In a candidate short marketplace, why are we not making better use of our database?
Having spent much of my IT career working for recruitment agencies, I am in a splendid position to provide this commentary… and it all started as discussion twenty-five years ago with the then Managing Director of the specialist recruitment business Harrison Willis, Mr. Chris Herrmannsen.
We talked about the way organisation charts had changed since computers and automation; how they had flattened; one supervisor managing more employees. But we had also identified that an org-chart that was too flat was inefficient, and somewhere here was an optimal ratio that actually changed based upon where [vertically] you appear on said chart.
The crux, and why this discussion is relevant now, is that I flipped the org-chart upside down and pointed out that the most important people in the company are not up at the apex, but at its base. These are the people who place the candidates with the clients and actually generating the revenue that keeps the lights on, and how with my recent appointment as ICT Director, I would focus more on these than I might on the higher-up management structure.
At about the same time, I was having a similar discussion with the CEO, Mr. Graham Palfery-Smith. He asked, “What did I consider the secret of building a sustainable, successful business?” I replied “Attentiveness”, and while I pointed out that I didn’t know if that was an actual word, we could encapsulate it as ‘vigilantly considering the needs and desires of your customers and acting for their benefit in a regular and consistent manner’.
Finally, there are the words of our venerable Marketing Director, Mr. Jonathan Warnock “Front of mind policy”.
So, what is it that recruitment businesses can do better?
Just like a manufacturing business, recruitment companies require raw materials to work with. These are candidates and clients. Whatever method you employ in acquiring [and onboarding] candidates and clients, there is an associated cost of acquisition. The manufactured output [product] is the placement.
Part of my experience comes from having registered my profile on an inordinate amount of recruitment company websites. Remarkably, most companies I never hear from beyond the automated “Thank you for submitting your CV” e-mail. Considering I am eminently employable, with a raft of sought after skills, a damn excellent education, valuable and broad-ranging experience, and a formidable CV, I wonder why recruitment business have become ‘one-touch’ or ‘no-touch’ models.
Is a reliance on automated systems, or the AI snake-oil stifling the ability of our highly skilled and highly motivated recruitment consultants by limiting the perceived available pool of available candidates? Assuming that an automated onboarding solution is filling your recruitment database with correctly coded candidates who appear in searches, there must be another reason these candidates are not contacted again.
If your recruitment application or CRM shows we have not contacted a candidate for some period, is it assumed that another recruitment company placed the candidate and is no longer looking? But this is only an assumption!
From building initial trust to maintaining long-term loyalty, we know there are countless reasons regular contact with clients is important for businesses. By staying in touch, businesses can remind their clients of the value they offer, build deeper relationships, and keep their finger on the pulse of their satisfaction, ultimately leading to more positions available for a recruiter to fill. Shouldn’t we be handling our candidates with the same vigour?
As owners, directors & managers of recruitment companies, we all say that ‘top-drawing’ of candidates is not a thing, because all the information goes into the company database and all the recruiters have access. However, if your CRM is showing no contact for some months, isn’t this effectively systematic automated top-drawing?
Recruitment agencies need to maintain regular contact with their candidates, too, reminding them of the value they offer. By staying in touch, agencies can keep their candidates updated on their latest placement successes and show that they’re always working hard to find the best roles for them. Regular contact is also a great way for recruiters to show their candidates that they’re invested in their success.
If candidates don’t hear from an agency after applying or interviewing for a role, they’re likely to move on to other opportunities. This can leave recruitment agencies scrambling to find qualified candidates at the last minute. This lack of communication can damage relationships with candidates. If they feel like they’re being ignored or treated like a commodity, they’re likely to be less interested in working with the agency in the future. This can make it difficult for agencies to fill positions, even when they have qualified candidates.
Last, a lack of communication can lead to a decrease in customer satisfaction. If candidates are constantly left in the dark, they’re likely to be unhappy with the recruitment process. This can lead to negative online reviews and a decrease in business for the agency.
Regular contact allows businesses to address any issues or problems that may arise. By staying in touch, businesses can nip potential problems in the bud before they damage relationships. Regular contact gives businesses the opportunity to deal with any changes in needs or expectations.
Once placed, clients and candidates are [mostly] happy – but recruitment business cash-flow is based upon the movement of people, and there are two areas where recruitment agencies can make quick wins that positively affect their bottom line:
- Keep in touch with the candidates you have not placed.
2. Keep in touch with the candidates you have placed.
3. Do this in conjunction with, not instead of your existing activities.
This can be as simple as a monthly newsletter. Employ the ‘Front of mind’ policy. Keep getting the brand out there. Even if they ignore it, it sits in their inbox, goes into spam – send it, anyway. Get input from your marketing team to ensure it ‘stays on message. Have a competition. Put a difficult to fill job there, offer a referral fee if one of your candidates can recommend a friend.
You can use the same or different newsletter to for candidates you have placed. Some of the content might include career planning, making your next change.
Remember, a candidate is for life, not just for Christmas. Why earn one fee from placing them when you could earn many?
These strategies ensure no candidate will go more than a month without hearing from you. They will not go cold in your database. Recruiters will be more willing to contact them when they appear in a search. Demonstrate attentiveness.
From the business perspective, let’s say you have half-a-million candidates in your database. How many are really active? The top ten percent, perhaps? You are trading on a stockpile of candidates when in reality only utilising a fraction. This means you are not filling your clients’ vacancies as efficiently as you could be. You are wasting a valuable resource that you have already paid the cost of acquisition. You are sitting on a pile of lumber in the warehouse and slowly letting it rot away underneath you.
It’s time to turn that org-chart on its head. Make your recruiters the most important people in your business. Empower them. Let them make the candidates the most important people to them. Give them the tools and support to do this, the space to grow, and the encouragement to succeed.
In a candidate short market, properly using and reusing the whole candidate pool is more important than ever.