Why You Need A Recruitment CRM Right Now

Are you falling behind the competition for top talent?

While most recruiters aren’t exactly thrilled with their ATS (applicant tracking system), the thing is, they do a pretty good job of delivering as promised - they do, in fact, do a decent job tracking applicants. But as a system of record, ATS were not designed to do anything much more than that. 

As a system of record designed primarily for compliance and record keeping requirements, ATS were never built for engagement or recruitment marketing activities; in fact, one could make the argument that ATS, in fact, are often responsible for a precipitous drop in completed applications due to their often clunky, somewhat archaic codebases and limited functionalities. 
 

But if the goal of talent acquisition is not only to track applicants, but to attract, engage and convert passive candidates or build scalable, sustainable relationships with top talent, then the inherent limitations of applicant tracking systems become readily apparent. 

On the other hand, Candidate Relationship Management Software, better known as simply “CRM,” is, simply, a platform that extends and augments the capabilities of an employers’ applicant tracking system throughout the entire hiring cycle. 

While their capabilities and functionality varies significantly from system to system (or even instance to instance), a candidate relationship management (CRM) represents an ideal solution for companies looking for a complimentary system of engagement to their standard ATS. 

Many companies have already invested in a recruitment CRM; HR.com data shows almost 3 in 5 employers report leveraging some sort of CRM solution in their core talent tech stack; their use cases and outcomes, however, seem to differ greatly according to need, configuration and customization (and, as always, end user adoption). 

5 Reasons Every Employer Should Invest in a Recruitment CRM

That said, an overwhelming majority report that they are realizing real ROI - and real recruiting success - after integrating a recruitment CRM into their core hiring process. So, if you’re one of those employers who is still wondering about whether or not a CRM can help your talent acquisition function, well, here are 10 reasons you should definitely invest in implementing this increasingly crucial and critical category into your HR Technology stack.

1. Supercharge your sourcing
It’s no secret that sourcing candidates is never easy - and in today’s market, it’s probably never been harder. Even if you know where to find the candidates you’re looking for, connecting, attracting and converting these highly skilled, in demand workers for your open roles can seem, at times, like a daunting task.

With the help of a recruitment CRM, however, you’ll be able to much more efficiently and effectively source, target and track candidates for all roles, from high volume hiring to executive search. 

Leveraging process automation, segmentation and matching abilities, CRMs allow companies to stop searching and start matching by building a robust, searchable database that not only acts as a proprietary source of top talent that can be refreshed or updated in real time, but also allows you to effectively match those candidates to open jobs or notify previous applicants via email when there is a good fit. 

Remember, only one candidate can get a job - and for many, it’s not that the job’s not right, it’s just not right for now. With a CRM, you can continually ensure that when it comes to engaging with qualified applicants, that you’ll have a fully developed candidate pipeline that’s just in time, all the time.

2. Build a better employer brand
Sourcing is one thing - but there’s a chance that even if you can find and engage a good candidate, your employer brand (or lack thereof) might get in the way of converting them from passive candidate into active applicant. That’s why CRMs are a critical component of a comprehensive and effective employer brand strategy.

Unlike an ATS, which requires candidates to apply directly for roles - including resumes, cover letters, and all that other information - CRMs often are much more user friendly, designed to capture leads rather than simply convert applicants. 

Using these friendlier, less obtrusive forms to get qualified talent to opt in for updates not only significantly increases the volume of potentially qualified candidates in your talent pipeline, but it also allows you to build a scalable relationship with these candidates through personalized communications and targeted content. 

That’s essential to making your employer brand stand out from the noise and develop a resonance, and connection, between your company and your candidates.

3) Content management is king
There’s an old adage that says that “content is king,” and nowhere is this more true than when it comes to strategic talent acquisition. With a recruitment focused CRM, you can transform your applicant tracking system into a content management platform that offers many of the same capabilities as you would find in a dedicated marketing suite. 

This includes such features as the ability to segment and personalize email messaging, automatically sending job alerts, posting job ads and updates directly to social networks, building career sites and microsites, and targeting candidates with display ads and other optimized content.

In addition to its ability to step up your candidate demand generation and lead scoring capabilities, a CRM can also be a powerful tool for marketing to existing employees, too. By maintaining a career portal or dedicated sites where your employees can easily find and apply to open positions, boosting internal mobility, engagement and retention, too.

Remember, candidates aren’t just looking for a job - they’re looking for a career destination, too. Implementing a CRM is a great way to show employees how to build, advance and develop their skills and expertise. 

4) Referral madness
While internal promotions and lateral transfers consistently rank as the top overall source of hire, employee referrals have long topped the list of sources of external hires, too. 

With the email capabilities of CRM technologies, you’ll see a dramatic boost in candidate response rate - studies show that email response rates increase 46% if the candidate already knows an employee at the company (a rate that nearly doubles when that candidate is referred, first).

CRM capabilities allow for companies to match referrals with open jobs, monitor internal referral success, and increase visibility to referred candidates for open roles - who, again, are the likeliest source of hire.

When it comes to referrals, a CRM can provide a foundational step for hiring better talent in less time and at lower costs - which really, is what talent acquisition is all about.

5) Better onboarding experience
They say that recruiting doesn’t stop with an accepted offer, and nowhere is this more true than when it comes to onboarding. In fact, a recent survey showed that a positive onboarding experience can slash employee turnover by a full 82%. 

Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, which is why CRM plays a critical role in employee onboarding, too. CRM campaigns specifically focused on new hires are a great way to ensure that they feel prepared, ready and welcome on Day One. 

While many point solutions or modules exist offering onboarding capabilities, the truth is that the most salient and successful features are those that likely already exist within your CRM application.

From automated welcome messages, to schedules and checklists, a personalized onboarding experience is a critical way to ensure employees have everything they need to succeed, even before their official start date - and with a CRM, employers can ensure that the onboarding experience is both structured and scalable, too.

Because when personalization and automation combine, everyone wins. Especially your new hires.

A Winning Campaign

In conclusion, if you’re not already using a candidate relationship management solution, chances are, you’re already falling behind the competition for top talent. With a CRM’s rich capabilities, you can transform your ATS by adding all the features and functions required to engage, nurture and convert the candidates you need today - and tomorrow, too.

The benefits to employers are obvious - but in today’s candidate driven market, the benefits to applicants and job seekers are manifold. 

With automation eliminating many of the time intensive, manual tasks commonly associated with talent acquisition, recruiters now have the time to augment high tech with high touch - and by implementing a CRM as part of your core HR technology stack, you can focus on delivering value and building relationships with top talent instead. 

Rich analytics capabilities and reporting features that allow employers to better track source of hire across multiple touchpoints, measure relative campaign and content performance as well as provide baselines and benchmarks for hiring success mean CRMs have a significant, measurable impact on recruiting outcomes – as well as the bigger business picture and bottom line. 

If you want to hire top talent today, it’s imperative for recruiters to stop simply tracking applicants and start meaningful engagement with candidates, instead. Which is why, while there are no silver bullets in talent acquisition, a candidate relationship management system is an indispensable part of any recruiting toolbox.

Amit Ghodasara is an experienced Human Resources Technologist, and researcher of the largest industry containing only humans. He has been serving his technology tool to the people for the last 7 years. His goal includes making recruiting more easier and effective with the best possible results that can drive more advantages to the organization in the near future. Connect Amit Ghodasara