Recruitment and Staffing Software for Fast-Growing Firms. Managing Growth for Recruitment Agencies

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1 Recruitment and Staffing Software for Fast-Growing Firms Managing Growth for Recruitment Agencies

2 Contents Page Managing Growth for Recruitment Agencies 3 Act Like a Company of Tomorrow, not Today 4 Presentation is Everything 5 Invest in Technology 6 Build in Scalability and Flexibility 7 Understand the Value of Data 8 Expand Profitably 9 Maximise Consultant Effectiveness 10 Dare to be Different 11 Conclusion Business Growth Checklist 12

3 Managing Growth for Recruitment Agencies Growth in the recruitment business sector can be fast and there are significant opportunities for switched-on businesses to enhance market share. However, competition is fierce and skills shortages make sourcing the right candidates to meet demand ever more difficult. In this highly competitive sector, even strong demand is no guarantee of success; while the challenges of managing a fast escalating client list, growing candidate base and expanding consultant numbers can be significant. How can you: Ensure consistency of experience and quality for both clients and candidates? Exploit essential new technology innovation, such as mobile and search, to improve quality of service? Determine the best areas for profitable business expansion? In this ebook, we outline eight Top Tips for business growth.

4 Act Like a Company of Tomorrow, not Today You may only have a handful of consultants today but what is your long-term plan? While it is tempting for a small organisation to let individual consultants operate independently, that can soon cause problems. Therefore it is essential you consider a number of important factors up front: Client Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and contracts clients have high expectations regarding the quality and consistency of service. Tone of voice/professionalism is your business operating as a single, coherent operation or as a small group of separate consultants? Business culture is everyone in your team working to the same set of ideas, standards and attitudes to both clients and candidates? Trying to make any major changes from processes to contracts, technology to working practices during a period of significant growth can be a real problem, so get it right from day one.

5 Presentation is Everything Understanding how the business looks to the outside world both candidates and clients is key. While today s mobile technologies enable small businesses to operate from home, removing the need for expensive office premises, it is vitally important to avoid looking like a fly-by-night operation. To present the right image: A website is essential even if it only has the most basic information and contact page. Every client and candidate will do a quick Google search before engaging with you or any other recruitment company, so make sure your business is visible. Have a professional policy: o Don t rely on generic addresses such as Hotmail or Gmail; get a dedicated business address. o Ensure every has a professional signature and disclaimer. Irrespective of size, to be taken seriously you need to present a trusted and professional image.

6 Invest in Technology Large recruitment companies know that investment in a good quality CRM is the only way to retain control over large numbers of consultants operating in different market areas. However, for smaller and start-up organisations that often have just one consultant focused on each market area, there is a temptation to allow consultants to manage their candidates in isolation. However, this can cause significant problems, not only down the line when you are looking to add consultants, but from day one. A single source of accurate, detailed client and candidate information enables: Anyone in your business to respond to requests for information or process applications swiftly and efficiently. You to apply consistent processes and tone of voice, reinforcing professionalism. The creation of business value client and candidate information is essential intellectual property. Collecting and retaining that data is key to building a strong, saleable business. Staff turnover is high in recruitment, irrespective of business size, so ensuring all information is available centrally at all times is key to avoiding lost opportunities.

7 Build in Scalability and Flexibility How can you ensure that your business has the capacity to support new consultants and an expanding client base without facing untenable investment in IT resources and expensive business upheaval? The need for flexibility and scalability is one of the key reasons growing numbers of small companies are looking to leverage the cloud or Software as a Service (SaaS) model. The benefits are significant, including: It s easy to add new users as and when required; Administration is cut to a minimum, removing the need for any internal IT overhead; Minimal downtime ensures your business can always respond to client and candidate needs; Regular updates provide rapid access to advances in technology that can improve business efficiency. The SaaS model also supports the remote and flexible working approach that increasingly underpins the small business culture.

8 Understand the Value of Data From understanding the legal requirements surrounding data protection legislation to ensuring all consultants recognise the essential value of client and candidate information, you must impose good data management practices. Mismanagement of confidential data can result in serious fines. With more consultants working remotely it is important to impose control over the way confidential information is stored and used across the business. Put in place clear, enforceable contracts to protect both clients and candidates. Protect candidate and business data from outside attacks: o Routinely communicate security policies to all staff especially new consultants. o A SaaS based solution should offer excellent data security - look for ISO accreditation and vendors that invest in penetration testing to ensure this vital business information is stored securely. Retaining control over critical, sensitive data should be a top priority for your recruitment business.

9 Expand Profitably Not all new business is good business. One of the biggest challenges today is determining the best areas of new business opportunity and being in a position to maximise that opportunity before the competition. A good CRM system will provide a number of tools to support business expansion, including reporting, enabling you to: Understand trends in market growth to ensure consultant activity is prioritised and focused. Use analytics and dashboards to forecast revenue and identify the most profitable business areas. Track consultant performance and profitability to determine the best time to add heads. Understanding where and when to expand specific areas of your business is key to successful growth in a fast changing recruitment marketplace.

10 Maximise Consultant Effectiveness To achieve growth objectives, you need to ensure consultants are working as effectively and efficiently as possible. A good CRM system enables better collaboration and supports proactive candidate management: Business Development Leverage the database of client and candidate information to rapidly identify and maximise the most valuable business development opportunities: Record and share leads. Utilise valuable commercial information. Leverage existing relationships. Enable multiple consultants and divisions to effectively recruit for the same client and, where appropriate, leverage further business from colleagues work. Talent pooling and hot candidates ensuring all hot candidates are flagged in the CRM (rather than on a personal list) ensures everyone within the business can be working to find the best job for that individual. Ingraining information sharing between consultants within your company culture from day one is the key to building value and maximising new business opportunities.

11 Dare to be Different Setting up as a generalist agency from day one can be difficult. An approach to consider would be to find your niche and add real value to a small segment of the market initially before branching out to other industry sectors. New business failure remains high; however, ensuring your business has specific market/skill expertise is key to gaining differentiation in a crowded market. Build on local market/skills knowledge by using the right technologies skills based search tools can transform the speed with which your consultants identify the right candidates in niche areas. Professionalism, efficient service and niche market expertise are essential components of business success.

12 Conclusion Business Growth Checklist Business success is not a given, there are a few essential points to remember: Be special take a niche approach and build in-depth skills and expertise in that area. Don t wait until the business is big enough to invest in technology. Create a website and pick the right CRM software as soon as possible the ability to support the business of the future is key to realising that objective. Create a culture that recognises the value of data. There are huge opportunities for recruitment companies with the right approach.

13 Recruitment and Staffing Software for Fast-Growing Firms Achieve efficiencies and enhance crosscompany collaboration with Adapt s recruitment software that ensures your staffing firm will succeed, grow and expand beyond expectations. An intuitive and powerful solution for scaling and fast-growing staffing firms. UK/EMEA: +44 (0) US: (800) APAC: adapt@erecruit.com