Established in 2012, UK-based property recruitment agency Rayner Personnel underwent a significant transformation during the COVID-19 crisis.
Moving to a remote-first model, they were looking for a recruitment CRM that gave their recruiters one single source of truth to enable more agility and efficiency in their daily work.
“Prior to lockdown, our business was a franchise model, so we had nine different databases all within another CRM, which was clunky and wasn’t being utilised properly. We wanted it all under one umbrella, in one place”, says Head of Operations Jo Green.
Another issue that the agency faced was a lack of visibility and integration.
“We wanted a platform that had shared visibility, that we could control, that we could post our jobs directly from, as we were having to use a separate system.”
A trusted partner
Going to market with a clear vision and an extensive list of requirements, Jo and a steering committee quickly whittled down the options to a shortlist – where JobAdder emerged top of class.
Despite the complex environment, the implementation and onboarding process went seamlessly.
“It was a large project that I undertook with JobAdder’s support. I was given an onboarding account manager who was really helpful. I explained what I needed to do and she talked me through what to do on weekly Zoom calls.
“Among the candidates and clients that I wanted to migrate over to JobAdder, we were clear at every step of the way what I could and couldn’t do. If I got stuck, she was always there to help me. I really expected it to take months, but I think I probably did it in about four or five weeks. It was a big relief.”
After the initial implementation, the wider Rayner Personnel team went through the training and onboarding process, where the online and in-person learning-on-demand options once again made for a smooth journey.
“We started with an online training session and then followed up with an in-person, classroom-style session in London. We really benefited from that approach as we could actually go through bits that we weren’t quite sure about or that people were getting stuck on.”
Transforming the recruitment process
Quickly getting up to speed, Jo and her team have already seen some big wins and clear improvements with JobAdder.
“On a day-to-day level, it’s been a game changer for us. We find the interface a lot easier to use. Under one umbrella, we’ve got more visibility across our networks throughout the UK – both from the regional and national points of view.”
From the moment a candidate entered the database to the final placement and invoicing through accounting systems, every step of the process is now fully integrated into one seamless workflow.
“Being able to advertise the roles, not having to go to a different system and worry about duplicate data entry all the time – that’s one big tick for us.”
When it comes to Rayner’s clients, JobAdder has also improved Rayner’s ability to deliver exceptional services.
“It’s been great for us to be able to use the online client portal. It informs us when the clients have seen the CV and gives us a foot in the door to be able to call up, creating a more streamlined process. The audit trail of that is also helpful: if a candidate comes back to us in six months’ time, we can see where we’ve submitted them before, where we haven’t reached out and where we might spec them.”
Strengthening the pipeline
For Rayner Personnel’s recruiters, there have also been additional improvements to the way they work.
“With a full, joined-up database, when we’ve got a hot job that comes in, we can do a detailed candidate search and quickly draw up a shortlist of candidates. Whereas before, we just couldn’t do that across nine databases – we’re now getting a greater hit rate on those searches… As a result of this simpler workflow, the consultants are sharing and communicating more, which has been a great growth for us as a business.”
“On the other end of the spectrum, certain clients like to see candidates that could be of interest without necessarily having an open role. For that, having the ability to create spec folders for different towns to present to them at any time has also been a great improvement.”
These positive changes in candidate sourcing are having a range of ripple effects. Being able to work faster and more efficiently has enabled the Rayner team to continually build a candidate database of highly skilled property professionals, through an automated registration and inputting process that bypasses manual data entry.
Smart data-enabled decision making
As the Head of Operations, a valuable advantage for Jo has been the enhanced ability to create more detailed reporting and ensure data hygiene.
“I can look at how many candidates have been registered. I can control GDPR a lot better with the GDPR Centre and GDPR notes. It has streamlined the process for placements as well, whereas we were using OneDrive before because we couldn’t report across nine databases.”
Having more visibility than ever before has been a critical change for Jo in making more informed, smarter business decisions.
“I’m able to monitor numbers changing on the levels of candidates and jobs coming in, down to individual consultants on a monthly basis. We can also collect specific data through custom fields, such as reason for job move, where they came from, etc. Having that data enables us at the head office to have a more meaningful understanding of candidate behaviours, thus making smarter decisions based on market trends.”
Creating and nurturing high performers
Jo also highlights the great customer support she’s received and the importance of in-app training for her recruiters.
“Every JobAdder support specialist has been very patient and understanding. I appreciate the way they show me how to use a function or solve an issue, so that if it happens again, I’ll know how to fix it.”
“I think what’s also helpful about the in-app training is if our recruiters get stuck, they immediately can access step-by-step instructions on how to solve it. The feedback I’ve received on the team about this aspect of the product has been incredible. To be honest with you, I don’t think I saw anything like that in the other products.”
Giving recruiters this support and autonomy is crucial for Rayner Personnel as their recruiters work in partnership with the business.
“These recruiters aren’t just recruiters. They work in partnership with us, so they’re all running their own businesses and they want to do things differently. To be able to have a set process that we all follow, without saying, “you must do it like this,” I think JobAdder makes that so easy.”
With its ease-of-use, effective reporting, streamlined processes and a range of other benefits, Jo and her team have no regrets about their decision to trust JobAdder as the backbone for their continued growth and success.
“I would 100% recommend JobAdder to anyone else to be able to liaise and communicate with your candidates and clients on a much easier scale, manage your jobs and look at your pipeline. It’s given us a much more organised, streamlined process for the business.”
