What is a CRM for recruiting

Today’s labour market is increasingly focused on the candidate and customer relationship; therefore, the way organizations approach their recruitment has changed. Most of the talent acquisition activities have now migrated to the digital world, where information is constantly tracked and exchanged 24/7, and to recruitment tools that enable HR professionals to engage with candidates and clients throughout the recruitment process. That is the case of a CRM recruiting software.

A recruitment CRM is a recruiting software that staffing firms use to engage candidates when they apply for their jobs. It allows the management of the entire daily workflow, from the search for the best talent to placement with the end customer, and it is made up of two integrated modules:

An ATS, i.e., an Applicant Tracking System, recruiting software acting as a repository where recruiters and hiring managers can create and post job openings, collect and organize applications, screen, evaluate, select and move candidates through every step of the hiring process in one platform;

A CRM for recruiting, i.e., a system designed to strengthen relationships between potential candidates and recruiters so that recruiters can place these candidates for future job openings. In this way, CRMs are considered part of a recruitment marketing strategy, allowing HR professionals and staffing organizations to create talent communities and deliver targeted messaging that helps build and nurture relationships with passive talent. That way, when it comes time to cover a vacancy, recruiters already have a pool of vetted candidates from which to choose and to present to their potential clients.

Another idea that stays behind a recruitment CRM is treating candidates as if they were customers. In fact, the acronym CRM originally stood for “customer relationship management,” and the first CRM systems were focused on driving sales and retaining customers. But now it is not only that.

In recent years, with the rise of the modern job seeker and increased competition in the job market, HR professionals and staffing organizations have realized that manually managing candidates via, paper, pen, email, and spreadsheets would no longer do. Now fully-equipped with built-in workflows and automations, a modern ATS, or recruitment CRM, allows users to manage every aspect of the candidate relationship, from initial sourcing through to the job offer stage, as well as to win and retain clients. Indeed, there has been an exponential increase in the adoption of recruitment CRM software.

True and effective recruitment CRMs, like JobArch, the CRM recruiting software for SMEs, are loaded with the following features, which help recruit and hire top talent as quickly as possible to beat the competition.

1. Cloud-based tool: a good CRM for recruiting is accessible from any device and location, be it desktop or mobile; it allows the team to have access to the same up-to-date information, so that candidates and processes can be reviewed by multiple users at the same time.
2. Mobile-friendly online career page and user-friendly job application: the ATS module, i.e., the Applicant Tracking System, must provide applicants with a career site with a responsive layout, meaning a design that can dynamically adapt to the size and orientation of any device from which the job candidate may be visiting the website, as well as an integrated application form with a limited number of fields to allow registration in one step, which increases the conversion rate.
3. Career site enhancing employer branding: apart from listing one’s own job openings, it is important for an organization, be it a staffing or a non-staffing company, to be innovative, whether that be through the use of employee testimonials, employee pictures and links to social networks, and including one’s own employee value proposition (PVE). This will help foster the attention of the candidates that are looking for a particular company culture and keep candidates warm and engaged in a brand.
4. Automatic job postings to leading job sites: an effective CRM recruiting tool can automatically post jobs to free job boards and funnel all applicants in just one tool, as JobArch does.
5. Automated recruiting email templates and mailing: good CRM systems automatically thank candidates for applying, send job alerts and emails to keep them interested, informed, as well as to move interested candidates over to current job openings. Nurture flows and automation enable HR professionals to maintain a positive experience with quality talent anytime and anywhere.
6. Built-in CV parsing and matching tool: the use of semantic engines based on artificial intelligence to match jobs and possible suitable candidates of a database, such as the one developed by the Arca24 team in the CRM JobArch, allows automatic pre-screening of CVs on the basis of skills extracted from CV texts and job offers; it will show the most suitable profile at the top of the candidate ranking and will never show the least suitable.
7. Centralized database: CRM systems for recruiting are built to effectively manage candidates, to browse through available candidate data for the right fit, offer powerful filtering and candidate segmentation.
8. Automated interview scheduling: the integration of multiple-choice questionnaires and automated video interviews is an optimal solution to avoid live interviews via Teams and allows CRM to interview candidates and report their grades automatically.
9. Hard and soft skill assessment: the integration of soft skills and hard skills assessment platforms enhance the assessment of the candidate’s profile and make it more attractive to the client.
10. Customer information and process tracking: a good CRM, as the name implies, must be able to build a solid relationship with the customer, starting with the entry of his/her data; it tracks orders received, order status and notes and assigns projects to the various users. In addition, the system tracks all of the consultant’s communication with the customer, for a 360-degree overview.
11. Built-In compliance functionality and security: good CRM systems are kept up-to-date by automatically rolling out any updates behind the scenes. As compliance mandates are constantly changing, navigating new regulations can be a real headache without automation.
12. End-to-End solution: the combination of ATS and CRM is the winning one; from job submission to candidate placement, the integration of ATS & CRM in an all-in-one platform improves data quality, because all team members have the ability to access candidate lists, emails and job orders without having to switch systems, which enhances the entire HR workflow. As a result, sharing and collaboration with team members generates new business and increases productivity.

Organizations who maintain their talent pools with CRM systems can make better, data-driven hiring decisions. And because CRM nurtures strong relationships with past, current, and future candidates and customers, speed and efficiency are built in when it is time to hire, making the applicant’s journey through the ATS and CRM system a better experience.