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Without good technology, growth is hard. Client expectations adapt to the environment around us; almost everything can be done in a few taps on a smartphone these days, so it’s difficult to justify why this instant culture isn’t mirrored in our workplace.
Thankfully, as technology within the recruitment industry continues to evolve it creates more and more opportunities for companies looking to improve processes and ultimately scale their operations.
Martin Wishart (Team Leader Product Sales, Kyloe Partners), spoke to Karen McNab (Commercial & Operations Director, Denholm Associates) to get her take on the impact of technology on the industry.
Martin Wishart: How have you seen the recruitment industry change during your career?
Karen McNab: The market has changed, and continues to change, significantly! Candidates’ behaviours have changed since the advent of digital, and continues to evolve as our technology does. As a result the recruitment industry has been become much more sophisticated and akin to a professional service, and the skills we look for now in a successful recruiter have adapted with this. Recruiters need a great blend of commerciality, tech savviness and fantastic people skills.
MW: Why do you think this change is happening?
KM: Technology has played a huge part in the change; there are so many tools out there now that help to reduce the time that processes take. Relationships are extremely important in this industry though; for tech to be as effective as possible, it’s important that we still have people who are good at relationships powering the tools used.
MW: So you don’t think tech will replace entire teams?
KM: Tech needs to be an enabler - letting consultants do what they’re best at. The CRM needs to be at the hub of everything we do, and there is so much automation now, which can help to reduce the time it takes to carry out certain processes, but this without people (and vice versa) would make for a fairly ineffective system.
MW: With tech, we have access to more data than ever before, but it seems that some people aren’t getting the full benefit – any thoughts?
KM: If you don’t set a standard across your whole business about how your process is used, the data won’t be consistent and you won’t have an accurate view of how your business is doing. From a strategic perspective, you’ve got to be confident that the data is telling the right story as that high-level visibility enables decisions.
MW: Are there any common inefficiencies you’ve encountered, that tech can help to fix?
KM: Working outside of the CRM is a major problem – for example, saving data in an Excel file on a local drive; not using a central system keeps everything silo’d which means we can’t service candidates and clients at an optimal level. The basic tools and behaviors must be in place in order to operate effectively.
Being aware of the opportunities that tech has to offer is another one. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut but Bullhorn are way ahead of the curve and always innovating so it’s smart to try and stay up to date with what’s available to you.
Customisation is a big thing, too; there are so many ways you can make Bullhorn work harder for you. I’ve always been grateful for the way that Kyloe asks what good looks like for us, offers solutions based on those aims, and then develops bespoke tools to help quickly and efficiently, helping us to unlock the most time and cost-efficient way to use Bullhorn!
MW: Any final words of wisdom before we go?
KM: Understand the benefits to be gained by introducing new technologies, be culpable for decisions and see things from the perspective of people at all levels of the business. Productivity improves; it works!
Find out more:
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