Theralent
Recruiting Firm Boosts Efficiency, Improves Responsiveness to Candidates and Clients, and Saves Money with RingCentral Cloud Communications Solution
I researched a lot of cloud phone solutions looking at track records and features offered. But once I had our shortlist, two things stood out that made it obvious we should go with RingCentral.
Jason Lewis
Founder and President, Theralent Executive Search
As a small recruiting firm with only a few employees, Theralent Executive Search did not want to invest in a costly on-premises phone solution like the PBX phone system that the company’s founder had used in a previous business.
But when the company began to grow and employees using their personal cell phones was becoming impractical, Theralent began looking for a better phone solution.
INDUSTRY
Business Services
HQ
Miamisburg, OH
YEAR FOUNDED
2015
EMPLOYEES
3
Hoping to solve several communications challenges simultaneously
“We had a few big issues that prompted me to start looking for a business phone solution,” recalls Jason Lewis, Founder and President of Theralent Executive Search.
“The biggest challenge was that the company’s employees were using their own cell phones for business calls. For recruiters today, SMS text messaging is the most important form of communication,” Lewis explains, “particularly for time-sensitive information like scheduling an interview. But using personal numbers for calls to clients and candidates created several problems.”
“To integrate SMS texting with our employees’ cell numbers with their company-issued computers, we had to purchase expensive Mac machines for each person. That was more money than I wanted to spend on equipment, and it wasn’t going to scale as we grew.”
“Also, because our team was using their own phone numbers to communicate with clients and job candidates, we had no company visibility into that call and text data. Those were important pieces of business intelligence I was missing out on.”
Trying to operate a high-touch business like a job recruiting service without a sophisticated single business phone solution also created another major challenge for Theralent.
“We don’t have the ability to change the quality-of-service settings on the routers in the building where we have our corporate office,” Lewis explains. “When we made business calls on our mobile phones, we couldn’t control the call quality or reliability. Phone conversations are central to how Theralent does business, so we couldn’t let this situation last.”
But Lewis was slow and deliberate in his search for a business phone solution, primarily because he didn’t want to get locked into a service agreement they did not like—or worse, several agreements with different vendors—where he was overpaying.
“In previous recruiting companies I was with, we had to pay one provider for the on-prem PBX phone system, another for call reporting software, another for video conferencing, and so on. That wasn’t the most cost-effective way to do it. So I was patient in my search for a new solution, and ideally I wanted one that had all of these communications functions in a single platform.”
The two factors that made RingCentral the clear choice
“I researched a lot of cloud phone solutions looking at track records and features offered,” Lewis says. “But once I had our shortlist, two things stood out that made it obvious we should go with RingCentral.”
“First was the RingOut feature, which is terrific. Now our team can place calls from their computer just by clicking a number in an email, web page, or document, even when there’s no Wi-Fi or cell connection available. This lets us make sure we have high quality on our business calls in the office, even when the building’s router isn’t performing reliably.”
“The other standout feature was the integration of RingCentral with Crelate solution, the applicant tracking software that my team and I use every day. This integration lets us call a candidate, or start a new SMS message, right from a RingCentral pop-up widget next to that candidate’s profile. We can even create a note about the call from the RingCentral pop-up and save it with that profile. So if I miss a candidate, for example, I can drop in a note right then, and when that candidate calls me back, I’ll know exactly why I was calling. I’d estimate this integration saves me at least an hour or two every day.”
Another great thing about RingCentral is that we can now send and receive SMS texts using our business phone numbers from any computer or mobile device. That means my team and I can be responsive immediately by text message to clients and candidates—using our business phone number—no matter where we are or what device we have.
Jason Lewis
Founder and President, Theralent Executive Search
More benefits from RingCentral
“Another great thing about RingCentral is that we can now send and receive SMS texts using our business phone numbers from any computer or mobile device. That means my team and I can be responsive immediately by text message to clients and candidates—using our business phone number—no matter where we are or what device we have.”
“And because calls and texts are all now integrated into our RingCentral solution, we have full visibility into that communication data, which we can learn from.”
Lewis is also relieved he doesn’t have to continue buying high-end computers for every new employee just to equip them with a texting capability. “All I need to do now is give them a RingCentral business phone number and tell them to download the RingCentral app,” he says.
As a small business owner watching his budget carefully, Lewis also appreciates the money that Theralent is saving with its new all-in-one cloud communications solution. “We’ve pulled together phone service, business texting, and call-data reporting onto the same integrated platform that works anywhere,” says Lewis. “That’s saving us on hardware costs, because the RingCentral app works on any computer, and on software costs, because the call-accounting tools are built into RingCentral.”
“I’m also looking forward to rolling out RingCentral Meetings so we can have video conferencing on the same cloud solution. Then we’ll truly be a RingCentral shop.”