Inefficient daily workflows are costing UK recruitment agencies hundreds of thousands of pounds a year in lost revenue, according to recruitment software leader Bullhorn.
“Typically agencies can make significant savings by changing the way they handle interruptions, data entry, systems use and training new hires,” explains Mike Restivo VP International Sales, Bullhorn. “Recruitment is about securing requirements and making placements – ensuring you move from that starting point to that end point as quickly as possible, is the key to increasing revenue.”
Bullhorn has identified four recruitment agency workflow ‘problem areas’:
Interruptions
Restivo explains: “It’s not possible to eliminate disruptions but the way they’re handled can be greatly improved. The average recruitment consultant deals with up to 50 interruptions per day so this was the first workflow area we focussed on.”
Bullhorn research: A sample organisation with ten recruitment consultants making £1.4 million annually and dealing with 50 interruptions (per consultant) per day could be losing 1,970 hours or £170,000 in potential revenue per year. Cutting the time spent on interruptions by half (985 hours) would yield £85,000 in extra revenue, and reducing it by 75 per cent would result in 127,000 in revenue.
Data entry
Restivo explains: “Even in the age of social media recruiters still find their internal ATS the most valuable source of quality candidates. It’s imperative that candidate data is entered quickly and accurately - this five minute process can be collapsed to just 90 seconds.”
Bullhorn research: A professional recruitment firm with 45 recruiters on staff, making £6.2 million in annual revenue that enters approximately 24,000 CVs into its candidate database annually would free up 1,400 hours per year for recruitment consultants to allocate towards money-making activities, amounting to £120,000 in increased revenue.
Number of systems
Restivo explains: “It’s not complicated – if a recruiter is using five different systems then it’s likely that he or she is entering the same data multiple times, a massive inefficiency with increased likelihood of inconsistencies.”
Bullhorn research: A professional recruitment firm that currently enters data into five or six different systems, at five minutes per system, could save up to 20-25 minutes per entry by using a single fully-integrated solution.
New Starters
Restivo explains: “Training new members of your team in different systems is time intensive. Eliminate the systems; reduce the time taken to onboard; get your recruiters recruiting faster!”
Bullhorn research: For a recruitment firm with 20 recruitment consultants making £2.5 million in revenue per year, a consultant’s time would be worth approximately £76 per hour. By simply using an improved workflow, the firm could gain an additional £800 per new hire.
Bullhorn has developed a free calculator to help agencies understand how much revenue they could be missing out on. The workflow ‘problem areas’ are analysed in more detail in Bullhorn’s free Ultimate Revenue Roadmap whitepaper –click here to download it.