In 2015, staffing firms were introduced to email and marketing automation. Those who stuck to manual emails or relied on the old-school smile-and-dial technique quickly fell behind their competitors. 

In 2018, staffing firms were introduced to business text messaging, and while some firms were struggling to break through the noise of overcrowded email inboxes and leaving voicemails that prospects ignored, other firms were getting candidates placed with a quick text. 

In 2023, staffing firms are now adopting AI and recruiting acceleration AI software to hyperautomate their recruiting process.     

Staffing firms who have already adopted recruiting acceleration AI software create a better experience by being available to prospects 24/7, closing more placements, and growing faster. 

Firms that continue to rely on manual processes are – you guessed it – falling behind their competitors and leaving money on the table.

So when it comes to the digital transformation adoption curve, where do you stand? 

Is your firm a laggard, stuck in the dark ages of staffing? Are you part of the early or late majority? Or are you an innovator, poised to race ahead of the pack? Read on to find out.

Laggards: From Spreadsheets to Database Digitization

Tech stack status: You have a CRM or an ATS, but lack automation tools to move your team into the 21st century. 

Technologically, your firm needs to catch up. Your team is strolling far behind the pack. Your firm lacks essential technological tools to build better connections with candidates, make your team more efficient, and drive revenue. 

You’ve moved on from spreadsheets and have an ATS or CRM that serves as the brain center for your organization, which means you could run laps around past iterations of your firm that were plodding along with Excel. 

Beyond that, though, your firm is likely losing out on opportunities left and right. Not only is your team hamstrung by not having the latest technology, but you’re also likely losing candidates’ trust and attention. 

Candidates today expect firms to be available 24/7, reach out through multiple channels like texting and chatbots, and respond to their needs more quickly than manual processes allow. 

If you find yourself in this category, it’s time to look at how communication software, marketing automation, and recruiting acceleration AI can help you take your firm to the next level.

Late Majority: From Personal Phones to Cloud Communication

Tech stack status: You’ve automated your phone outreach with a VoIP phone system or a dialer integrated into your CRM or ATS. You’ve likely started texting candidates but haven’t explored robust communication automation tools.

If you’re in the late majority, you know the power of moving information and communication to cloud platforms. 

Rather than relying on old-school landlines that force your recruiters into slow, manual cold calling, you’ve evolved into using your tech stack to speed outreach using a VoIP phone system and dialers that are integrated into your CRM. 

You also may be using an entry-level texting platform, and have started to see the value of reaching out to candidates via SMS.

However, you’re still at the beginning of your technology journey. In the same way that dialers automate your phone outreach and empower your team to reach more people faster, text and email automation will be a game-changer for your firm. 

Today’s candidates don’t want more phone calls. Instead, they want to connect with their staffing firms via text and get updates on positions through relevant, well-timed email updates. 

These kinds of thoughtful touchpoints meet candidates where they are – and are crucial for impressing talent, especially the Gen Z and Millennial digital natives who now make up 40% of the workforce.

Where should you go from here? To catch up with the competition, increase your outreach with marketing automation and recruiting acceleration AI.

Early & Late Majority: From Personal to Automated Emails, Referrals, and Reviews

Tech stack status: You’re likely a pro at outreach automation through email, text messaging, and first-generation chatbot platforms. While you’re ahead of the pack, tapping the power of AI may help your growth soar.

You have a lot going for you! Your firm is likely automating your email outreach, so your candidates are begging to get more communication. 

You may have ventured into chatbots, experimenting with entry-level bots that handle some basic candidate questions and needs. 

You might be using an automated referral management platform to enable you to generate referrals from your existing talent pool and an automated review platform to collect reviews from candidates.  

You have a lot going for you, and your firm has a solid foundation to face 2023 and beyond.

However, Digital Transformation is happening quickly in staffing, and you still have room for growth.

Staffing Firms that don’t consider themselves to be early adopters of technology are more likely to experience no revenue growth. That’s right: their growth is flatlined.? 

To level up, consider investing in AI-powered acceleration software that can act as part of your recruiting team, fielding questions 24/7 and responding to candidates’ needs, even if they don’t fit into a script. 

Look to a recruiting acceleration AI platform that enables you to add a layer of AI to your entire tech stack. 

Read on to see how early adopters and innovators stay on the cutting edge of staffing tech.

Early Adopters & Innovators: From Slow Manual Processes to Accelerated Recruiting with AI

Tech stack status: Your firm is powered by recruiting acceleration AI software to close candidates faster. You’ve partnered with the next generation of AI platforms and you’re thinking about candidates’ mobile experience.

Congratulations! You’re ahead of the curve when it comes to your firm’s tech stack.

Your firm is accelerating growth and connecting with candidates 24/7. You’re using recruiting acceleration AI software to expand the number of candidates your team can reach, build better relationships, and increase revenue. 

You may also have already adopted mobile technology and have seen firsthand that mobilization helps you stay top-of-mind for candidates.

Behind the scenes, your team is likely working on making collaboration easier with tools like  MS Teams, Slack,  or Zoom, which have become hallmarks of remote and hybrid teams. 

You’re also likely aware that the firms that experience continual growth are those that anticipate technological trends and are the first in line to adopt new tech. 

So what does recruiting acceleration and AI mean for your staffing firm?

Recruiting acceleration AI means your firm can tap into the next generation of AI and omnichannel messaging to speed up the candidate experience.   

Emails get lost and phone calls are ignored. But we all love to send quick messages to communicate with friends and family. It’s now time to tap into real-time messaging channels like chatbots, text messaging, MS Teams or Slack to bring these quick and easy messaging channels into the recruiting experience.     

The next generation of AI can now layer into your entire tech stack, including your website, lead distribution, marketing automation, MS Teams or Slack, mobile app, and ATS. 

This new AI layer is like giving each of your recruiters and sales reps an AI assistant to make them more productive. Candidates will be able to connect with your firm through easy-to-use messaging channels and your team will get qualified leads sent to them 24/7. 

AI chatbots can engage more candidates in personalized messaging conversations and speed up the candidate experience.  The goal is to give your recruiters and sales reps an AI assistant to make them more profitable by making sure they’re spending time on the right candidates.

With a Recruiting Acceleration AI platform, you can speed up repetitive manual processes, scale the number of conversations your team can engage in, and place more candidates – all while your team focuses on building real relationships and keeping candidate needs front and center.

In 2023, the name of the game in staffing is going to be recruiting acceleration that specializes in this next generation of AI, and firms that are committed to being early adopters are going to be reaping the rewards.

P.S. We’re here to help!

Hey, I’m EngineAI! I can help connect you with a Staffing Engine team member if you have any questions.

I can also help you learn more about Staffing Engine and schedule a demo.