles that may suit them.
Analysis: A good CRM will be able to provide detailed analysis as to how many candidates you have, what their characteristics are, what percentage of candidates you place, and other essential management information.
How To Get More From Your CRM?
If you have an existing CRM, the following are ways to get more from it.
Review And Clean Data: Essentially, the system is only as good as the data within it. Implement processes to remove duplicate records, make sure ‘statuses’ are correct, and that details (especially contact details) are up-to-date and valid.
Training: Some employees may have fallen into the habit of using other systems (personal emails and spreadsheets) rather than CRM. Holding regular refresher training sessions will gently remind them that they should be using the CRM and how doing so correctly can help everyone.
Integrate With Social Media Platforms: This allows you to connect email addresses with candidate’s social media profiles and learn more about how they use the digital space – and even find out more about their interests and hobbies.
Get Feedback: If you don’t ask, you will never know. So, ask all those who use the CRM what they would like it to do that it doesn’t currently – and use this feedback to add or enhance the system or potentially add new fields/functionality.
Common CRM Features
– The ability to send personalised messages and emails
– The ability to create email campaigns
– The automation of event, meeting, interview, and workshop invitations
– The ability to create surveys and polls
– Timesheet management
CRM For Recruitment Agencies
As we have outlined above, there are compelling reasons, why a CRM for recruitment agencies is a wise investment. A specially designed CRM for recruitment agencies can deal with the changing/evolving nature of recruitment.
In summary, a CRM is a very robust tool when used correctly and can significantly improve relationships between candidates and recruiters.
