SmartBug On Tap

What Staffing Firms Get Wrong About CRM Strategy

Written by Courtney Fraas | Aug 28, 2025 8:31:34 PM

 

 

Is your CRM helping you drive placements—or just creating more admin work? In this episode of SmartBug on Tap, host Alexandra Whitmore (VP of Sales at SmartBug Media) sits down with Casey Peddicord (Senior Director of Channel Sales at SmartBug) to uncover the biggest mistakes staffing firms make with CRM strategy—and how to fix them.

From poor adoption and messy data to clunky handoffs between recruiters and sales, Casey shares why so many firms struggle to get real ROI from their systems—and what a healthy, revenue-driving CRM should actually look like.

📚 What You’ll Learn

  • The top pitfalls staffing firms face with CRM adoption and usage
  • How to spot the warning signs your CRM is costing you placements and revenue
  • What separates “using” a CRM from optimizing one
  • How HubSpot helps break down silos between sales, recruiters, and marketing
  • Practical steps leaders can take today to improve CRM performance
Whether you’re relying on a legacy staffing CRM, piecing together spreadsheets, or trying to integrate an ATS with your tech stack, this episode will help you rethink how CRM strategy should work for your business.

🔑 Key Highlights & Timestamps

[01:08] Why recruiters resist CRM adoption (and how leadership buy-in changes everything)
[02:32] Data overload: when CRMs become a chore instead of a growth engine
[03:55] Missed placements: spotting signs your CRM is quietly draining revenue
[06:25] Using vs. optimizing a CRM — why it’s the difference between record-keeping and revenue-driving
[12:20] What a healthy CRM system looks like for staffing firms today
[16:56] Breaking down silos: aligning sales, recruiters, and marketing inside your CRM
[22:04] How HubSpot automation turns handoffs into handshakes
[27:21] The role of AI in scaling recruiter productivity without losing the human touch
[30:04] A quick-win staffing metric you can improve this week
[32:03] The mindset shift: moving from “reporting tool” to “revenue tool”
[33:52] How SmartBug helps staffing firms customize and optimize HubSpot for growth

🔗 Want to Connect?

👉 Contact SmartBug: www.smartbugmedia.com/contact-us
👉 Contact Alexandra: awhitmore@smartbugmedia.com  
👉 Contact Casey: cpeddicord@smartbugmedia.com 

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