This is a guest blog written for us by Tim Parker of yu:talent. This question was one that was raised more than once at our recent recruitment technology showcase event.
So being the diligent recruitment business owner that you are, you’ve invested in a CRM system for your consultants only to find that they seem to be turning their noses up at it. At least if may seem that way because while they haven’t blatantly disregarded using it, they aren’t using it properly, and when they are, it is with heels dug in and perhaps the odd little tantrum.
So why is this the case? There are a few things you can analyse and some measures you can put in place to that may improve things. Changing CRM is of course one approach but it isn’t necessarily the answer. They key is to simply understand why they are not using it, and then take the appropriate based on those reasons.
Ask
Firstly just have an open and honest conversation with them and ask them why they are not using it. Make sure you do this in a way where they feel free of recrimination thereafter and can talk to you openly and honestly. If you don’t, you’ll probably learn very little. If all goes well you might just be surprised what you find out. However, if no one is talking them you’ll need to take a different approach.
Work flow disconnect
Workflow is one of those phrases that gets thrown around but might mean different things to different people. My definition of workflow is that the actions taken meet the needs of the job precisely. It therefore follows that any tools used to achieve this definition of workflow must be perfectly in tune with the required actions of the job, without creating any unnecessary tasks or extraneous administration.
For whatever reason, it might be that when you look at the work flow of your consultants and you look at the workflow of your CRM you find that there is actually a real disconnect between the two. This might be because the system has dated since you brought it in or it might actually be that the workflow you decided upon for the way in which the system was used no longer applies to the needs of your market. While this might sound obvious, you need to adhere to the workflow of the market first and foremost, rather than make the market fit the workflow of your system. You therefore need to flex your system processes to be able to adapt to the workflow of the market.
Flexibility mismanaged
On the opposite end of the spectrum, it might be that your system has given you lots of flexibility to adapt to the workflow of the job, but you haven’t actually defined what the workflow is well enough for your consultants. Therefore they are not misusing the system – they just don’t know how to us it ‘properly’. You never want to ask your CRM provider to take the flexibility out, because you need that to adapt to the unforeseen future. What you do need to do though is simply define how it is best used now and clarify this with your consultants.
Training
Who is using it correctly? If some of your staff are using it correctly and performing, then it might indicate that the others just don’t feel confident in using it or understand how they should be using it (of course, if your high performers are not using it and the low performers are using it perfectly that tells you something else)
If it is the case that high performers are using it well and others aren’t then you may just need to revisit some training. Of course the above steps and analysis are very much worth doing because you need to keep checking all is marrying together perfectly but a little bit of training can go a long way. Training feels time consuming and often feels like there are more important things to do, but a couple of hours revisiting the basics can pay off hugely.
Your Next Steps
Have an open and honest chat, individually or as a group and act on the information given.
Assess the workflow and if applicable, redesign your best practice use of the CRM (taking into account your market knowledge and feedback from the team)
If some development work is required, talk to your provider to scope out what is feasible before looking elsewhere. If you do look elsewhere, ensure you fully understand what you need.
When you have the right workflow (job & system in harmony) put the right training in place and re-visit with coaching sessions to turn intellectual knowledge into muscle memory.
