Recruitment
Agencies and in-house talent teams balancing employer mandates with high-volume candidate and client enquiries.
Recruitment inboxes mix two audiences with opposite needs: employers want speed and brief clarity; candidates want acknowledgement and next steps. Duplicate applications, incomplete client briefs, and ageing customer records are operational problems, not branding problems. Dual-path routing and structured data capture at first touch reduce consultant firefighting.
Common lead sources
- Employer brief forms and new vacancy emails
- Candidate applications via job boards, LinkedIn, and careers pages
- Inbound calls from clients and candidates to shared lines
- Database reactivation: past candidates, placed contacts, lapsed clients
- Referrals from hiring managers and placed candidates
- RFP and PSL onboarding enquiries from larger employers
Common operational problems
- Client briefs reach consultants missing salary, location, or hiring manager sign-off.
- Candidates wait days for acknowledgement after applying.
- The same applicant applies to multiple roles, creating duplicate records.
- Consultants chase clients inconsistently on open roles.
- customer records ages: skills, availability, and consent go stale.
- CV formatting and compliance checks delay first human contact.
Typical qualification criteria
- Enquiry type: employer mandate versus candidate application
- Role title, level, location, and contract type (perm, contract, temp)
- Salary band, day rate, or budget authority for client briefs
- Skills, clearance, right-to-work, and notice period for candidates
- Urgency and exclusivity on client roles
- Preferred contact method and interview availability
Recommended workflows
- Dual-path forms: client brief completeness check versus candidate screening questions
- Instant application acknowledgement with realistic next-step timing
- Duplicate detection across job boards and direct applications
- Client brief scoring before consultant assignment
- Candidate reactivation by skill cluster when matching roles open
- Client response-time reminders on unfeedbacked submissions and open roles
Communication channels
- Email for briefs, CVs, and submission updates
- Phone for client relationship calls and offer stages
- SMS for interview confirmations and quick candidate pings (with consent)
- LinkedIn where that is already your sourcing channel (manual, not bulk automation)
Reporting focus
- Application acknowledgement time and candidate drop-off
- Brief completeness score before consultant involvement
- Submittal to interview and interview to offer ratios by consultant
- Source quality: hires per hundred applications by board
- Client response-time targets on feedback and role updates
Recruitment communications must comply with employment law and data protection requirements in your operating regions. Right-to-work, equality, and consent rules apply to all outreach. We do not provide legal HR advice.
Relevant services
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