Established recruitment agencies are fully aware of the benefits of investing in the right recruitment software, which supports all facets of their business activity, delivery and performance. However, when you’re starting up a recruitment agency, with a considered focus on start-up costs or reducing overhead, many find it difficult to justify the costs of a quality recruitment software, and, instead, rely on Excel spreadsheets and various free-to-use tools.
So, are there major differences between established agencies and start-ups and does this impact the need for a recruitment software solution?
Start-up Agency vs Established Agency: What’s the difference?
On the face of it, it might seem that there a whole host of differences between established and start-up recruitment agencies due to the gulf in size, both in staff numbers and turnover. However, the differences can seemingly be boiled down to two primary points which can affect the decision to invest in recruitment software; internal communication and confidence.
Internal Communications & Visibility
As a start-up, communication between 1 and 2 staff members can be a lot more straightforward as it is much easier to assess performance and service delivery and react quickly to issues before they become major problems. In larger established recruitment agencies, this can be impossible to manage without the aid of an effective recruitment CRM software.
Confidence
At start-up agencies, it is difficult to have complete confidence in your clients because you are often striving to prove your worth and recruiting from job to job. So, by cutting out the cost of recruitment software, you may be thinking that for the short term you can survive that bit longer. According to Sonovate, however, 2017 is predicted to be a “goldmine for recruitment agencies” and the perfect time to start your business. With UK job boards having witnesses a 31% increase in applications, 2017 is the time to invest with confidence. By getting to grips with the right recruitment software early on, you can offer a more streamlined service to both your clients and candidates.
Start-up Agency vs Established Agency: What’s the same?
It seems evident that, for the most part, the processes of running a successful agency remain consistent, whether you’re managing a start-up or a large well established agency:
- Managing client business development
- Managing candidate applications and pipelines
- Recording client and candidate interactions
- Vacancy management
- Recording interview activity
- Managing temporary, contract and permanent placements
- Candidate compliance and on boarding
- Temporary timesheet processing
- Client invoicing
These activities can be managed to a certain degree if you are running a start-up agency single-handedly and you have a meticulous work ethic. But, as soon as your work is reliant on a team of people, it is essential to have a centralised system that can manage, record and automate processes and analyse performance to enable you, and your team, to continue recruiting effectively. Here’s just some areas that start-ups can particularly benefit from by having the right recruitment software.
Client Management
- Record client interactions, meetings and proposals
- Produce and send email marketing campaigns
- Map prospective client markets by analysing trends
- View client vacancy activity and spend
Candidate Management
- Record candidates and job applications
- Record candidate interactions
- Search across candidate pipelines
- Manage CV, compliance and on boarding documents
Vacancy Management
- Record and manage temporary, contract and permanent vacancies
- Record and track candidate applications
- Track candidate/client interviews
- Record candidate placements and speed of hire
Finance
- Process temporary worker timesheets
- Client invoicing
- Track permanent placement and temporary margin revenue
Strategy
- Gain an oversight of the agency’s projected/actual revenue
- Manage a visual overview of your agency’s performance and activity
- Utilise data to make strategic decisions with confidence
- Identify new strengths, weaknesses and opportunities
The investment in suitable recruitment software allows you to devote your time to managing your business, servicing your clients and candidates and reduces the time spent on administration and dual data entry into multiple sources.
By tracking and viewing your agency’s performance, not only can you monitor specific consultants and service delivery, you can also make predictions and strategic decisions based on your current performance. This can allow your start-up agency to react quickly to a change in the market or take advantage of new opportunities within your sector.
Building a successful recruitment agency is never easy, but partnering with a recruitment software solution that scales with your business is a crucial investment that should be made sooner rather than later.
Are you needing a comprehensive guide to buying new recruitment software? Download our free eBook below and make the right choice for your recruitment agency.
