1. Eliminate Redundancies And Mitigate Outreach Errors

Some search firms use external email marketing platforms and tools like HubSpot or MailChimp to send marketing emails or automate responses to candidates. The problem most search firms face with this is they are then working off of two independent records where "Do Not Contact" applies. In your email marketing platform if a candidate or client unsubscribes, this preference is not updated in the search software, and vice versa, if a teammate flags a candidate as "Do Not Contact" in your search software this information is not passed back to MailChimp or HubSpot.

The best way to solve for this is to connect both your email marketing platform with your search software where the email marketing platform sends data back to your search software for anyone who unsubscribes and updates the "Do Not Contact (DNC)" flag as the overriding preference. 

2.  Capture Knowledge Regardless of Where The Work Gets Done

There can be any number of reasons why executive recruiters and researchers seek out third-party apps to supplement their search process. Personal preference is a large part of this - for example if a search consultant used a different tool at a previous search firm and prefers that software over the option your firm offers, they will likely continue using that other tool if given the choice. Like we mentioned earlier, this creates siloes. Most recruiters are hesitant to adopt or try new search software as they are comfortable with what seems most familiar to them.

To solve for this, look at the function or issue your recruiter solves for with this external tool and figure out where that work and activity can be captured and tracked in your executive search software. For example if a recruiter prefers to use Trello or Monday.com for search process or task management, identify and map the proper places where edits made in these platforms can be captured and updated in your search software. Even when activity and work is being done in separate platforms, you can still maintain a single source of truth and knowledge across your firm by connecting it with your executive search software.

3. Align External Vendors For A Richer Search Closeout Process

Most search firms leverage some sort of external accountant, marketing firm, etc., to support the search closeout process. In many cases there are several tools search firms use to communicate with all of these external partners simultaneously, such as Microsoft Teams or Slack.

In order to keep everyone informed and updated when a search is closed, connect Slack or Microsoft Teams. Trigger your executive search software to post to a specific slack #channel that all stakeholders can see when a search is closed. This allows you to signal that an invoice is ready to be prepared and sent, a marketing placement announcement is ready to be designed, accounts are ready to be reconciled, compensation reported, and more. 

4. Automatically Trigger More Intentional Outreach To Candidates

The candidate experience is becoming more critical for search firms, and in executive search, reputation is everything. Even if a Candidate does not make it through the qualification stage for a search, they expect a high-touch experience and respect. It's these cases where a simple disqualification email can easily offend a candidate, who will post their frustrations on a public forum like social media to share their "negative experiences."

In order to prevent that, create an opportunity to deliver this news more personally in your outreach. For example if a Candidate's status is set to "Disqualified," trigger an email to send to that candidate from your Gmail or Outlook inbox with a calendar link for them to choose a time to meet with you so that you can deliver this news personally to them over Zoom or the phone. That way you can prevent the "Yelpification" of your search firm and preserve a positive reputation with the candidate. 

5. Better Insights For Data Management

Data management is critical to your search process and brings value to every search you work on. Having insight into your existing talent pools and candidates is important, however knowing and easily seeing any fresh or newly added candidates can transform the value and talent you deliver to a search and a client. 

When a new Candidate is added by a team member or when a new candidate submits their credentials, trigger a notification to post to a specific slack #channel to notify you and the team of this newly added candidate. More immediate insight and awareness of new talent can enhance your sourcing efforts, transform data management practices and even create more opportunity for your firm. 

Below are a list of the top functions and ways we've seen search firms integrate with Clockwork using Zapier:

1. Calendar and Scheduling
2. Marketing Automation and Outreach 
3. Video Calls and Team Communication
4. Accounting and Finance
5. Customer Relationship Management

If some of these third-party apps have become an essential part of your team and process, look at where and how it makes the most sense to connect, publish, edit, create, or visualize data across both platforms. This way everyone on your team is working with the most up-to-date information in one central place. The more centralized your search and people data is as a single source of truth, the more powerful and accurate your data becomes, and the more value you bring to clients and searches.