Bullhorn Engage has come and gone and there were very strong themes.
Recruiter Productivity.
Sustainability.
Profitability.
For this to happen Bullhorn1st needs to be a goal – aka using Bullhornfirst in your recruitment workflow. Reducing reliance on data and external systems will decrease costs, speed up placements, and create a more robust recruitment business.
And the way to Bullhorn1st?
Recruitment Automation and Recruitment Training, of course!
Recruitment Automation is So Yesterday!
I started using the phrase CRM1st back in the early 2000s. It was borne out of working with 150 busy recruiters who were rapidly being exposed to huge data sets - LinkedIn, job boards, candidates who wielded the Apply button like a Scud missile. But they didn't have the discipline or process to strategically manage the massive increase in data volume or change in candidate behaviour.
I used CRM1st (it was Adapt then) to help recruiters new to the recruitment sector to battle their FOMO (fear of missing out). I used CRM1st with experienced recruiters and resourcers to help them not get dragged under by rapidly increasing candidate pools.
Have things changed in recent years?
Have recruiters gotten better at managing their data, recruitment technology, candidate and client experience?
Has the colleague experience improved now we have so much data and rec tech that should theoretically make recruitment easier....?
Unfortunately, I'm not sure things have changed (enough).
Recruiters have been running to catch up. But the faster they run, the bigger the data set becomes, the more competition they have (even from their own clients), and the more tech they feel they need just to stand still.
Recruiter Frustration – Ready, Fire, Aim
I'm frustrated with the sector that can't seem to grasp what it's good at...
Niche specialisms +
Nurtured communities of candidates and clients reliant on great recruiters +
Colleagues delivering best practice and making a difference, changing lives.
But that "goodness" can't happen without focus.
And how can a recruiter focus with huge data sets, too much tech and not enough process?
Whether you have Bullhorn or another recruitment CRM, it needs to be first on your list to source, engage, nurture, and place from - if it’s not 1st, everyone loses. (Apart from the software company you buy comfort from!)
Automation – The Re-Humanisation of Recruitment!
Automation for my clients has become the missing link. It’s been around for years, but now automation is really being used to take away the pain, and the admin.
Recruitment Automation is being used to drive the best of behaviours.
It's enabling CRM1st (aka Bullhorn1st).
It’s creating time for training – for all, not just new recruiters!
And it’s creating time for trained recruiters empowered to get on the phone and do some good.
Once you automate what you can, you can train what’s left – and what should be left is the gold in the recruitment process – humans!
More effective sourcing
Speedier screening designed to prevent counter offers
Interviews with clients who move to placement uninterrupted
Placements and onboarding designed to generate referrals
Recruiters need training on their systems and process so that they can deliver what their clients pay for. Automation creates space and time for this training to happen.
Automate What You Can - Train What's Left
If you can automate what you can, and train what's left, then your data, your database, and your 3Cs (candidates, clients, colleagues) will be in a really good place, perhaps even 1st place, for the rest of this year and beyond.
What are you going to automate?
What training is needed to deliver sustainable recruitment business?
My team can help with both of these key goals.
Paul Robson, The Crew Hunter. We have managed to restructure our business, with more recruiters and more time to recruit. And the ROI from our Bullhorn Automation training?
Time Saved. Admin Removed. Staff Efficiency.
We've saved 45 hours with 1,345 automated actions in just 8 weeks.
Plus, we built 3 automations at the beginning of the project which allowed us to remove an old core process which freed up space for another recruiter.
Talking of Recruiters Getting More Automated!...
Using recruitment automation to improve data, process, candidates and client experience - that's a great goal! But you also need to free up your recruiters to be exceptional And they need training for this.
Our high intensity interval training - Recruitment HIIT - helps recruiters source, convert quicker, and develop healthy pipelines. We aim to save every recruiter and resourcer at least 1 hour per day (6 working weeks a year) - more billing time, more fees!
TRY RECRUITMENT HIIT
READ ABOUT OUR BULLHORN AUTOMATION BUDDY
BOOK A CALL TO DISCUSS RECRUITMENT TRAINING
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Recruiters! 10 Reasons Why Candidate Engagement is Critical
Recruiters and their leaders who want to spend less time and money sourcing, and more time placing, need to read this blog and think about why they need to create a virtuous circle of talent.On our recent Bullhorn Tips webinar, where we focused on candidate management tips, we asked the attendees about their current candidate management strategy.The results were unsurprising, but also disappointing.They told us that their candidate database was...And that their candidate management strategy was...In other words, not future proof or focussed on creating a robust, easy to deliver pipeline. It's mainly focussed on live, active candidates who are imminently placeable... and Linkedin / Job Boards continue to win at the expense of the recruiter and their profits.Recruitment Data Wealth💵💶💷If we've learned anything (at least since 2008) we need a clean, warm databases to see us through easy and tough times.We need engaged, loyal, happy candidates who are easy to find, happy to recommend, refer, and show up!Some recruiters call this "Data Health" - I call it "Data Wealth".I've seen a lot of tech and data hitting the recruitment market, but still do not see enough process improvements to capitalise on it. We just keep buying more, rather than exploring how we actually need less, but need to work it better.It's Time to Move from Vicious to Virtuous!Recruiters still waste crazy amounts of time sourcing and advertising, but not enough time engaging and managing.And ironically, by not engaging, and letting hot data cool off, the industry creates silos of "cold" data. Hence sourcing is key and reliance on external systems is high, costs increase, placements take longer... Vicious cycle!What if, though, we take a moment? Let the stats below sink in, and engage with our systems and data in a proactive way. Could recruiters create a virtuous circle of engaged candidates staying loyal and placeable, meaning less need for job adverts, Linkedin, sourcing, and insanity?Yes!🔢Candidate Management Stats Every Recruiter Should Know78% of placed candidates are already in your CRM. – Yet many recruiters go straight to LinkedIn or job boards before checking their own database.Only 30% of CRM records are typically up to date. – That means 70% of your candidate data might be incomplete, inaccurate, or out of date.60% of recruiters admit to rarely revisiting past candidates. – This leads to missed opportunities and duplicated effort.It costs 6x more to source a new candidate than to re-engage an existing one. – Save budget and time by starting with your CRM.43% of recruiters say poor data quality negatively impacts their ability to place quickly. – Dirty data slows down sourcing, shortlisting, and matching.48% of candidates who apply to a role never hear back. – Proper candidate management helps ensure consistent communication and better candidate experience.80% of candidates say they’d reapply to a company with a good hiring experience. – Engagement doesn’t stop at “not selected”—it builds your future pipeline.Recruiters spend up to 1/3 of their time on admin. – Automation and smart candidate management free up time for relationship-building and placements.Re-engaged candidates are 2x more likely to be placed than cold-sourced ones. – Prior placements and silver medalists are often your hottest leads.Companies that nurture candidates improve quality of hire by 20%. – Keeping in touch with passive talent builds a stronger, more prepared pipeline.The stats above are from a variety of sources, including IBM, TalentBoard, Bullhorn, and LinkedIn.Even just one of the stats above should be enough to make you stop and think "how can I create a virtuous circle of happy, engaged, and placed candidates?"💻Watch our Bullhorn Tips Webinar and use Bullhorn to manage and engage your candidates.Click to WatchRecruitment and Bullhorn TrainingWe deliver the best live Bullhorn ROI webinar training, and you'll find other tips and tricks in Recruitment HIIT, our online recruitment training platform.Plus, through our Bullhorn Vision service we help generate serious ROI from your Bullhorn, data, and people.TRY HIIT FREE HERECONTACT US ABOUT BULLHORN ROI
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Automation RoI Webinar Series: Unlock Bullhorn Part 2 ~ Create a Virtuous Circle of Candidates
Recruiters and leaders — ready to do less admin and make more placements?Do you need to be less reliant on LinkedIn and Job Boards, and have a more engaged, valuable database of candidates?Then Part 2 of our "Unlock Bullhorn with Automation" webinar series is for you. We'll fixate on candidate management and engagement.REGISTER NOW💡 Why Candidate Management and Engagement MattersIn our recent Bullhorn Tips Webinar, we asked recruiters about their candidate management strategies.The results?🙈Most recruiters said their CRM was out of date.🙉Even more admitted their candidate engagement was reactive at best.🙊And LinkedIn and job boards still dominate, draining time and budget.AKA vicious cycle. You source externally, internal data gets colder and becomes irrelevant, sourcing becomes slower and costlier. And the cycle repeats.📊 Candidate Management by the Numbers:70%+ of placed candidates already exist in your CRM.It costs 6x more to source a new candidate than to re-engage.Recruiters spend up to 1/3 of their time on admin.Re-engaged candidates are 2x more likely to be placed.Now ask yourself: What if that cycle could be flipped?💥 From Vicious to Virtuous: Using Automation to Flip the Recruitment ScriptInstead, imagine a virtuous circle where:✅ Your CRM is rich with warm, engaged talent.✅ Your pipeline is always ready, without needing a new job ad.✅ Candidates actually reply to your emails.✅ Admin drops, and placements rise.That’s the power of Bullhorn Automation.Join us for this free webinar and learn how to use Bullhorn Automation and smart workflows to build—and sustain—a thriving talent pipeline.This is part of our "Unlock Bullhorn" Automation webinar series.📅 Webinar Highlights🛠️ Real-Life Automation Tips to Drive Recruitment Workflows:Automate outreach to dormant candidates (without sounding robotic).Keep silver medalists engaged for future roles.Trigger real-time updates when candidates change jobs or locations.Build loyalty with consistent communication at every stage of the journey.Drastically reduce sourcing times and costs.💸 Turn Data Health into Data WealthThis Webinar is for you if:You’re tired of LinkedIn / Job Board over-reliance.You want to scale your placements—not your sourcing costs.You want a Bullhorn CRM to be a database and not simply be a data dump.📍 Save Your Spot!When? 21 May 2025: 16:00 BSTREGISTER NOWPS. Want to go even further? Check out our"Unlock Bullhorn with Automation"series.🔍 24 April 2025: Automate sourcing to find qualified candidates faster and with less effort.Watch the recording💬 21 May 2025: Engage with candidates on autopilot and nurture relationships effectively.Register Now📈 Date TBC: Boost lead generation using automation to improve conversion rates.💡 Date TBC: Streamline your recruitment processes for maximum efficiency and profitability.Automation Buddy / Bullhorn RoIWe are Automation Buddies set on helping ambitious recruitment businesses who want to increase speed and sales.We coach to inspire, and build your automations so you can recruit and sell!Plus, through our Bullhorn Vision service we help generate serious ROI from your Bullhorn, data, and people.READ ABOUT OUR AUTOMATION BUDDY SERVICECONTACT US ABOUT BULLHORN ROI
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