Thought leaders across the staffing industry (including, unsurprisingly, our own leaders here at Sense) are spending a lot of time lately talking about texting.
At the heart of the push for texting in staffing is the very real reality of the candidate engagement crisis facing our industry. You’re investing thousands of dollars every month to, source, and place candidates. But so many are struggling to attract talent in the first place, or they lose them between recruitment and placement. Or maybe they go on one placement, never to be heard from again.
We are more connected than ever, yet engagement rates for staffing firms are declining across the board. Candidates are tired of being bombarded with messages on platforms they avoid. Today’s talent doesn’t want a phone call or even an email. They’re on the go, not sitting at home staring at an inbox or waiting for the phone to ring.
Today’s candidates are communicating through mobile. 95% of Americans own a mobile device, and if you’re like most of us here at Sense, you’re pretty attached to your iPhone or Android device.
Data backs up what common sense tells us today. 90% of text messages are read within 3 minutes. 86% of millennials prefer texts during recruitment.
Texting candidates on their preferred platforms with the right messages leads to improved engagement. Which in turn, decreases “ghosting,” increases redeployment and has a positive impact on so many other metrics that ultimately mean success for your staffing firm.
Even your clients want you to text them! We’re all busy and on the go, so it makes sense that 89% of buyers prefer texting over calls or emails.
And the conversion rate on texting is pretty amazing -- sales prospects who are sent text messages convert 40% more often.
So far, I’ve only mentioned the tip of the iceberg as far as compelling data supporting texting. Even the applications of texting (I can get more granular into the texting and the interview process, texting your internal team...there is so much potential) are seemingly limitless. We’re beyond the point of “someday” and at the point of “this needs to become part of my process now.”
In fact, while texting may not be integrated into your business strategy, many recruiters are ALREADY texting candidates on their personal phones. Texting is a natural behavior in our days, so it only makes sense that many staffing firms are “unofficially” texting (and as a result, missing out on key opportunities with texting, plus analytics and data from texting). But there is no oversight, and nothing is being written back, which is truly a wasted opportunity.
I know it can seem overwhelming to integrate an entirely new technology into your staffing firm. It takes time to research, demo, invest, onboard, and become comfortable with any new technology. Integrating it into your daily processes so that your team can fully take advantage of the benefits can seem daunting. But it’s really a lot less daunting than you might think.
Here at Sense, we built our platform specifically for the staffing industry. It was designed and built specifically to work with your ATS so that you can start putting Sense to work more quickly and with less hassle.
With all that’s on the plates of your recruiters and sales team, you may fear that adding another tool to the arsenal will overwhelm your staff. On the contrary, investing in a platform like Sense actually frees the time of your staff to focus on more mission-critical tasks (the human element of staffing).
When you integrate Sense Engage and Messaging into your staffing firm, your sales and recruiting teams are able to create personalized communication workflows leveraging information from your ATS and other sources. It combines artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to send the right messages to the right people at the right times.
And when it’s time to veer off the automated path for 1:1 conversation, Sense Messaging seamlessly switches to a one-on-one conversation so your recruiters can get to work.
With built-in, robust analytics and reporting, texting candidates with Sense Messaging doesn’t mean sending messages into the abyss and hoping they work. Instead, you’ll get access to detailed analytics to help you determine what’s working and what’s not. It’ll empower you to make better, strategic decisions to grow your business.
Texting is a strategic tool leveraged by today’s most successful staffing firms. It’s SO much more than a trend or a “nice-to-have.”
The best way to understand how texting can integrate into your staffing operation is to talk to a member of our team and see for yourself. Contact us now to schedule a walkthrough. We’re here to help in any way, and to answer your questions.
