When it comes to starting your own recruitment business, there’s a lot to think about. In this fast-moving and competitive industry, it’s crucial to get your tools right from the start. This way, you’ll be prepared when it comes to scaling and growing your client base down the line.
It’s important to look at the recruitment process from start to finish, so you can deliver the best possible level of service to candidates and clients.
So, we’ve put together this handy checklist to help you save time, stay organised and maximise your opportunities.
Here’s what you need to consider when selecting recruitment software for your start-up:
1. Staying organised and tracking the status of your projects
If you have experience in the recruitment industry, you’ll be familiar with using an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), but starting up on your own presents a different set of challenges.
You’ll be managing multiple projects at different lifecycle stages, with potentially hundreds of CVs per project, as well as taking on the additional responsibilities that come with running a new business day-to-day.
There are many ATS options on the market, so ensure you go in with a clear set of requirements and do your research on review sites before committing. Consider:
- Do you need to factor in how you’ll collaborate with other team members using the system?
- Will the system scale as you grow, and how does this impact pricing?
- How robust is the reporting offered?
- To what extent do you need to be able to customise workflows?
- Are you looking for additional features, such as AI tools or support with producing a branded careers site?
- Is it easy to use? Lots of additional features might be what you’re looking for, but make sure you don’t lose sight of usability and getting the basics right.
- Does it integrate with any other recruitment software you intend to use?
The list goes on, and will be personal to your needs and priorities.
2. How you’ll attract prospective candidates and clients
It takes time to build your client and candidate base, which makes having a robust marketing and lead generation strategy essential.
You’ll need to consider:
- Ensuring your business is active on social media – especially LinkedIn, due to its focus on work and professional relationships. You may want to invest in social media management software, so you can work more efficiently by scheduling posts to multiple accounts from one place, in advance.
- The software you’ll use to send email campaigns to your audience. If you’re not doing this via your ATS, ensure you choose a platform that integrates with it so that you can centralise your data. Mailchimp is a great, user-friendly place to start.
- Looking the part. Consider investing in software that makes it easy to produce professional, branded contracts and offer letters that facilitate e-signatures.
- How you’ll use content to build an audience. A great way to grow your following is to produce helpful, insightful, informative content. Whether you’re keeping people up-to-date on the latest news in your industry, or producing downloadable resources such as ebooks, use design software to ensure your content always looks professional.
- Tracking the success of your efforts. If you have your own website, ensure you have Google Analytics set up, so you can see where your traffic is coming from.
3. Optimising your online presence
When putting together your lead generation plans, always keep your goal pages in mind – they should match the messaging you use in your social media posts and email campaigns.
Decide which job boards you’ll focus on and ensure your website is up-to-date and ready to capture leads. You may want to look at integrating software that makes it easy to customise dynamic forms, add pop-ups, or even use chatbots.
4. Putting forward the strongest candidates
You’ll build your reputation as a firm that clients can rely on by consistently sourcing exceptional candidates.
Often, the strongest candidates are passive candidates who are open to opportunities but not actively exploring them. Consider integrating a CRM (Customer – or in this case, Candidate – Relationship Management) system with your ATS to support your marketing efforts and help you nurture an audience of potential candidates.
Nail down your process for assessing and recommending candidates effectively. Some industry players are moving away from the traditional CV in favour of more dynamic approaches – you could explore using online personality tests, video platforms, virtual reality and more.
5. Managing and retaining the best talent for your own team
In order to succeed, you’ll need to build a team around you that you can trust.
To ensure effective collaboration and ease of assigning tasks day-to-day, look at project management and internal communications software. And don’t forget to cover the basics, like where you’ll store shared internal files, particularly if your team are working remotely.
Last, but definitely not least, you need to ensure your team feel valued and appreciated for their hard work, whatever their role in your business. This means making time to focus on the things that matter, by cutting down on unnecessary admin and inefficiencies.
This is something Codapay can help you with. We provide trusted payroll software for the recruitment industry, with free and automatic updates to cater for changing legislation. Whether your worker engagement model is PAYE, umbrella, self-employed, CIS or LTD, it’s ideal for agencies with no time to waste. Book a free demo today.
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