Recruiters have limited time to make a difference to their candidates, clients, colleagues, and pipeline. But this is the year when agile and focused performance is critical.
But with so many systems, often too much data, being focused and targeted is hard.
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once!
Recruiters are often pulled in multiple directions all at once. Keeping candidates and clients happy, whilst navigating multiple platforms and dirty data sets, makes for a hopeful strategy. All of this is during a year where minds are being changed at speed.
But ironically, recruiters have the data which can help target their time. And if analysed, data tells the truth:
It speaks of past performance
It predicts future performance
But, in some recruitment businesses the truth hurts.
Recruiters should be using analytics to tell the truth, then improve their performance. In the very least they could be using data to look for quick wins and business opportunities to, for example, recycle contractors, and focus their time on at-risk clients for repeat business.
Recruitment Leaders Navigating Through Tough Times
Recruitment leaders could be using analytics to manage and lead their teams - and help them navigate through troubled times.
Recent years have seen a seismic shift in the recruiting market.
1. Experienced recruiters leaving the market and taking their knowledge with them.
2. Lots of new startups resulting from larger recruiters downsizing.
3. Recruitment leaders have likely scaled quickly, and during a booming year. New recruiters, new problems.
This leaves knowledge gaps, process gaps, and opportunities for a 'spray and pray' approach to recruitment. This can only be fixed by luck and an active and analytical approach by leaders.
Leadership would be wise to not wait for luck, but to analyse, automate, enable their recruiters, and yell "let's do this!"
Let's Do This!
As I'm writing this blog, I'm getting excited for my clients who have not shied away from the data. They are automating it, de-administrating their recruiters, and creating space for best practice and training.
But, I'm also worried about the recruitment leaders who have heads in hands saying "make it stop". I get that, but now is the time to get suited-up and get cracking with the data, the analytics, the performance.
Watch My Analytics Vodcasts with Andy...
Bullhorn ATS / Analytics / Automation / AI RoI
We are Bullhorn experts set on helping ambitious recruitment businesses to increase speed and sales.
We help you weaponise your people, data, time, and tech, so you can recruit and sell!
Our Bullhorn Vision and Buddy service helps generate best-in-class processes, adoption, head space, and ROI.
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Before You Jump on the AI Bandwagon: How Recruitment Leaders Get Tech Right
I recently had an inspiring chat with a recruitment leader, and it struck me how many recruitment businesses are currently throwing themselves into tech pilots - especially AI - just because they don't want to get left behind.The pressure is real, but if you aren't careful, you’ll end up with a business full of "shiny new things" that don't actually fix your biggest recruitment problems.Here are 5 ways I believe recruitment leaders can cut through the noise and ensure they are getting the right tech for their recruitment businesses.1️⃣You Aren't Testing Tech; You’re Fixing a Business IssueThe biggest mistake I see is recruitment businesses testing a system rather than the thing they are trying to fix. Before you even look at a new tool, ask yourself:What is the actual problem? Is it data health? Recruiter productivity? Speed to market? Sales? Stronger client and candidate relationships?Does this process even need to exist? Sometimes we buy tech to "fix" a process that we should have just deleted in the first place.2️⃣Beware of "Frankenstein" Processes and DataOver the years, many recruitment firms have built what I call "Frankenstein tech" - those extra bits and pieces plugged in that create more complexity than they solve. (Expensive luxuries...)Frankenstein Data: Are you spending money to enrich data that you then do nothing with? Frankenstein Processes: Are your recruiters multitasking to the point of exhaustion because the tech doesn't serve a clear purpose? AI / Automation / Analytics should be the surgeon that cuts away the "Frankenstein" parts, not another bolt-on limb.3️⃣Tackle the "Admin Tax" and "Integration Debt" (and Myths)Every time a recruiter has to manually format a CV or move between non-integrated systems, they are paying a "tax" with their time.The Win: One leader I spoke with successfully rolled out a CV formatter that turned a half-day wait into a minutes-long task. This solved a genuine business problem: time to submit.The Debt: If your tech doesn't talk to each other, your recruiter becomes the "integrator," stuck in the middle of chaos. Be sure of what that means and how you manage that.The "Fully Integrated" Myth? I'm often told by leaders that they want a fully integrated tech stack. They want everything joined up... But, you may still need humans to be part of the integration. I'm ok with that - just be sure which parts of the recruitment lifecycle you genuinely need them to do and when... But please, please aim for as much integration as you can.4️⃣Solve the "What’s In It For Me?" (WIIFM)Your recruiters might be scared of AI, Automation, and Analytics. They think it’s coming for their jobs.To get buy-in, you have to move past "this will make the company more money". Would you believe that there is an ever increasing strata in recruitment that are not motivated by earning more?Find their motivation: Is it a shorter lunch break? More time at the gym? Getting home to their kids? The Enabler: Position tech as the tool that lets them go faster and stay human.5️⃣Remember the "DAD" ModelWhen analysing your current processes, run them through this filter that I often use with my clients when conducting a Bullhorn RoI Vision program:Delete: Do you really need this process? Automate/AI/Analytics: Can these tool do this better and faster? Delegate: If you can’t automate / Ai / analyse it, can you give it to someone else? (in-source / outsource?Final Thought: Slow Down to Go FasterDo what Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee advocate: Slow down to go faster. (Thanks for the insight, Jo!)Don't be afraid to take stock, briefly pause your pilots, and ensure your tech is truly moving the needle on your bottom line - not just adding to the noise and cost.Are you ready to audit your "Frankenstein" processes? Let’s chat about how we can get your humans and tech working in harmony. BOOK A FREE BULLHORN ROI CONSULTATIONBullhorn ATS / Analytics / Automation / AI RoIWe are Bullhorn experts set on helping ambitious recruitment businesses to increase speed and sales.We help you weaponise your people, data, time, and tech, so you can recruit and sell!Our Bullhorn Vision and Buddy service helps generate best-in-class processes, adoption, head space, and ROI.Can't wait for the webinar?BOOK A FREE BULLHORN ROI CONSULTATION
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Bullhorn Power Series ~ Stop Missing Out on Sales: 5 Tips to Use Your ATS, Automation, and Analytics to Drive BD
For many of my clients, Recruitment is now officially in a BD-first market.For recruitment leaders, the challenge isn’t just finding new business; it’s finding the right business and winning it before the competition even wakes up. If your recruiters are still manually scouring the database or "spraying and praying" cold emails, and paying external systems like LinkedIn, Indeed, and job boards for leads, you are losing revenue to firms that have turned their Bullhorn stack into a high-precision sales machine.🔢The Maths of Modern Business DevelopmentRecent data from Bullhorn Grid shows a staggering divide between "traditional" recruitment firms and "automated" ones:The Speed Gap: High-growth firms are 3.5x more likely to use automation to beat competitors to the first CV send.The Admin Tax: The average recruiter loses 12+ hours a week to manual data entry. That’s two full days of lost selling time.The Gold Mine: 76% of placements come from people already in your database, yet most BD teams ignore their own "warm" data in favour of cold outreach.⁉️Are You Paying for a Recruitment Database or a Graveyard?Most ATS/CRM platforms are graveyard-like: full of data, but nothing is moving.But the true RoI from Bullhorn comes when you combine Bullhorn’s core power with Automation, AI, and Analytics. You empower your humans to turn that graveyard into a "Predictive Sales Engine."Instead of asking your team to "hit the phones harder," imagine a world where:Analytics tells you exactly which clients are worth your time (and which ones to fire).Automation nurtures prospects in the background while your recruiters are closing deals.The ATS surfaces the perfect candidate for a "spec call" before the client even posts the job.🚨Join Our Upcoming Webinar: The BD Power HourI see too many recruitment leaders struggling with "activity for the sake of activity." It’s time to move from "busy" to "profitable."I’m hosting a live webinar specifically for recruitment leaders who want to power up their Bullhorn tech stack for new business sales. I’ll be diving into the stats above and sharing at least 5 actionable tips across your Bullhorn ATS/CRM, Analytics, and Automation systems which you can implement immediately to:Identify high-probability prospects.Automate your processes to land more deals.Reduce your team's "admin tax" to free up hours of crucial sales time per week.📅 Weds 10 June, 15:00 BSTREGISTER NOWBullhorn ATS / Analytics / Automation / AI RoIWe are Bullhorn experts set on helping ambitious recruitment businesses to increase speed and sales.We help you weaponise your people, data, time, and tech, so you can recruit and sell!Our Bullhorn Vision and Buddy service helps generate best-in-class processes, adoption, head space, and ROI.Can't wait for the webinar?BOOK A FREE BULLHORN ROI CONSULTATION