5 Ways to Make Your Candidate Relationship Management Software Work for You

1. Choose a recruitment marketing CRM that’s user-friendly

To ensure your CRM is easy to use for both your applicants and your candidates, consider what they’d like from your CRM software before you purchase one. Then, as you’re customizing the software, put yourself in your applicant’s shoes by asking questions like: Is the design user-friendly? Would an applicant be able to navigate it? Does it overuse confusing jargon only those on your team would understand? 

The easier your CRM is to use, the more effective it will be. 

2. Set up drip campaigns and communication workflows

A proper recruitment marketing CRM software should streamline communication with candidates, allowing more seamless communication workflows. Companies can set up drip campaigns, or a series of automated recruitment marketing emails, to send to candidates with specific rates at which to send them. For instance, a few days apart or a week apart between emails. You can also customize them to include candidates’ personal information so they feel valued.

3. Integrate with social media

Companies should choose a CRM that has the ability to integrate with social media or has it incorporated into the system. When a potential hire provides their email address, the CRM should be able to find any social media accounts they may have made with it, so hiring managers can learn more about the prospective applicant.

4. Keep data updated

It’s crucial to update applicant and prospect data within your CRM as often as possible. This allows you to pipeline candidates effectively and nurture hot prospects consistently. An overload of information, including duplicate data entries and invalid email addresses, will only hinder your CRM. To remedy this, invest in data-cleaning procedures that remove unwanted data entries, keeping only the most relevant and useful information.

5. Train your team

Everyone involved in your company’s hiring process should be trained to use your CRM. One way to do this is to identify employees who may already be familiar with the system or are tech-savvy and teach them how to maximize the software’s potential. Then, have the rest of your employees schedule one-on-one sessions with your trained employees so they too can learn how to best use the system.

CRM best practices

Once you have your CRM solution up and running, follow these best practices to get the most out of it:

• Customize data visibility. Your employees may have different visibility needs depending on how they’re using the CRM. For example, a hiring manager e may need different data points than a recruiter. Giving hiring teams the ability to choose how they view their data will help them do their job as effectively and efficiently as possible.

• Don’t limit your CRM. Train your team to utilize your CRM to its fullest potential and stress that it’s not only a candidate tracking tool. A CRM can also be used for list management, calendar events, lead scoring, and talent engagement as they move through the hiring process.
• Integrate with other systems. Your recruitment marketing CRM should integrate seamlessly with the rest of your HR tech stack. Once a jobseeker applies for a role, their data should be fed into your ATS of choice as they progress through the hiring funnel. Internal employees and alumni (ex-employees) should also be fed into your recruitment marketing CRM once they have expressed an interest in future roles. There, they can be nurtured and pipelined until they apply. 

Clinch provides proactive recruitment CRM solutions for businesses that want to optimize their hiring process. Click here to learn more about how Clinch can help you customize your CRM for strategic recruitment.