How technology can drive your business through the downturn

With the economic downturn gathering momentum, the natural response of many recruitment businesses is to cut back on all non-critical business activities and put many projects on hold. However, whilst a downturn brings its challenges it also presents opportunities.

Now is an ideal time to review business systems and processes to ensure overheads are minimised and the business has a competitive edge ready for when the market picks up.

Streamline your business through better use of technology

Recruiters who have inflated and/or unnecessary overheads will find it hard to survive in the current climate. There are many ways to reduce costs and improve profitability without a negative affect on turnover. Culuru suggests directors of recruitment businesses should consider the following:

ï Are your systems getting in the way of recruiter productivity?
ï Could alternative suppliers deliver a fit for purpose solution at a more competitive rate?
ï Is there a better and cheaper way to deliver a function currently managed in-house?
ï Are all of your systems talking to each other with minimal manual intervention?
ï Do you have teams of people carrying out repetitive tasks that could be automated?

Whilst cost reduction is critical, it cannot be relied upon to see you through the downturn as the length of this recession is unknown. All your competitors are examining ways to reduce overheads, but some are also looking at ways of developing a competitive advantage.

Do you know what the latest technology can do for you?

Are you aware of what technology is available and how it can be applied to reduce time to market, increase productivity and reduce overheads?

For example, out of the box business intelligence solutions can help identify the risks and opportunities in near real time, be used to drive sales performance and manage complex commission schemes.

Latest innovations and improvements in lead generation tools can help you find more vacancies, and assist with reverse candidate marketing and headhunting. New search and sourcing technology now provides two tier database models and can shortcut the time to find the right candidates and help your recruiters hunt as a pack whilst minimising compliance requirements.

A downturn is the ideal time to review the technical possibilities and innovate. A lot of technological advances quickly become industry standard, so you risk being left behind if you leave it until an upturn in the market. Donít forget as business is quieter, vendors may be more open to negotiation on price.

Once you have decided on a solution, make sure you review all the relevant vendors (not just the perceived market leaders) and measure them against the same criteria including implementation times, management and support requirements and the SLAís on offer. Speak to people who have experienced implementing before, as the sales pitch rarely reflects the reality on offer,

Lastly, donít just rely on the third party vendor to put systems into your business. Invest in your own project management with industry experience. Define your success criteria at the very start of the project and set the expectations with all stakeholders, create and carry out detailed test plans and only sign off only when satisfied. Investing in getting an implementation right first time, and ensuring it delivers the anticipated return on investment is cheap compared to the cost of delays to the project and dealing with major issues once a system is live.

Author: Guy Rubin, Founder & Managing Director, Culuru

Culuru is a team of independent systems specialists, with many years of experience helping recruitment companies optimise existing systems, streamline and outsource business processes and select, implement and integrate new technology to increase productivity, capacity and profitability.