Invest Now, Save Later: Why a “Free CRM” Isn’t Always Free

by Bob McHugh Mar. 27th, 2019

Category: Tips, Tricks, and How-Tos

We’re taught from an early age that shortcuts don’t pay off—an investment of time or resources early on will benefit you in the long run. But that doesn’t make the advice any easier to follow. Have you ever broken a pair of headphones? You can pay a steep cost for a good replacement, or drop a fiver on a cheap pair. But if you buy the five-pound headphones, chances are you’ll be shopping for a new pair again before you know it.

The same is true for your recruitment agency. A free customer relationship management system or spreadsheet solution may fill an immediate need at a minimal cost, but it can severely hinder your ability to grow and become profitable in the future. Here are three benefits of investing in a top-notch Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) that will set you up for success down the road.

Good Customer Relationship Management Systems Lead to More Placements

A CRM is a powerful tool for producing more productive employees. Productive employees help boost the profitability of your agency, and CRMs excel in eliminating inefficiencies from your recruitment operation.

How much of your recruiters’ time is spent on tasks you could automate? A CRM will automate otherwise manual tasks for you, giving your recruiters more time to focus on your candidates.

Want your B and C players to perform like your A-team? A CRM makes it possible to identify and reproduce the habits of your top performers.

Here are some of the reported benefits of agencies that switched to a CRM:

Agencies that use a CRM make more placements, take less time to fill a position and are generally more productive. These incremental improvements can have a significant impact on your ROI on a quarterly and yearly basis.

You’ll Deliver a Better Candidate Experience

Candidates have never had more leverage in the job market than they do now. And delivering a bad candidate experience can be deadly for your business: 1 out of 5 candidates who have a negative experience will tell their peers not to apply to that agency.

Want happier candidates? Eliminate the steps that lead to hassle and frustration. An excellent CRM and its integrations can help simplify every step of the candidate life cycle, from streamlining the application process to eliminating timely paperwork during the onboarding process. 

But it’s the human touches that truly make for a great candidate experience. The best CRMs will provide your recruiters with the insights they need to better manage their candidate relationships. And by eliminating the need for entering data, they’ll have more time to devote to them.

You Can Train Productive Recruiters More Quickly

It’s no secret that the recruitment industry is impacted by turnover. The recruitment industry sees an internal staff turnover rate of more than 50 per cent in the first year of employment. Making matters worse, a third of agencies take at least four months until their recruiters are ready to perform at an optimal level.

A CRM is a great tool for getting your new recruiters and salespeople up to speed more effectively. A good CRM will also track all of your recruiters’ activities so you can provide custom feedback based on the performance of each recruiter. A CRM can also help recruiters to quickly perform at a seasoned level. Predictive intelligence (something that free applicant tracking systems won’t offer) will automatically analyse your interactions with a client so your recruiters can identify costly mistakes before they happen.

Want to learn more about the benefits of a customer relationship management system? Check out the CRM Buyer’s Guide for everything you need to know to make a worthwhile investment in your recruitment agency’s future.