Why AI Might Not Fix Recruitment Productivity
Recruitment Leaders - are you looking to engage with tech to help you drive productivity? Are you needing significant RoI from your tech stack? Be careful you don't fall into the pit of "tech before process".In the 2 decades we've been working in recruitment, a persistent, cyclical problem is starting over again — and it's being amplified by the advent of new technology like AI.😔History Repeating Itself: Tech Before ProcessMy team has watched a trend unfold: the belief that simply "buying data and tech and throwing it at a problem" will magically fix it.Unfortunately, it rarely does, and I fear we are seeing this pattern play out again with Artificial Intelligence.The core issue is that the recruitment industry often engages with technology without truly engaging with the process the technology is supposed to fix.We get why. A LOT has happened in and to the recruitment sector in the last 2 decades - it's a big ask for leaders to stand back from the coal face and really invest time in the problem when it's been so disruptive...But, we've seen this cycle before:The CRM wave: A sophisticated recruitment system is bought, added to the recruitment business, and recruiters are told to use it, often without a fundamental change to the underlying workflow.The Automation trend: Tools are purchased to automate tasks, but the initial problem (unproductive activities) remains because the why and how of the automation weren't properly addressed.Now, AI: In the rush to purchase the latest AI tools, many recruitment firms are overlooking the essential step of asking: "What problem are we trying to solve, and how will this technology specifically help me do that?"🤔Purchase V ProblemI recently said to a client who was trying to get buy-in from his recruiters for the AI tools he's bought:Are you processing the AI, or AI-ing the process?One way is wrong, the other right. Food for thought...This focus on the purchase over the problem means we miss the fundamental goal:Fixing recruitment productivity. Empowering recruiters to do the right things at the right time.🙋 WIIFM? What’s In It For Me? The Missing LinkA healthy skepticism - or outright fear - exists among many average recruitment consultants about what AI and automation are really there to do for them.If you're an innovation leader, your mind is likely 20 steps ahead, focused on the competitive edge, efficiency metrics, future-proofing, and adding value to your business. But when introducing new technology, you must take it back to basics and think with the recruitment consultant / resourcer / manager in mind.You need to answer the crucial question for them: "What’s in it for me (the consultant)?" - WIIFM?Stop talking about backend efficiencies and start talking about the individual's tangible benefits:"This will help you make more money.""This will enable you to take a longer lunch break.""This will free you up to see your kids' school plays."Ultimately, this tech is meant to enable recruiters to spend less time on low-value, time-consuming tasks (often up to 80% of their day) and more time on high-impact, revenue-generating activities. Because right now, the stats clearly show they are incredibly busy... potentially doing the wrong stuff.If you want technology to succeed, you have to connect it directly to the recruiter’s personal and professional drivers.What are your thoughts?What is the biggest barrier to getting your recruiters to use new technology effectively?And how will you ensure that you get true value from your tech, data, and people in the next year, and beyond?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 MORE ABOUT OUR BULLHORN VISION SERVICEREAD ABOUT OUR AUTOMATION BUDDY SERVICEBOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION
Recruiter Productivity Series: Optimise Bullhorn Part 6 ~ Easy Candidate Management
Recruiters – do you often think "life would be so much easier without candidates"? 🤔 Do you spend hours sourcing and qualifying talent, but too often lose candidates along the way?Drop outs, counter offers, tricky candidates, and a tough economy, can test even the most patient and organised of recruiters.Part 6 of our free Optimise Bullhorn webinar series will share crucial time-saving and data mining tips on how to manage your candidate data with ease, speed, and joy! ... scroll down to watch7️⃣Reasons to Watch Our Bullhorn for Candidate Management Webinar Yes, candidates can be tricky, but perhaps your candidate engagement isn’t consistent and you need to work on it.The data around candidate psychology and recruitment shows it clearly:⌚28% of candidates drop out because the process took too long. Delays hurt engagement and result in candidate drop-off. 🚫30% of candidates drop out because the role did not match expectations. Misaligned expectations (role, salary, responsibilities) lead to disengagement. 🤔23% cite poor communication as a reason they disengaged. 💩49% of candidates have turned down a job offer because of a poor hiring experience. Even at the final stage, candidate engagement matters — a bad experience during hiring can sink an offer. 👻45% of candidates are ghosted by recruiters after an initial conversation. 😱27% of UK employers have been ghosted by new recruits on their first day.🙊72% of candidates say the smoothness of the interview process would affect their final decision on whether or not to take the job. (Sources: TotalJobs / HR Hire / CIPD)So, before lose even more candidates and have to work harder at sourcing more, let's get smart at candidate management. 🧠What You’ll Learn in our Bullhorn for Candidate Management Webinar Part 6 of our free "Optimise Bullhorn" webinar series is packed with tips you can use immediately to proactively manage your precious candidates and make your desk, targets, and home-life balance easier! ✅Manage expectations ~ stay in control and protect your pipeline.✅Prevent drop outs / counter offers / ghosting.✅Strengthen your relationships - place quicker, get referrals.✅Move them through the recruitment cycle speedily and with ease.✅An automation to help you manage your candidates whilst you sleep.🤚 Stop wasting time and money sourcing, screening and interviewing, just to lose the candidate down the line (and likely annoy your clients in the process!) 👉 Join our free Bullhorn for Candidate Management webinar and learn how to turn your CRM into a true revenue machine. Watch Our Bullhorn for Candidate Management WebinarPS. Want to go even further? Check out our full "Optimise Bullhorn" webinar series.🔍 Engage, nurture, place, and re-place. Watch the recording💬 Source faster and easier. Watch the recording📈 Sell faster and easier. Watch the recording💡 Place faster and easier. Watch the recording🎯 Easy BD. Watch the recording💪 Easy Candidate Management Watch the recording aboveRecruitment 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 HEREBOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION
Recruiter Productivity Series: Optimise Bullhorn Part 5 ~ Easy BD
Recruiters – let’s be honest.Sales may feel tough right now, and even if you've got lots of jobs to work, are they easy wins, or hard gains?Your Bullhorn data is a goldmine waiting to be tapped. Work it right, and you’ll sell faster, smarter, and with less stress.So, before you burn more time (and budget) on job boards, LinkedIn, or costly marketing, start with the data you already own.Part 5 of our Optimise Bullhorn webinar series will share some tips on how to turn your Bullhorn CRM into a sales engine—and start winning more business....scroll down to watch6️⃣Reasons to Come to our Bullhorn for BD Tips for Recruiters Webinar💪CRM drives revenue and BD effectiveness. Plus, a well-utilized CRM can boost lead conversion rates by up to 300% thanks to personalised outreach and streamlined communication. (Source: Astersense)🎯CRM users hit their sales targets—more often. 86% of businesses that use a CRM exceed their sales goals, versus just a small fraction that don’t use one.3️⃣Smash your sales targets. Effective use of your CRM can increase your chances of smashing your targets by 3 times!🚀Be more productive! CRM for BD boosts productivity by up to 34%, freeing up time to focus on meaningful BD tasks.🪴Nurturing pays off. Leads nurtured through CRM workflows result in 47% larger purchases compared to cold outreach.💘Faster conversions. Re-engaged clients convert 2x faster than cold leads, giving recruiters a powerful edge when leveraging existing relationships.(Sources = HubSpot / Salesforce / Freshdesk)All of the above are convincing stats and compelling reasons to watch our webinar and get rocking and rolling with your Bullhorn system and drive your BD smarter and faster.🧠What You’ll Learn in our Bullhorn 4 BD WebinarPart 5 of our "Optimise Bullhorn" webinar series is packed with tips you can use immediately to drive your sales / BD tasks.✅Find easy to convert leads.✅Advanced searching to locate hidden gems.✅Use AI to uncover opportunities and drive a smarter process.✅An automation to save time and generate wins.🤚 Stop leaving money in your database—or opportunities for your competitors to convert your prospects.👉 Join our Bullhorn for BD webinar and learn how to turn your CRM into a true revenue machine.Watch Our Free Bullhorn 4 BD Tips Webinar for RecruitersPS. Want to go even further? Check out our full "Optimise Bullhorn" webinar series.🔍 Engage, nurture, place, and re-place. Watch the recording💬 Source faster and easier. Watch the recording📈 Sell faster and easier. Watch the recording💡 Place faster and easier. Watch the recording🎯 Easy BD. Watch it above💪 Easy Candidate Management ~ 05 November. Register NowRecruitment 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 HEREBOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION
Recruiter Productivity Series: Optimise Bullhorn Part 4 ~ Place Faster with Less Effort
Let’s be honest—placing top talent isn’t just about sourcing and sending CVs. It’s about building smart, fast, and proactive processes to manage both your candidates and your clients. And if you’re using Bullhorn, you already have the tools—you just need to use them!Part 4 of our "Optimise Bullhorn" webinar series is for busy recruiters who need to protect and drive their placement processes. Leaving it to candidates and clients is not a great strategy! Scroll down to watch...Bullhorn Tips to Drive Placement SuccessRecruitment is fast-moving, competitive, and let’s face it, a little chaotic at times. If you’re not managing your placement processes effectively, you’re likely either making life hard for yourself or losing out. The data from Bullhorn / CIPD / LinkedIn tells us:📉 57% of candidates say they lose interest when communication drops off. That’s over half your shortlist potentially ghosting you.⏳ The best candidates are off the market in just 10 days—meaning delayed client feedback or disjointed processes can kill your placement before it even starts.💼 80% of placements come from just 20% of your Bullhorn database—so if you’re only looking outward and not reactivating past candidates, you’re leaving money on the table.🎯80% of candidates expect to be placed in less than 20 days.🧠 60% of clients say they want better communication from their recruiter. Not more CVs—more value.💑 Only 29% of customers are fully engaged.All of these stats have one thing in common: you need to take control of your process, and not assume that the candidate / client has your (or even their) best interest at heart!And that starts with better Bullhorn usage.🧠What You’ll Learn in the WebinarPart 4 of our "Optimise Bullhorn" webinar series is packed with tips you can use immediately to manage your time, tasks, and targets.✅ Smarter candidate engagement: How to set tasks and workflows that make follow-up a breeze (and stop candidates slipping through the cracks).✅ Client comms that convert: Use Bullhorn to track touchpoints, get reminders, and maintain proactive communication that wins trust and repeat business.✅ Automation that actually works: We'll talk about how automation can free you up to make more placements.💪Stop Playing Catch-UpIf you and your team is spending too long on admin, or even too long placing, or struggling to manage candidate and client expectations and experience —this free Bullhorn Tips webinar is for you.Your Bullhorn CRM should be your greatest time, task, and target management tool—not a dumping ground. Let’s "work it"!Watch the "Place Faster and Easier with Bullhorn" Webinar NowPS. Want to go even further? Check out our full "Optimise Bullhorn" webinar series.🔍 Engage, nurture, place, and re-place. Watch the recording💬 Source faster and easier. Watch the recording📈 Sell faster and easier. Watch the recording💡 Place faster and easier. Watch the recording🎯 Easy BD. Watch the recording💪 Easy Candidate Management ~ 05 November. Register NowRecruitment 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 HEREBOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION
How to Make Money from Your Recruitment CRM: The Data + Systems + People Model
Recruiters and recruitment marketers—if you want to drive this year with a sales-led strategy and start monetising your recruitment CRM, read on.💡CRM used effectively = 29% more productivity. But how do you actually do that?Are You Making or Wasting Money with Your CRM?Do you want to make money from your recruitment database, or just pay for it?Do you want your marketers generating leads, not just blogs and events?Do you want your recruiters consulting, and placing more, not just sourcing and wasting time on LinkedIn and job boards?All recruitment tech has one thing in common: what you put in determines what you get out. And right now, recruitment leaders are asking:How do I boost my recruiters’ placement rates?How do I get them off LinkedIn and onto our CRM and back on the phone?How can marketing generate leads that sales actually use?How do I turn our website and automation into money-makers?How can AI and automation drive growth?The answer? A simple but powerful focus on Data, Systems, and People.1. Data = Wealth💸Yes, people are valuable assets. But your data is what clients and candidates are actually buying. It fuels your pipeline—or clogs it.Too often, recruiters have too much data. They keep sourcing more, creating a FOMO-fuelled vicious cycle that kills productivity and profit. Instead of creating more, you need to work your existing data better. (Check out my "dig up stupid" data model below.)2. Systems = Speed + Scale🏃♂️➡️For years, I’ve said “Be CRM-first" or Bullhorn 1st. Finally, recruitment leaders are getting this concept.I've often said "too many systems and not enough process". That’s changing, with automation and AI now helping recruiters get more from the data they already own.Today’s recruitment software can guide your process instead of turning recruiters into co-ordinators and admins. But that only works if you have a systemised approach and use automation strategically.3. People = Process in Action💪Here’s the harsh truth: untrained recruiters = lost fees. PEBKAC is still an issue. Often, the problem exists between and chair and the keyboard.With 2/3 of workers leaving due to lack of training, this is a red flag for your bottom line. The average 10-person recruitment agency loses $€£10k when a recruiter leaves.Too many agencies rely on a one-time “go live” for systems and then leave it. But without ongoing, embedded training, recruiters forget, systems stagnate or change, and process breaks down.💡Your Fix? Connect the DotsData, systems, and people don’t work in silos. You need a joined-up recruitment process that allows your recruiters to consult—not just click.Data: Look again at the graphic above. Have you identified and are working your green and amber data, or are your recruiters drowning in FOMO and wasting time sourcing even more data? System/Process: But do you have a system (and process) for working your green and amber? Is your green and amber ready for automation and AI?People: What training are you giving your recruiters to effectively use your data and Recruitment CRM / systems so that they can make money rather than just administrate / co-ordinate?This is exactly why we deliver money-making Bullhorn RoI projects, Automation strategies, and have created Recruitment HIIT—an on-demand platform built to weaponise Bullhorn, LinkedIn, and your systems to drive placements and productivity.💥 Stop blowing cash. Start building profit—with the recruitment data, tech, and team you already have.BOOK A CALL TO CHAT ABOUT HOW TO DO MORE WITH WHAT YOU HAVE
Is Recruitment Ready for AI? Why this Year Should Be Your Year of Preparation
There’s no doubt that AI is reshaping recruitment—but is the recruitment industry truly ready for it?In a recent battle planning chat with a client, I raised concerns about the readiness of most recruitment businesses to adopt AI meaningfully. While AI is already being used for tasks like note-taking, blog writing, research, creating prompts to help with screening and sales, I think that real transformation requires much more thought and time.For most recruitment firms, poor data quality and fragmented recruitment processes remain major barriers. If 2024 was the year of AI curiosity, 2025 needs to be the year of AI readiness.Get Your Recruitment House in Order FirstI think that recruitment leaders need to use the next 6–12 months to improve internal systems, particularly focusing on data hygiene (data wealth) and process automation. Too many firms are chasing shiny AI tools before ensuring their candidate and client data is clean, current, and usable. In fact, many recruitment CRMs are disorganised—polls show that messy and unstable databases are the norm, not the exception.You could start by booking a free 30-minute Bullhorn RoI consult with my team - Bullhorn adoption ideas / automation strategies / data health insight etc..BOOK YOUR FREE DATA HEALTH CONSULTATIONAutomation StrugglesEven the biggest players are feeling the pinch. I often hear of large enterprises struggling to get automation really driving performance due to internal resistance and territorial "leave my data alone" behaviour. Siloed departments, and change-averse individuals can inadvertently block progress, making it difficult to implement even basic automations and change.Plus, as much as the industry is keen to adopt efficiencies and tech, it's often not driving change through continuous, engaging, recruitment training.Automation and AI needs to be "sold" to recruiters with a WIIFM (What's in it for me?) approach. Even the best-intentioned recruiter may find it hard to step into the space that automation and AI creates for them.Have you been hired, or been the one doing the hiring, in the last 5 years? The turbulence, blind-siding, speed of change, means that stopping to take a breath and ensure best practice is a big ask!AI Can’t Replace Relationships (Yet!)My client gave a compelling example of AI not really driving the best outcome when their client was trying to use AI instead of their recruitment business.Luckily my client had the time and knowledge to step in and prevent their client from making a mistake.AI had failed to select the right candidate for a role, missing vital nuances only a seasoned recruitment consultant would catch. They campaigned for the candidate that AI had rejected. The client interviewed and offered!It’s a strong reminder that recruitment remains a relationship-driven business. AI can support consultants, but it can’t replace their ability to read people, understand market subtleties, or build long-term trust. (Yet...)Getting Back to Being Recruitment CONSULTANTSI encourage recruitment leaders to rethink traditional recruiting models—especially the classic 360 / 180 recruitment role.With automation and AI streamlining admin and sourcing, do you really need consultants to do everything? This could be the moment to specialise, refocus roles, and hire people who are better suited to today’s more tech-enabled recruitment landscape.There are way too many recruitment consultants who are actually recruitment co-ordinators / administrators. Large, dirty data sets, managed by untrained recruiters makes for a very transactional process, and this is at a time when recruiters really need to get back to consulting. (The clue is in the job title...)From Vicious to VirtuousThe recruitment industry’s heavy reliance on LinkedIn— which I think is one of the dirtiest databases—is another sign that recruiting firms aren’t maximising their own data or opportunity. The irony? Many of the best candidates are already sitting in your CRMs, but are overlooked in favour of job boards and external sourcing. This results in a vicious cycle of wasted time, rising costs, and lost opportunities.A recent poll confirmed this.Instead, recruitment businesses must create a virtuous cycle: invest in clean data, automate wisely, and help consultants to focus on consulting. With proper engagement, re-engaged candidates and clients can convert faster and generate more revenue than cold leads.The Road Ahead for RecruitersMy client summed it up well: their goals for the next six months are about efficiency, pushing back against unfair client demands, and focusing on higher-value deals.Yes! This is the mindset the industry needs.AI isn’t magic—but with smart preparation, clean data, and clear processes, it can be a game-changer for recruitment. Let 2025 be the year your recruitment business gets truly AI-ready.You could start by booking a free 30-minute Bullhorn RoI consult with my team - Bullhorn adoption ideas / automation strategies / data health insight etc..BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATIONAutomation 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 SERVICEBOOK A FREE BULLHORN ROI CONSULTATION
AI Recruiter Tip ~ Turbo Your Candidate Screening and Sales Calls with AI
Try this intelligent 1-minute AI tip to help you turbo-boost your recruitment screening and sales calls. AI is the new black... but its impact on recruitment and recruiters has yet to be truly understood.And whilst it's not yet going to handle the full recruitment life cycle, I wanted to share my take on how AI could be used to drive great recruitment phone calls! (In seconds!)Pickup the Phone!I'm a big fan of recruiters using tech to help them drive profitable desks.I'm also a massive fan of picking up the phone and speaking to people.But it seems the more tech and data recruiters get, the less time they spend talking to candidates and clients.Having access to tech should not reduce the need to speak to people, but somehow, recruiters seem to be making less calls.Phone calls ~ MonetisedWhat I also often hear from recruitment leaders is that screening and sales calls are not structured well enough.But…Candidate screening / registration calls need to be more than box-ticking “are you alive?” chats.Dropouts and counter offers can be avoided if screening and registration calls are more structured.Leads could be better qualified, or even disqualified if sales calls were more focussed.On my Recruitment HIIT recruitment training system, we have lots of tips and tricks to help you recruit better, sell more effectively, and use tech to create a rewarding and profitable recruitment desk. AI is top of many a recruiter's "how can I?" list - so I’ve created a short 1-minute tip to help recruiters use AI to “SPIN” their screening and sales calls.Watch my 1-minute Bullhorn tip - then go to your preferred AI tool and use it to help you generate some killer questions to help you turbo your screening and registration calls, and sales calls.Watch My AI SPIN Selling Tip for RecruitersNeed more Linkedin / Bullhorn / Automation / Recruitment Tips? Try our 1-minute tips.Be sure to sign up for (or watch the recordings of) our regular free Bullhorn and Automation webinars.CHECK OUT OUR WEBINARSRecruitment TrainingWe deliver the best Recruitment and Bullhorn training through live webinars and our online training platform, Recruitment HIIT.TRY HIIT FREE HERE
Automation + Analytics + AI for Recruiters
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