What is Campus Event Management Software and is it Worth the Investment?

If only campus events could be just a little bit easier…

We all know the value of these events, and so do your recruiters, but we also know how common it is to burn out, especially during campus recruitment event season that can take in dozens of schools during a relatively short period of time.

Of course accomplishing anything worthwhile usually requires some sweat and tears, but it would be great if there was a way to make things just a little bit less stressful and hectic.

Campus Event Management Software claims to do exactly that, but is it worth the time and expense required to slide this into your campus season strategy? 

In this article we’re going to answer the following questions:

• What is Campus Event Management Software?
• What are the benefits of Campus Event Management Software?
• How does Campus Event Management Software give you a competitive advantage?
• How can Campus Event Management Software improve your data analysis?
• How will Campus Event Management Software save you time and energy?
• How do you identify the right Campus Event Management Software for your business?

What is Campus Event Management Software (CEMS)?

CEMS is a recruitment software that manages and automates many elements of campus recruitment strategy and administration. 

A third-party CEMS will usually attach to your existing ATS Software, or your recruitment software may have a built-in module specifically for this purpose.

What are the benefits of Campus Event Management Software?

Recording information digitally, aside from making your event run more smoothly for all concerned, makes gathering data faster and easier.

The automation element is especially pertinent when it comes to allowing students to complete applications via virtual recruiting, preferably directly on their smartphone. This typically results in more applications being submitted, but also allows the applications to be instantly collated and screened automatically so you don’t have to do the heavy lifting.  

Increased applications can provide higher volumes of valuable data, this can be analyzed to support and improve your future campus recruitment strategy. For example, not only applicant demographics but their socio-economic situation can be extracted and measured, along with their movement through your funnel.

Ultimately, as well as enabling you to improve your strategy, this allows you to calculate the return on investment for each school you attend, individually, as well as the campaign as a whole. This allows you to defend your campus recruitment event strategy and argue for more resources where positive results manifest.

How does Campus Event Management Software give you a competitive advantage?

Most legacy systems only gather data from applications – whether entered digitally or manually – whereas modern CEMS allow for the gathering of data from the very first time a student attends one of your events.

This allows you to identify the most talented students, potentially, years in advance, which is a critical opportunity to recruit the brightest minds well before your competitors even know they exist.

Imagine, for instance, recording the attendance of a freshman when they attend your event and being able to immediately tag them as “one to watch.” This allows your recruiters to build a relationship with that individual, checking in with them regularly, inviting them to further events, and arranging “coffee chats,” right up until the moment when they’re ready to submit a formal application.

How can Campus Event Management Software improve your data analysis?

By collecting data earlier in the process, CEMS allows you to broaden your comprehension of the talent you’re attracting, in terms of demographics and academic status. This, in turn, allows you to better understand why your workforce looks the way it does.

If, as a result, you recognize blind spots in the diversity of your employees, you can identify adjustments to your strategy that will invite more applications from your desired segments.

For example, if your goal is to have 30% of your applications be from female students, but your female attendance and application percentages are 35% and 27% respectively, this indicates a need to either attract more women to your events, or improve the way in which you engage with those who are already attending.

Filtering your data is also an invaluable feature of CEMS. Imagine, for instance, you have 3,500 resumes and you want to pull out just those who are majoring in a specific subject. A filtering system will allow you to identify those resumes, bundle them up, and send them to a team so they can start reviewing and sending out interview requests. 

Having the abundance of data that CEMS provides is one thing, but the ability to segment and filter is where the real power lies.

How can Campus Event Management Software save you time and energy?

Allowing students to check-in to events and submit an application online is a huge time-saver for everyone concerned, but beyond that CEMS usually provide a high level of automation.

For instance, when a desirable student completes an application, your CEMS system can be configured to automatically invite them to an interview and send them to an online booking so they can choose their preferred day and time. Once the student has selected from the options available, they can be automatically sent travel and venue instructions (or online platform instructions if the interview isn’t in person).

If you’ve ever engaged in multiple, lengthy, back-and-forth, message chats with students, all asking for the same information, you’ll appreciate how valuable this level of automation is.

At the highest level of automation, job offers can even be generated from a prompt and the student is permitted to accept or decline the offer online.

How to identify the right Campus Event Management Software for your business?

Additionally, integration is generally easier when the CEMS is an existing module for your recruitment software, rather than a third-party solution.

However, the most critical feature is the ability to customize the CEMS for your specific industry, recruitment processes, and campus event strategies. Attempting to fit your existing strategy into a pre-built workflow inevitably results in problems or frustrating compromises.

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Not every stress and difficulty related to campus recruitment can be fully mitigated, but introducing Campus Event Recruitment Software to your processes is proven to speed up your processes, increase applications, reduce administration, and allow you to identify the most talented candidates faster.

If reducing the admin and complex manual processes associated with your campus recruitment strategy is a top priority, please get in touch.

Oleeo’s Campus Recruiting Software provides a specific campus recruitment event module for managing and tracking your activity. And it can even be customized to your precise specifications and funnel design.