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On July 9th, SourceFlow hosted a dynamic Lunch & Learn event in Manchester, welcoming recruitment marketers, agency executives, and operations leaders from across the UK. The focus? How recruitment marketing must evolve - and take a leadership role - in driving sustainable growth. While the setting was informal, the insights were anything but. Here are the key lessons shared by the event’s expert speakers: 1. Kristie Perrotte – Think Like a CMO, Act Like a Founder Kristie Perrotte is the Founder and Chief Thriver at Thrive Recruitment Marketing, a consultancy helping marketing leaders in the staffing sector deliver real business value. In her opening session, Kristie emphasized that modern marketers must speak the language of the C-suite. It’s not about likes or brand awareness -it’s about revenue. Marketing, she argued, should be seen as a strategic growth function, not a support role. > “They don’t want to know how beautiful the engine is - they want to know if it’s going to get them to their goal, faster.” Actionable takeaway: Build and update your marketing plan monthly. Use it as a tool to align leadership and push back on distractions. --- 2. Simon Brown – Marketing Runs the Table. Sales Plays on It. Simon Brown, Founder of Richard Knows Best, challenged attendees to rethink their approach to business development. His message was clear: traditional BD tactics are outdated, and marketing must lead the go-to-market strategy. He also highlighted how modern **recruitment marketing** is increasingly powered by tech - and marketers need to own that stack. > “If recruitment is a marketing job, then marketing is now a tech job. If you don’t understand the tools, you can’t drive the growth.” **Actionable takeaway**: Empower marketing to lead CRM implementation, tool selection, and outreach cadence. This ensures alignment across marketing and sales. --- 3. Chelcie Harry & Janine Owen – 10 Questions Recruitment Marketers Need to Answer Chelcie Harry, Group Marketing Director at Levin, and Janine Owen, Founder of JO&Co., tackled some of the toughest questions facing recruitment marketers today - from how to prove ROI, to how to earn a voice at the leadership table. The core message? Staffing marketing must be rooted in data and revenue impact. > Chelcie: “The second you move from brand metrics to revenue, you change the conversation.” > Janine: “Don’t just report numbers - tell a story. Show where you’re going and what it means for the business.” Actionable takeaway: If your CRM data is unreliable, don’t wait - start with manual tracking and simple spreadsheets. Focus on proving commercial value fast. --- Final Thought: Marketing Must Drive The Growth Agenda The big takeaway from our Manchester event? Marketing is no longer just about brand - it’s a core driver of business performance. In today’s highly competitive talent market, marketing leaders must take ownership of revenue alignment, digital strategy, and operational tech. Whether you’re improving **recruitment website design**, enhancing lead generation, or building smarter outreach campaigns, the future belongs to recruitment marketers who combine strategic thinking, creativity, and commercial accountability. Want to dive deeper into the strategies discussed at the event? You can check out the slides from the event by clicking right here.   Author: Will Astbury, Global Head of Marketing, SourceFlowI have worked in staffing marketing for nearly a decade and now lead strategic growth and communications at SourceFlow.  SourceFlow do WAY more than industry-leading recruitment website design. We build recruitment websites and marketing tools that amplify ROI and provide transparency with state-of-the-art data insights.

Will Astbury

Earlier this month, SourceFlow officially launched its latest product, SourceFlow Engagement, during a live webinar hosted by our Global Head of Marketing, Will Astbury. The session brought together staffing operations and marketing leaders to explore how automation, AI, and strategic insight can reshape retention and performance. Alongside Will, the webinar featured a platform demonstration from Helen Taylor, Head of Customer Experience at SourceFlow, and a customer case study from Rebecca Lauder-Fletcher, Head of Marketing & Ops at Source Group International (SGI). Their discussion offered valuable insight into how SourceFlow Engagement functions as effective customer retention management software for staffing companies. Closing The Feedback Loop Recruitment and staffing is full of moving parts: consultants, clients, contractors, and candidates all create touchpoints every day. Historically, gathering feedback across these groups has been inconsistent at best. Many agencies still rely on basic surveys, manual forms, or anecdotal insights passed up through consultants. SourceFlow Engagement changes this by automating the process at scale. Whether you’re sending out a customer satisfaction survey to clients, or an employee engagement survey internally, the platform helps you capture feedback at the right time, with minimal effort. As Helen Taylor explained, "We built SourceFlow Engagement to close the feedback loop across the recruitment journey. It means no more guesswork and no more delayed reporting—just consistent, real-time insight." Reporting That Works for You One of the standout moments from the webinar came from Rebecca Lauder-Fletcher, who shared how SGI is using the platform to inform board-level decisions. "It’s a game changer," Rebecca said of the AI-generated summaries. "It was very manual before—going through each individual response, looking at patterns, then trying to create a cohesive summary. Now, we receive AI summaries every month just before our board updates, and it’s really easy to digest from both an operations and a sales perspective." Will Astbury reinforced this point: "We’re helping agencies move from scattered, reactive feedback to a strategic, ongoing view of experience that supports growth and retention." From Insight to Action Beyond just making feedback collection easier, SourceFlow Engagement gives staffing leaders the tools to take action: * Spot at-risk clients early and intervene before relationships are lost * Track consultant engagement over time, by team, location, or tenure * Surface real feedback from candidates that’s more than just a number As Rebecca noted, "We’re no longer flying blind. Now we can see exactly what’s happening and act on it—quickly and with confidence." Purpose-Built For Staffing & Recruitment Unlike general-purpose tools, SourceFlow Engagement is designed specifically for recruitment workflows. It integrates directly with Bullhorn and the SourceFlow dashboard, allowing agencies to embed surveys into existing journeys and trigger them at key milestones. You can build your own employee engagement survey questions, personalize messaging for different brands, and benchmark results over time or against industry standards. Watch The Webinar Replay If you missed the launch event, you can still catch the full session on demand. You’ll see a full demo of the platform and hear directly from SGI on the results they’re seeing after rollout. And if you’re ready to see how SourceFlow Engagement could support your business, book a demo with our team today. 🔗 Get a demo Author: Will Astbury, Global Head of Marketing, SourceFlowI have worked in staffing and recruitment marketing for nearly a decade and now lead strategic growth and communications at SourceFlow. As someone who’s led marketing in the recruitment space, I know how difficult it is to get real-time feedback at scale. That’s exactly what we set out to fix with SourceFlow Engagement. SourceFlow do WAY more than industry-leading recruitment website design. We build career portals and recruitment websites and marketing tools that amplify ROI and provide transparency with state-of-the-art data insights.

Will Astbury

Recruitment leaders in the U.S. are under pressure to innovate—but as AI and recruitment trends gain momentum, it’s easy to be distracted by hype. When every vendor claims to offer “smart” tools or “AI-driven” features, how can you tell what’s genuinely useful? On a recent episode of From The Source, Christian Coley, VP of Sales (USA) at SourceFlow, spoke with Zach Sines, TA Technology Manager at North Highland, about evaluating recruitment technology. Their conversation offered real-world insights for staffing leaders looking to modernize their tech stack, especially when it comes to recruitment AI and building smarter career portal experiences. Here’s what U.S.-based staffing firms need to consider before saying yes to the next tool promising transformation. 1. Start With a Business Problem—Not a Product Demo According to Zach, too many staffing firms buy tech based on surface-level features or flashy interfaces. His advice? “Don’t get distracted by blinking lights. What return is this tool going to give my team?” Before evaluating a recruitment AI platform, identify the exact problem you're solving. Whether it's automating manual tasks, improving candidate communication, or making your career portal more effective, the solution should align to a real-world business need. 2. Recruitment AI Should Empower—Not Replace—Recruiters One of the most grounded insights from Zach was this: “You can't AI-generate a relationship.” In other words, AI should support human connection—not replace it. While AI is powerful in automating repetitive work (like building Boolean strings, summarizing CVs, or creating job descriptions), it’s not meant to handle the high-emotion, high-stakes nature of candidate conversations. That’s especially true when someone is navigating a career change through your career portal. Trust and human interaction still matter—and recruitment AI can support those interactions, but not own them. 3. Learn the Tech (So You Can See Through the Pitch) Zach stressed the importance of technical literacy: “You need to understand how AI works—so you can ask the right questions.” Many vendors label basic workflows or decision trees as “AI,” even though they’re rule-based and offer no real intelligence. Staffing leaders should invest time in understanding what large language models (LLMs), machine learning, and natural language processing (NLP) actually do—so they can avoid buying tools that sound smart but offer little ROI. 4. Your Career Portal Matters More Than You Think It’s not just back-office tools that deserve an AI upgrade. Your career portal is often a candidate’s first interaction with your brand. Using recruitment AI to personalize content, guide the job-seeker journey, and simplify application steps can directly impact conversion rates. Zach emphasized that every tool in your stack—including your career portal—needs to add value. If it’s just there for show, it’s costing you more than it's worth. 5. Think About Scalability and Partnership Too often, staffing firms evaluate tools based on what they do on day one—but Zach encourages thinking long-term. “If I’m paying for this tool today, what will it look like five years from now?” Can the product grow with you? Can it evolve to support new divisions or client needs? For example, North Highland partnered with SourceFlow to enhance their career portal with referral tracking. That wasn’t part of the original roadmap, but it was built in response to a real business need. That level of collaboration is what separates a vendor from a technology partner. 6. Don’t Overlook the Human Touch in AI and Recruitment In a world obsessed with automation, Zach’s core message is refreshing: recruitment is still a people business. Recruitment AI should reduce friction, streamline admin, and enhance outreach—but not eliminate the core human experience that makes recruitment effective. In short: AI should make humans better, not replace them. Conclusion: Tech Should Solve Problems—Not Create Them If you're evaluating AI-powered tools, look past the marketing and focus on: Real business problems being solved How well the tool integrates into your career portal Whether it empowers your recruiters, not replaces them If the vendor is a partner, not just a provider   If you would like the full discussion between Christian and Zach, you can watch it here 👇   --- SourceFlow do WAY more than industry-leading recruitment website design. We build recruitment websites and marketing tools that amplify ROI and provide transparency with state-of-the-art data insights.

SourceFlow

Webinars, Expert Insights

The ideas shared below come from a live presentation by Will Astbury, Global Head of Marketing at SourceFlow. He delivered these insights at a March 2025 event hosted by recruitment marketing agency RecBound, helping recruitment leaders understand how to turn their websites into lead-generating assets.   Recruitment agencies across the US are investing thousands into their websites—but many still hear the same feedback: "We spent $20K last year and get nothing from it." That’s not just anecdotal. 70% of recruitment websites fail basic SEO benchmarks and the average B2B conversion rate is just 2.35%. Meanwhile, top-performing sites exceed 10%. At SourceFlow, we’ve built over 150 recruitment websites and helped agencies like Maxwell Bond boost engagement by 683%. Here are three core actions that will help your website generate more leads and better results. 1. Improve Website Performance and Accessibility Google’s March 2025 update emphasized performance, mobile usability, and accessibility more than ever: Page speed is critical. Sites must load in under 2.5 seconds. 53% of mobile users abandon pages that take more than 3 seconds to load. Simple improvements include: Resizing images Switching to modern formats (WebP, AVIF) Reducing on-page clutter Use structured data in job posts to boost visibility on Google for Jobs. This can lead to a 30% increase in organic traffic. Accessibility is a must. Over 69% of disabled users leave inaccessible websites. Companies with accessible sites see, on average, a 30% revenue uplift. 👉 Download our Accessibility Checklist to improve your website’s compliance. 2. Focus on Content That Aligns with Google’s Priorities The March 2025 update changed the rules: Lower emphasis on backlinks Reduced visibility for low-quality AI content Preference for authentic, useful, expert-driven content Follow the E-A-T principle (Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) and regularly publish SEO-optimized content. That includes: Salary guides Market insights Interview tips or hiring trends Google rewards consistency and authority. Use AI to assist, but always review, personalize, and optimize your content for your audience. 3. Use Campaigns—Not Just Pages Your website shouldn’t be static. Run campaigns through it. A proven example? Salary reports. Drive downloads via email and social Collect new contacts via gated landing pages Reuse the content at events, in pitches, and in sales follow-up Promote over 3–6 months: Start with 4–8 weeks of data collection Involve influencers or partners to add reach Use automation to follow up with leads quickly and consistently Integrate your forms with your CRM or ATS. Track all leads, assign them to consultants, and use automated workflows to nurture them. Final Tip: 3 Actions You Can Take Today Run a Google PageSpeed test and implement at least one fix Test your site for accessibility using ReciteMe Add alt text to all images using your SEO keywords 👉 Need help building or optimizing your site? Contact SourceFlow or download our free Recruitment Website Playbook.SourceFlow do WAY more than industry-leading recruitment website design. We build recruitment websites and marketing tools that amplify ROI and provide transparency with state-of-the-art data insights.

SourceFlow

Web design, Events, Expert Insights

Recruitment is evolving faster than ever, and trust, authenticity, and efficiency have become central to hiring success. In the latest episode of From the Source: Expert Insight, SourceFlow’s Christian Coley sat down with Vinda Souza, CMO at RefAssured, to explore the changing landscape of recruitment marketing, automation, and candidate vetting. Here are the key takeaways from their discussion: 1. Trust is the Biggest Challenge in Hiring Today Recruitment marketing isn’t just about attracting candidates—it’s about building trust between agencies, employers, and talent. Many businesses struggle with candidate credibility, reference accuracy, and employer reputation. Why this matters:🔹 Employers are more cautious than ever, and trust is a key differentiator in competitive hiring markets.🔹 Recruitment agencies need to showcase credibility to win over both clients and candidates.🔹 Candidates increasingly seek transparency about company culture and hiring processes. 2. AI & Automation Are Transforming Recruitment Marketing Technology is reshaping how recruiters assess, engage, and vet talent. AI-powered tools like automated reference checking are making hiring faster, more reliable, and less biased. Key benefits of automation in recruitment marketing:✅ Speeds up the hiring process and improves efficiency.✅ Reduces human bias in candidate assessment.✅ Helps recruiters focus on relationship-building instead of admin work. "Recruiters should be spending more time advising and engaging with talent, not chasing references manually." – Vinda Souza 3. Traditional Reference Checks Are Outdated & Broken Many agencies still rely on slow, inconsistent, and unreliable reference-checking processes. Vinda highlighted how RefAssured is changing the game with automated reference verification, ensuring faster, more trustworthy hiring decisions. Why traditional reference checks don’t work anymore:🔹 They are time-consuming and slow down hiring.🔹 Hiring managers often receive inconsistent feedback.🔹 Candidates can easily manipulate the process. 💡 The Fix? Automated reference checks that verify credibility at scale—without sacrificing accuracy. 4. Recruitment Agencies Must Differentiate Their Brand With candidate-driven markets, standing out requires more than just job postings. Employer branding, reputation management, and seamless candidate experiences are now essential. How to strengthen your recruitment brand:✅ Use data-driven insights to personalize candidate outreach.✅ Build a strong online reputation through testimonials and transparent hiring processes.✅ Automate back-end hiring tasks to focus on engagement, not admin. 5. The Future of Recruitment: Faster, Smarter, & More Human While AI and automation are transforming recruitment marketing, human connection is still key. The best agencies will blend tech-driven efficiency with personalized engagement. 📌 What’s next for recruitment marketing?🚀 AI-powered hiring decisions that improve candidate quality.🚀 More automation in reference-checking and compliance.🚀 Stronger focus on trust & credibility in employer branding. Check out the full discussion between Vinda and Christian on YouTube.     SourceFlow do WAY more than industry-leading recruitment website design. We build recruitment websites and marketing tools that amplify ROI and provide transparency with state-of-the-art data insights.

SourceFlow

Webinars, Expert Insights