We all know how much the recruitment industry can chop and change with new regulations, trends and ‘must have’ products. Some recruitment software suppliers will do their very best to keep up with all these things in the form of informative content and product updates.
To stay at the top of your recruitment game, it is important that you keep up to date with your supplier otherwise how else are you going to make the most of their services?
There are four main reasons why you need to keep up to date with your supplier:
1. Stay in the loop with company news so you don’t miss out on important information like office closures or changes made to support hours.
2. Find out about system updates to ensure you always have the latest functionality to maximise efficiency and that your CRM is operating at maximum efficiency without any bugs.
3. Learn more about your industry through educational resources such as blog posts and whitepapers (if they have them).
4. Get training tips and improve your knowledge of the system so you can get the most out of your CRM.
Many suppliers offer a variety of channels you can subscribe to which make it super easy to stay up to date.
Account Manager
Your Account Manager/Executive/Client Relations Associate/Customer Success Representative (or whatever you want to call them) should always be your go to point of contact. They will be key to finding out general information and should notify you of any important news that will affect your account with them.
Newsletters
Suppliers will usually send important emails to key contacts within your business whenever necessary, but they may also distribute newsletters on a regular basis which contain a whole load of information including:
– New functionality or integrations
– Dates of new releases
– Offers or promotions
– Relevant and informative blog posts/whitepapers/podcasts/webinars
– Training tips and latest videos/articles/guides
Social Media
Some of the most easily accessible content you can find is on social media. It only takes a minute to follow/subscribe to your supplier’s channels and means you can easily spot important news and updates on your newsfeed or timeline. Obviously, they won’t post absolutely everything you need to know on there but any big news is likely to be shared.
Website
More often than not, websites are the first place to be updated with the latest news or product releases. I recommend bookmarking your supplier’s website(s) and getting into the habit of reading their blog posts or news page to ensure you’re up to date with everything going on.
Webinars
Some suppliers offer free online webinars which guide customers through their latest products, functionality and integrations. It can often be more engaging for people to see the software being used in this way and makes it easy for you to ask questions about specific features or areas of the system.
Okay so you’re all up to date with your supplier… But how can you pass this information onto the rest of your business? It’s rare that every single user of the system will be following your supplier for updates so you must ensure you inform them of any big news so everyone’s on the same page.
Sending out a monthly newsletter is one of the most efficient ways of informing your workforce of news, updates and announcements as well as expanding their knowledge by offering them tips on how to use the system. If your CRM offers a community area where all users have view of a noticeboard then that is also an ideal place to announce anything important.
It goes without saying that keeping up to date with your supplier is not only crucial to the operations of your business but also to maintaining a healthy relationship with them. It doesn’t take a lot of effort on your side to subscribe to their newsletter or follow them on LinkedIn but ensures you can really get the most out of the CRM and increase ROI.
