I am CRM guy, not a recruiting guy, who is helping a friend who runs a small contingency recruiting firm figure out their CRM situation. Would love some real-world input.
They currently use a combination of an ATS for candidate tracking and a cobbled-together Airtable setup for managing client relationships. It kind of works, but the two sides don't talk to each other, and the Airtable piece is held together by one person who built it and is the only one who really understands it.
From the outside looking in where recruiting is concerned, the thing that strikes me as a fundamental problem is that recruiting is inherently a two-sided relationship business. You're managing candidates on one side and hiring managers / clients on the other, and looking to make a connection / placement. Most CRM tools seem built for one side or the other, not both.
A few specific questions for people who've been around this:
- Is the "ATS for candidates + something else for clients" combo normal, or is there a better way?
- Has anyone found a tool that actually models both sides of the relationship natively?
- What happens to your client relationship data when the person who built your Airtable setup leaves?
Appreciate any war stories or recommendations.