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Why generic CRMs don’t work for recruitment (and what to use instead)

In the early days of launching a recruitment agency, it’s not uncommon to use what’s readily available. A spreadsheet here, a Gmail inbox there — and eventually, a customer relationship management (CRM) system designed for general sales teams, like Salesforce or HubSpot. 

 

While these generic CRMs may work as a stopgap solution, they’re not built for the speed, complexity, and candidate-centric workflows of modern recruitment. And as your agency grows, their limitations become not just inconvenient — they become expensive. 

5 mins

Posted 24/06/2025

Why generic CRMs don’t work for recruitment

This blog breaks down why generic CRMs fall short for recruitment agencies, especially in Australia and New Zealand, and what you should consider instead: a recruitment-specific, all-in-one CRM/ATS designed to help you place faster, automate more, and scale with confidence. 

What Is a Generic CRM? 

Generic CRMs, such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, and Pipedrive, are designed for B2B sales teams. Their core functionality revolves around managing leads, tracking sales opportunities, forecasting pipeline, and automating communication. 

They work well for: 

  • SaaS companies managing sales cycles
  • Marketing teams to capture and nurture leads
  • B2B businesses tracking client pipelines 

 

But recruitment is not a traditional sales cycle. 

Recruiters manage candidates and clients simultaneously, juggle high-volume placements, and need deep workflow automation — from sourcing and shortlisting to compliance and onboarding. That’s where generic CRMs start to crack. 

Why Generic CRMs Don’t Fit Recruitment Agencies 

Here’s where generic platforms fall short for agencies running fast-paced recruitment operations: 

1. Lack of Candidate-Centric Workflows 

Generic CRMs are built around opportunities and deals, not people. They don’t natively support: 

  • Candidate records with resume parsing
  • Skills-based tagging and filtering
  • Placement tracking
  • Shortlisting candidates to jobs
  • Talent pools and availability
  • Temp/contract workflows 

 

In recruitment, candidates are more than just “contacts.” You need visibility into their employment history, availability, skills, compliance status, and live job applications — not just email logs and notes. 

 

In contrast, recruitment CRMs come with built-in candidate profiles, job pipelines, and two-way integrations with job boards like SEEK and Indeed (especially important in the ANZ market). 

2. No Integrated ATS (Applicant Tracking System) 

A significant shortcoming of generic CRMs is the lack of an integrated applicant tracking system (ATS). This means you can’t: 

  • Post jobs directly to job boards
  • Capture and parse applications automatically
  • Progress candidates through pipeline stages
  • Schedule interviews with automated templates
  • Track time-to-fill or drop-off points in recruitment

 

To replicate these workflows, you’ll need a separate ATS and incur the associated costs. Even then, integration can be clunky or limited. 

 

With a recruitment CRM, ATS functionality is natively designed to move candidates through hiring pipelines in real-time, with automation that keeps everything moving. 

 

3. Limited Automation for Recruitment Tasks 

Sales-focused CRMs may offer email drip campaigns or pipeline automation, but they rarely support: 

  • Automatic CV formatting or submissions
  • Interview coordination with clients and candidates
  • Post-placement workflows (e.g. timesheets, onboarding)
  • Compliance reminders for VEVO, WWCC, or industry licences (especially relevant in AU/NZ)
  • Automated candidate communications (e.g. follow-ups, availability checks) 

 

In recruitment, speed is revenue. Without tailored automation, your consultants are wasting time on tasks that should run in the background. 

 

Modern recruitment CRMs automate repetitive tasks, allowing recruiters to focus on high-value conversations and enhancing the candidate experience. 

4. Poor Visibility into Candidate + Client Activity 

Generic CRMs typically offer a view into account-level sales activity, but that’s not enough in recruitment, where you need to track: 

  • Job activity by client
  • Candidate application history
  • Interview feedback from both sides
  • Temp placement durations and extension history
  • Live availability of candidates for shift-based work 

 

If you want to answer questions like “Which candidates are active for this job?” or “What’s our fill rate by client or recruiter?”, generic CRMs can’t deliver. 

 

Recruitment CRMs offer purpose-built dashboards and reports that track placements, recruiter productivity, candidate engagement, and fill rates. 

5. Integration Gaps with Recruitment Tools 

Generic CRMs aren’t built to integrate seamlessly with recruitment technology.

This means manual work or third-party integrations to connect with: 

  • SEEK, Indeed, and Jora (AU/NZ job boards)
  • Timesheet or payroll tools (e.g. Astute, Access FastTrack360, Oncore) 
  • Background checks or onboarding platforms
  • Two-way SMS and VOIP systems used by recruiters
  • LinkedIn Recruiter or social sourcing tools 

Recruitment CRMs in the ANZ market are pre-integrated with the local ecosystem, making implementation faster and smoother, without needing custom builds or middleware. 

6. Scalability Issues for Growing Agencies 

As your team grows, you need more than a digital Rolodex. You need: 

  • Role-based permissions and workflows
  • Activity tracking for compliance/audits
  • Scalable architecture to handle tens of thousands of candidates
  • Multibrand, multi-office setup
  • Data sovereignty and local hosting options for AU/NZ compliance 

Generic CRMs may require significant development to add these layers or may not support them. 

Recruitment CRMs are designed to scale from 5 to 500 recruiters, with configurability, security, and compliance built-in. 

The Risks of Sticking with a Generic CRM 

While switching CRMs can feel daunting, staying with the wrong system carries real business risks: 

  • Poor data quality from inconsistent workflows
  • Missed placements due to slow candidate engagement
  • Inaccurate reporting affecting strategic decisions
  • Compliance exposure due to poor documentation or audit trails
  • Low consultant productivity from manual admin
  • Reduced user adoption and resistance to process adherence 

In a highly competitive and compliance-sensitive recruitment landscape, such as Australia and New Zealand, these risks can result in the loss of clients, revenue, and team morale. 

What to Use Instead: Purpose-Built Recruitment CRM/ATS 

So, what’s the alternative? 

A recruitment-specific, all-in-one CRM and ATS platform — built from the ground up to support your workflows, teams, and compliance requirements. 

Here’s what a proper recruitment CRM offers: 

Feature 

Generic CRM 

Recruitment CRM 

Resume parsing 

❌ 

✅ Built-in 

Candidate pipelines 

❌ 

✅ Customisable 

ATS functionality 

❌ 

✅ Native 

Job board posting 

❌ 

✅ Integrated 

Interview scheduling 

⚠️ Manual 

✅ Automated 

Timesheets/compliance 

❌ 

✅ AU/NZ-ready 

Analytics for placements, time-to-fill 

❌ 

✅ Real-time 

Two-way SMS/VOIP 

⚠️ Limited 

✅ Embedded 

Talent pooling & shortlisting 

❌ 

✅ Tagging & search 

Automation for CVs, follow-ups, alerts 

❌ 

✅ Workflow-driven 

How to Choose the Right Recruitment CRM (Especially for ANZ) 

When evaluating recruitment software, keep the following in mind: 

Localisation & Compliance 

Look for platforms with: 

  • Data hosting in Australia
  • Support for VEVO, WWCC, and labour hire requirements
  • Knowledge of local award structures (temp/contract) 

All-in-One Functionality 

Your CRM should replace, rather than add to, your existing tech stack. Look for built-in: 

  • ATS
  • Candidate engagement tools
  • Communication channels (email, SMS, VOIP)
  • Analytics and dashboards
  • Timesheets or integrations with payroll 

Ease of Use and Scalability 

Choose a platform that: 

  • Is intuitive for recruiters
  • Offers no-code configuration
  • Scales with your team and verticals
  • Has local support for onboarding and training 

Real-World Example: Why Agencies Are Switching 

Agencies across Australia and New Zealand are already transitioning from generic customer relationship management (CRM) systems, such as Salesforce, to purpose-built platforms like Vincere. 

 

Why? 

 

Because they’re realising the cost of not switching is higher than the cost of change. 

With Vincere, for example, agencies can: 

  • Automate CV sends, follow-ups, and post-placement workflows
  • View real-time recruiter performance
  • Manage perm, temp, and contract roles in one place
  • Ensure compliance with labour hire and privacy regulations
  • Get live dashboards for pipeline, revenue, and fill rate tracking 

 

All without needing four to five separate tools and plugins. 

Final Thoughts: Recruitment Needs Recruitment Software 

Generic CRMs are great tools — but not for recruitment. 

 

The reality is, recruitment is a unique blend of sales, relationship management, compliance, and operational workflow — and it deserves tools built specifically for that purpose. 

 

If your current system: 

  • Feels clunky
  • Relies on too many add-ons
  • Lacks automation
  • Can’t handle temp/contract workflows
  • Doesn’t integrate with your key tools 

 

…it’s time to explore a better fit. 

 

Want to See What a True Recruitment CRM Looks Like? 

See how all-in-one platforms like Vincere help agencies across ANZ place faster, automate admin, and scale with confidence.

 

👉 Explore Recruitment CRM Software 

 

Discover how much time and revenue your team could save by switching to a platform built for recruiters, not sales reps. 

 

👉 Try the ROI Calculator