10 Ways to Increase Your Recruitment Business Leads. World Class Staffing & Recruitment Software

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1 10 Ways to Increase Your Recruitment Business Leads World Class Staffing & Recruitment Software

2 Contents Page 10 Ways to Increase Your Recruitment Business Leads 3 1. Question Time 4 2. Update Candidate Records 5 3. Update Client Records 6 4. Backfill Leads 7 5. Hone Your Searches 8 6. Maximise Reporting 9 7. Train for Success Location, Location, Location Make Job Ads Pop Be Alert to Opportunities 13 Find Out More 14

3 10 Ways to Increase Your Recruitment Business Leads In a highly-competitive market, recruitment agencies need to pull out all the stops to find high quality candidates and new clients looking to hire. New business leads are a key component when it comes to maximising placement revenue. It s no longer enough to rely on standard methods of sourcing candidates and occasionally contacting target clients to ask if they are hiring. Often, gleaning useful lead information can be as simple as making better use of your existing database, or remembering to ask contacts the right questions, every time. Recruitment agencies also need to take a smarter approach to generating leads, from using the best methods of gathering and updating valuable candidate information to effectively pre-empting corporate hiring plans. In this ebook, we provide our top 10 tips to generate leads and capitalise on every opportunity to win more business.

4 Question Time Candidates are not only a valuable source of placement revenue, they can also be great lead generators. When you interview candidates internally, before putting them in front of clients, make the most of this opportunity to ask questions that generate leads. Additional questions should include: Where else are you interviewing and who else are you talking to? This might uncover intelligence about an organisation that is looking to fill a number of positions for a big project. What is happening at your current workplace that is driving you to look for a new job? If there is unrest or lack of development opportunities, could you source similar candidates? Looking beyond the routine questions and drilling down for that extra insight will help you gain the competitive edge. Perhaps you ve been trying to get your foot in the door somewhere but you don t have access to the correct contact. If this candidate has worked there in the past, ask them the name of the person they worked for or relevant individuals who are responsible for hiring. Now, armed with contact details, you have the leverage you need to get through the door. Always go beyond the obvious when interviewing candidates and ask questions designed to generate leads.

5 Update Candidate Records Candidate data is constantly changing. It is vital to keep that information up-todate and, in the process, maximise your opportunities to discover new leads by always having actionable data on file. Reach out to past and current candidates regularly to check the information you hold on them is still accurate, find out about their most recent work and qualifications, and get feedback on your service offering. It is also a chance to ask additional questions, such as: Are you considering looking for a new job? What other interviews have you attended? is one of the most appropriate and effective methods of communication in this case. You can connect quickly, and en masse, saving you time. Make sure any new intel gathered is added to your CRM system for up-to-date and accurate records. The reference process for successful candidates can also be a good source of leads. Handled with care, calls to the candidate s current employer for a reference can provide access to the right contacts within the business who may have positions open now or in the future. Contacting candidates to make sure their records are up-to-date is both a valuable way to keep in touch and a chance to generate new business. The best person for a job could be among past candidates who have since gained new skills or experience.

6 Update Client Records If you are not updating your client records regularly, you might miss opportunities to get your foot back in the door. Are you going out and visiting clients on a regular basis? That s great, but less valuable if it s not documented on the system when the next person comes to pick up the phone and call the client. It s always important to track contacts made and set reminders to keep in touch with clients regularly. It s tempting to prioritise clients with currently filled placements, however, don t overlook clients who may not be actively recruiting right now. Sometimes customer needs are seasonal make sure information about clients with periodic needs is updated to reflect that so that you have a strong lead when it comes to their summer season or Christmas peak. Keep in touch with these companies and plan meetings with them during their off seasons to keep lines of communication open. Updating client information is vital to sustaining year round business. Onsite visits and proactive phone calls provide high-value contact opportunities and armed with as much information as possible about the client the time spent on updating details can be a source of valuable business leads.

7 Backfill Leads More often than not recruiters place candidates from another job, creating backfill lead opportunities. Those jobs will need to be filled and if the firm is going to use a recruiter, it should be you. Of course, getting the timing right is key for successful backfilling. It is vital to act quickly but at the same time you certainly want to make sure your candidate actually has the new job confirmed and has given notice before contacting their current employer. Approach backfilling with care so as not to jeopardise a candidate s career.

8 Hone Your Searches With candidate and client records as up-to-date as possible, recruiters are well placed to boost placement revenue. If agency employees always carry out the same, limited types of searches within the database it will deliver the same limited results and the value of the data will be minimised. Take a step back and reconsider your approach. It is worth taking time out to learn how to search more effectively. Boolean search techniques rely on users knowing and inputting the logic required to get the best results. Without these skills, valuable leads can easily be missed. Effective searches will identify the best candidates and fill more jobs. Recruitment agencies use a variety of systems, from Excel spreadsheets to sophisticated recruitment software platforms. Whatever platform or method you are using, there is always scope to hone your skills and get the best out of your system or process. Consider all the different terms candidates may use for qualifications or experience on their CV and even how these may be expressed across different languages and cultures.

9 Maximise Reporting Recruiters need to use reporting to mine their data for actionable information to enhance lead gathering. A clear view of conversion ratios is essential. You should be able to answer these questions: How many calls are sales consultants making? How many CVs are sales consultants sending out? How many permanent and contract jobs has the company not been able to fill? How many leads have converted to clients? How many jobs did the company fill? It is vital to analyse the data and use it to drive the business. Regularly review your KPIs. If you are not filling jobs remember to take a holistic view of your business by taking a step back. This will allow you to utilise your reporting data and optimise your opportunities.

10 Train for Success As well as providing actionable data on lead conversion rates, effective use of reporting information can drive training initiatives. Successes and areas of opportunity are equally important to acknowledge. If a team member is not generating as many leads as you might expect, there could be many reasons: They are new and not fully up to speed with all your processes and procedures They have worked for you for a very long time and are set in their ways They are not using the system properly or are failing to enter key data They are not using Social Media or other methods effectively when sourcing candidates Targeted training will address these issues and help consultants make the best of all the tools at their disposal. Training on a recruitment platform and relevant tools will enhance a consultant s ability to get the best return on your investment.

11 Location, Location, Location Well written job adverts lead to successful placements for recruiters, but many do not pay enough attention to evaluating where they should be posting the adverts. If you are paying to post job ads that only attract one or two CVs or, conversely, attract hundreds of CVs with only a couple of useful leads, don t waste your time and money. It is a good idea to constantly evaluate CV submissions, interviews and placements resulting from adverts to assess new and existing advertising platforms. Many recruiters post jobs on Social Media sites. Do you have a method of tracking responses from these platforms? If you place your job on several Social Media platforms, are they all providing a worthwhile response? If not, focus time and effort on the platforms that are producing leads. Focus on several job posting sites or social media profiles initially. Then, analyse the results, review the quality of responses, and improve your postings for next time.

12 Make Job Ads Pop When you have worked out where to post your announcement to maximise lead generation make sure the job advert itself is optimised for best results. Assess its visual impact and its Search Engine Optimisation. Ask yourself: How do I get people to look at this job ad in the first place? Is the design appealing? Will it catch the eye? Is our branding distinctive? Will the copy attract the right candidates? How do we best get this job picked up by Google? Is it Search Engine Optimised? The right keywords and metadata make for highly effective job postings that will increase results. Capitalise on all the marketing skills of your team when preparing job adverts.

13 Be Alert to Opportunities Automated alerts, from RSS feeds to Google Alerts, are great sources of leads if used effectively. It is very easy to set up alerts and soon your inbox or RSS reader will be full of up-to-date information that might yield useful leads. That said, the danger is that the level of alerts and information can become overwhelming and recruiters quietly relegate the task of sorting through the deluge of alerts to the bottom of the to-do list. Clever use of alerts is a must: Consider the keywords carefully Subscribe to the RSS feed from a target company s job page as soon as they list new jobs you can be among the first to put candidates in front of them Set Google alerts for news on existing clients and target companies to keep your finger on the pulse of their latest news Don t forget to set an alert for your own company name to see and respond to what is being said about you.

14 World Class Staffing & Recruitment Software Bond Adapt recruitment software manages the entire placement cycle. Used by over 140,000 recruiters worldwide, Adapt is considered the foremost platform/database independent, web-based and multilingual system available. Bond s continuous investment in their technology delivers innovative, reliable, scalable solutions. Businesses working with Bond can focus on future growth with absolute confidence. Contact us: +44 (0) sales@bond.co.uk