4 Ways to Use Reference Checking As A Business Development Tool

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations have had to completely change the way they run. This has meant that they have had to adopt new practices and adapt to a life where most employees are working from home. This ultimately means that many businesses have started to heavily rely on technology as a means to grow and maintain their business.

As the pandemic hit, over 140,000 businesses within the United States were marked temporarily closed in 2020. Now more than 97,966 businesses have permanently shut down, according to Yelps Local Economic Impact Report. 

Due to the hardships that many organizations have been facing because of the pandemic, as we enter into a (hopeful) post-pandemic world, it is more important than ever to develop good practice when it comes to your business development strategy.

When we refer to business development, we summarize it as “the ideas, initiatives, and activities that help make a business better.”

With the advances that we see so prominently happening within technology, especially since the beginning of the pandemic, we are more empowered than ever to build successful businesses. No matter the size of your business, implementing successful business development tools is essential in managing and maintaining your organization’s goals.  

But what are innovative business development tools? As an example we will look at a tool within the recruitment and HR industry. 

As businesses begin to grow again, we have started to see a major increase in employment. In February, Canada added 259,000 jobs and the unemployment rate went from 9.4% to 8.2% in just a few months.  

This means that as employment rates have begun to increase, the HR and recruitment industries have begun to thrive again.

With this influx in job vacancies, comes the need for quick and efficient hiring processes. As said before, many companies are starting to heavily rely on technology as a means to improve their overall business and to achieve their business goals. Thus, when it comes to recruitment and HR, it is crucial that these industries adopt automated solutions, such as  digital reference checking.

A tool like this will not only speed up your hiring processes and generate high performing candidates, but it can additionally work as a business development tool to improve multiple aspects within your organization.

Many small to medium sized recruitment agencies still depend on their recruiters to do both business development as well as make placements. So why not implement a tool that will drastically help with both.

1. Branding Opportunity

When implementing an automated reference checking solution, with the technological advances seen today, it is easier than ever to create customized templates that allow you to present your logo and brand message on all emails, forms and requests.

By customizing templates, you are able to market your brand to an array of audiences from candidates to references to potential leads.

This also gives you the opportunity to show the potential lead how thorough, efficient and professional you are as a company.

2. Increase Sales and Productivity

Each time a reference request is sent out, each form has personalized “opt-in” options to allow individuals to either request to be contacted about positions for themselves or if they are looking to hire, they can request to be contacted about potential candidates for their organization.

Additionally, this feature allows the opportunity to expand into new markets and industries, as each reference request is sent to a unique individual.

This inevitably increases internal sales activity. By displaying “opt-in” options, recruitment agencies are seeing an influx in client and candidate leads.

3. Generate Qualified Leads

When individuals choose an option within the “opt-in” feature, recruiters are gaining trusted and reliable leads. As someone who acted as a reference for a potential candidate, these individuals are most likely going to be dependable leads.

Potential client leads will also see your company as credible and will request to be contacted as a result of them looking for positions to fill because they want the level of screening to be as thorough as the person they are giving the reference for.

Although there is opportunity to expand into new industries, many candidates will use coworkers as references, thus, when contacting them as a potential lead, the recruiter may already have available positions for them.

This is why it is crucial to immediately follow up with new leads. Not only does this show a good first impression but it will also help your organization develop quickly and effectively.

4. Save Time and Cost

By implementing an automated tool such as digital reference checking, your organization is going to save money and time.

When recruiters are able to fill up their pipelines and gain qualified leads, this will allow them to spend more time on better recruiting initiatives. Instead of spending countless hours finding new candidates and ways to develop the business, in just a few clicks, recruiters will be able to find and contact new clients and candidates. 

Reference checking is a crucial part of the hiring process, however, by implementing an automated system like VITAY, businesses are able to get more value from the reference checking process.

Ultimately, by investing in automated tools, you will be getting a return on your investment and will be finding new and efficient ways to develop your business.

In a post-covid world, it is essential to find innovative ways to strategize your business development. This starts by implementing automated tools within your organization that will ultimately help your processes become efficient and effective. And in turn, will make your organization stand out and achieve its goals.

---