Astute Technical's Journey to GDPR Compliance and Enhanced Engagement with Herefish by Bullhorn

Astute Technical is a UK-based technical recruiting firm that specializes in the power, nuclear, renewables, waste, and water sectors. Founded in 2006, the firm has quickly grown to a team of over 40, earning a reputation for its customer-centric service. Astute's clients and candidates are key to its operations, and the firm is committed to maintaining strong, active relationships with them. The firm's goal is to ensure that its ATS is full of legitimate, quality jobseekers, and its business systems are full of loyal, happy clients.

Astute Technical, a UK-based recruiting firm, was grappling with two significant challenges. The first was the need to become GDPR compliant following the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation in May 2018. This legislation, aimed at protecting the privacy of EU citizens' personal data, hit the recruiting industry particularly hard. Astute had to clean up and secure its data quickly to avoid compliance issues and potential litigation. The second challenge was a lack of structured engagement with candidates and customers. The company noticed that many of its clients and candidates were slipping through the net, with some not having been contacted for a long time. Astute wanted a system or process that ensured every client and candidate was engaged with the organization, and that their Applicant Tracking System (ATS) was full of legitimate, quality jobseekers, and their business systems full of loyal, happy clients.

Astute found a solution to both challenges in Herefish by Bullhorn, an automation tool. To become GDPR-compliant, Astute had to get individuals' authority to keep their details. Using Herefish, Astute reached out to every client and candidate to get their permission to keep their details on the system. They then built actions into the system that read the response of the client or candidate, quickly identifying those who needed to be removed and updating the status of those who had given permission to be kept. Astute also used Herefish to improve client and candidate engagement. If a client hadn't been contacted for 60 days, Herefish would change the client's status to 'lapsed' and send a notification to the account manager. If no contact was made after two more weeks, the client would be entered into an automated mailing campaign. Similar strategies were used for candidates, with Herefish recognizing the means by which someone was introduced to the business and sending a bespoke email accordingly.

• The use of Herefish by Bullhorn has had a transformative effect on Astute's operations. The automation tool has not only helped the firm achieve GDPR compliance but also significantly improved its engagement with clients and candidates. The automated processes have freed Astute's recruiters from laborious tasks, allowing them to focus on activities that add real value to the organization. The firm has been able to reconnect with over 2000 clients, and its introductory email to candidates has seen impressive engagement numbers. The success of this automation strategy has put Astute on track to achieve its five-year plan of doubling its headcount and quadrupling its revenue.

• Compliance with GDPR was achieved almost entirely through automated processes, saving the cost of a full-time salary.

• Reconnected with over 2000 clients through automated engagement.

• Sent 4000 emails to candidates from job boards with a 70% open rate, generating 1448 page views.