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Recruitment CRM should be the FIRST system used to drive sales, source candidates, convert leads... but often, it's a dumb system, a data dump, "just another bit of recruitment kit" preventing phone and face time. Our clients agree with our mantra "CRMFirst" and want to ensure that their recruitment software is implemented to deliver the 4Cs - candidates, client, colleagues, and cash.
Recruitment CRM - AKA the Sales-Prevention Software
Maybe you’ve had your Recruitment CRM for longer than you’ve had most of your employees and you’re hearing lots of the same moans and groans:
it’s not working
it’s always crashing
I can’t find any candidates in it
my 1980’s Atari felt more up to date
there is no management info because no one’s using it!
The decision has been made to replace your recruitment CRM. You’ve spent 6 months sourcing a new one, another 6 months implementing it and would you believe it, 6 months later and you’re still hearing the same old moans and groans.
How can you give BAU (business as usual) the best chance of success?
Business as Usual Starts Before BAU
It may sound obvious, but many Recruitment CRM projects struggle at the embedding phase due to inadequate post go live planning. It’s not surprising. There is a HUGE amount to do during implementation and the project team are normally spread thin focusing on getting the new system in a fit state for go live.
There are many strategies to planning and managing BAU (business as usual). My favourite is having a BAU project team involved mid-way through implementation. Their responsibility is to plan, support and manage the embedding of the CRM into business over the next 12 months. Their job is to make sure that your investment returns! (ROI)
“That’s a big investment“, I hear you say. However, what is the cost of a disgruntled workforce being negative or the disruption of losing many people or the lost opportunities of your current and future clients? And with 2/3 of job leavers quitting due to lack of training, and the average 10 person recruiters wasting £100,000 per year on replacing leavers, something has to change.
Investing in the BAU is almost more important that the implementation process itself; underestimate the BAU support requirements at your peril.
Management are THE Key to Success CRM Change
Management don’t need to know how to use the CRM, right? WRONG!
Management / Directors / Team Leaders all need to know exactly how everyone should be using the system so they can support and train their teams at go live and beyond.
All too often, “Super Users” are trained to deliver this message but they tend to be sales administrators, busy consultants or new recruits. They don’t have the status within the business to try to invoke change or persuade the biggest billers why they should change their habits and behaviours!
The adage of “Coming from the Top” really is true when you’re managing CRM Implementation Projects. These are not technology projects, they are Change Management Projects and the only people who can change the business are the leaders and managers of that business.
It’s All About Communicating Expectations
When a recruiter hears the following “We are going to change the CRM”, what they really hear is “Yippee, a new CRM. It’s just like upgrading my car; it will be shiny and faster and way better than what I had, oh and I know how to drive so it will be easy to adapt!”
This can lead to my personal favourite user statement “The previous system was so much better/easier!”. No, the previous system which was built on highly suspect 1980’s technology that continuously failed and you always complained about, was more FAMILIAR. As a project team, you have to prepare users for change and this starts not at Go Live, but much earlier during the implementation phase.
Key Rules when Implementing a New Recruitment CRM
Ensure you tell everyone that CHANGE is coming and everyone needs to get on-board!
The system will not be perfect from day 1, everyone needs to prepare to communicate issues and be ready for CHANGE!
There will be BUGS (potentially a lot and for a lot longer that you’d like!) Live with them whilst the project team sorts them out!
Get SLAs (service level agreements) in place – ensure you respond to EVERY issue and communicate an update or fix to the business (if it warrants it) or the individual on a pre-agreed timeframe.
We work with Recruitment and IT leaders to deliver an ROI and sales-led recruitment technology strategy. Our mantra is “CRMFirst”!
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3 Ways to Make More Money from Bullhorn - "Bullhorn for Sales" Tips Inside!
Winning more deals, placing more candidates, having more long-term (profitable) relationships, and making more money, is a key goal for recruiters and leaders. But often, the path to making a sale isn't a smooth, straight, easy, or quick!The whole point of tech is that it's supposed to help, not hinder recruiters. Sales Prevention or Enablement?But, too much data, and not enough process or phone time is paralysing many recruiters. And many recruitment leaders are asking "why can't they just pick up the phone?"As a recruitment leader / recruiter, you should be able to rely on your Bullhorn CRM to power productivity and sales pipelines.But is Bullhorn really driving sales, or simply increasing costs?Why does using Bullhorn for sales matter?💪Recruiters that use their CRM effectively can improve sales by up to 29%. Plus, sales productivity increases by up to 34%, and sales forecast accuracy by 42%.💞It costs 6x more to attract a new lead than to nurture one already in your CRM. Reaching out to warm clients already in your system isn’t just faster—it’s smarter for your bottom line.😱Recruiters spend up to 64% of their time on non-selling tasks. Imagine Wednesday, Thursday, Friday being almost totally unproductive and not selling!💸Leads nurtured via CRM systems make 47% larger purchases. Who knew that nurturing a contact means you sell more to them?🔁80% of sales require 5+ follow-ups—but 44% of recruiters give up after 1. How many opps are not being converted due to a lack of resilience?🎯CRM users are 3x more likely to hit their sales targets. Compelling, and the ultimate reason to engage with Bullhorn.(Sources: Salesforce / Annuitas / Bullhorn)In short: Using your Bullhorn CRM for sales is a winner!But there's a catch! Perhaps your business doesn't feel that Bullhorn is the key to sales!💩Only 30% of recruiter CRMs are considered “clean and current”. Is a lack of faith in your system driving costs up? Do you need more systems and data to tackle this lack of confidence / adoption / productivity?How much is that costing your business?How Useful is Your Bullhorn CRM for Sales?We asked recruiters to give us one word to describe how they feel about using Bullhorn for sales and they said...Oh dear...And this is why you are potentially reliant on systems outside of Bullhorn for sales - eg. LinkedIn / Job Boards etc...Our Winning 3-Step TLC Strategy for Using Bullhorn to Make More MoneyChanging how Bullhorn is perceived and used for sales is critical!We help recruitment businesses weaponise their Bullhorn CRMs into clean, revenue-generating machines with a simple framework "TLC":Train recruiters to use Bullhorn for sales, help them understand WIIFM? “What’s in it for me?”, and get them loving using Bullhorn to drive sales.Legacy cleanse and activate: Find account management opportunities and create call lists based on existing data. Which leads already exist in Bullhorn that need re-activating?Campaigns: Create engaging outbound campaigns to new / legacy data to generate call lists / leads.No expensive tools. No time-zapping system overhauls. Just smart fixes that work with what you already have.📍 Book a Free "Bullhorn 4 Sales" ConsultationI’d love to hear how you’re tackling improving sales with Bullhorn —and pay it forward with a free 30-minute call to share ideas and insights from the 1000s of recruiters we've work with.Identify quick-winsShare smart tools and automation optionsWhether your recruiters and resourcers struggle with account management, spotting and nurturing leads, speedy placements, we can help you build a practical, profitable, recruiter-friendly fix.Ready to give your Bullhorn and recruiters some TLC, and get Bullhorn driving sales?BOOK YOUR FREE BULLHORN 4 SALES CONSULTATION🚀 Why Now?Because recruitment is too competitive to be slowed down by bad data, and unrewarding processes. The difference between making a placement and missing out is often just how quickly and accurately you can find and reach the right person.If your consultants / resourcers are wasting time not converting or placing —or worse, avoiding your Bullhorn CRM altogether—this is your chance to fix it for good.Bullhorn shouldn't be a necessary evil / nice to have / data dump - it should be a revenue generating business-critical recruitment system. Let’s get yours working the way it should.
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Lisa Jones
Blog
How to Maximise the Productivity of Your Remote Recruiters
The recruitment world has changed—and whether your team is hybrid, remote-first, or fully virtual, one thing hasn’t: performance still matters. But without the buzz of an office, the whiteboards, and the shoulder taps, the Mars Bar incentives, how do you keep productivity high without becoming a recruitment micromanager?With so much tech and data, it's easy for procrastination and "admin-first" mentality to sneak in - and phone and face time with candidates and client suffers - and pipelines are not robust enough.But as a leader of a recruitment team or firm, I bet you're still waiting for the memo on how to manage your teams to max productivity...Here’s are some thoughts on recruitment leaders can set up their remote / hybrid teams for success—with clarity, connection, and commercial focus.1. Shift the Focus to Outcomes, Not HoursThe most productive recruiters aren’t always the ones who log on early or appear busy all day—they’re the ones who deliver results. Set expectations around outcomes: interviews booked, candidates submitted, jobs filled. Productivity isn’t about presenteeism; it’s about performance.You can call these KPIs, or simply "brilliant basics" - call them what you need to but, be clear on your goals and expectations. 2. Run Daily Huddles to Set the PaceA short 10–15 minute morning huddle can align the team around daily goals, hot jobs, and potential roadblocks. It keeps activity visible and creates a sense of shared momentum, even across screens. Don't scrimp on these kick offs / cool downs - they are vital to help your team (and you) stay connected.3. Use Dashboards to Drive ConversationsLive dashboards in your CRM (like Bullhorn) are powerful tools—but only if used constructively. Track key KPIs / Analytics / deliverables like CVs sent, interviews scheduled, and pipeline activity. Ensure that your tech can easily track these goals to ensure that your CRM/ATS is a single source of truth.4. Coach in the MomentFeedback shouldn't wait for end-of-week reviews. If a recruiter is struggling with outreach, sourcing, or conversion—jump on a quick call or screen-share. Remote doesn’t have to mean distant.5. Over-Communicate (Yes, Really)In an office, information travels quickly. Remotely, you need to be intentional. Encourage regular Slack / MS Teams / Zoom etc... updates, team chats, even voice notes. It’s not about overloading people—it’s about keeping everyone in the loop and engaged.6. Structure the Day for SuccessHelp recruiters design their day with clear time blocks: sourcing, BD, admin, follow-up. Get these diarised and transparent. Without the natural rhythm of an office, distractions creep in. Time-blocking restores focus.7. Celebrate the Small WinsThat candidate who finally returned the call? The new job lead from an old client? Shout it out! Wins matter more than ever when working remotely—recognition drives motivation and retention.We recommend, for example, an MS Teams channel devoted to team / people successes. And ensure that the team feel empowered to shout out each other's successes.8. Check In (Not Just Check On)Don’t just ask for numbers. It's too easy, when managing people remotely, to focus on the work outputs - as a leader you need to be better / different. Ask how they’re doing. Engage in what makes them tick. Remote work can feel isolating, for both you an them, especially in high-pressure sales environments. Regular check-ins help uncover hidden blockers—and show that you care.9. Give Them the Right Tools (and Training)Make sure your recruiters and resourcers have access to the tools they need—video calling platforms, up-to-date CRM access, and workflow automation. Then layer in continuous training so they can use the tools confidently and commercially. This is especially important if you have AI / Autoamtion tools. Training on the why, as well as the how, can be empowering and drive change quicker. Simply turning them on with minimal training risks "buy-out".10. Keep the Culture AliveFrom monthly leaderboards to virtual quizzes and Friday wrap-ups, make space for team bonding. How about a weekly quiz, using Kahoot or MS Teams, and each week a different team member runs it? High-performing teams thrive on connection—don’t let geography erode your culture.Final Thought: Set the Standard, Then Drive ItRemote recruitment teams thrive when there’s clarity and consistency.Create a simple “how we work” playbook—when check-ins happen, how KPIs are tracked, what good looks like.Then empower your recruiters to own their day, backed by your coaching and tools.The market won’t wait—and neither should your recruitment team. Productivity is a habit, and with the right leadership, remote recruiters can be a super-powerful asset.Want help building a remote recruitment process or smarter Bullhorn workflows? Let’s talk. I offer free consultations to help leaders like you unlock better performance—wherever your team logs in from.BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION
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Your Recruitment Training Playbook
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Lisa Jones
Webinar
Recruiter Productivity Series: Optimise Bullhorn Part 4 ~ Place Faster with Less Effort
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Wayne Barclay
Webinar
Automation RoI Webinar Series: Unlock Bullhorn Part 4 ~ Place Faster and Easier
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Wayne Barclay
Webinar
Automation RoI Webinar Series: Unlock Bullhorn Part 3 ~ Sell Faster and Easier
