Time, they say, is a precious commodity. ‘They’ are right, especially in today’s increasingly competitive recruitment environment. With the number of new recruitment businesses growing apace and the industry itself more buoyant than ever before, the pressure is on for agencies to be better, faster and smarter in order to gain and retain that all-important competitive edge.
Of course, this is often easier said than done. It’s a question of improving productivity – identifying the day-to-day functions that, while essential, remain time-consuming and often costly to the business: think administration.
There is no escaping the fact that all jobs in every industry involve some form of administration. It is as universal as the tea break. But at a time when employer demand for candidates is so high, the last thing any ambitious recruitment business owner wants to see is their consultants being slowed down by certain processes. It’s frustrating for consultants, and even more so for the owners of the business who can see that the time spent performing many admin tasks means less time speaking to prospects and candidates.
Indeed, take CRM as an example. It is estimated that the average recruiter spends half a day each week updating their agency’s CRM – the equivalent of one hour per day. While that may not seem like a lot of time taken in isolation, over the course of a month that equates to three full working days lost on this one task alone. Add the other admin duties that consultants undertake to the equation, and this number will quickly rise.
So, the question becomes this – if an agency is losing a minimum of three days a month per consultant (36 per year), can it achieve its growth goals? The answer is rather obvious.
Efficiencies can be achieved in any agency, regardless of whether it employs one or 100 consultants. We’re not just talking about streamlining essential processes; the systems being introduced need to be centralised and combine both back office and front office functions within a single point of entry. This is where GEMS from Simplicity comes into its own.
By having one system and one process, recruiters are able to reduce and even eliminate errors (which can be timely to rectify) and manage all essential functions quickly and efficiently. This further frees consultants to focus more of their time on doing what they do best – sales. At the same time, agency owners can use the reporting to gain real-time insight on management information, to make those all-important decisions.
It’s about identifying where the greatest impact will be felt and ensuring that whatever solution is adopted, the learning curve is gentle and takes minimal time to master. Get this right, and the growth targets that are currently being set for the new year ahead will become more achievable than you realise.