Building a Data Hygiene Automation

Staying on top of field updates and data quality can feel overwhelming, especially for teams focused on revenue-driving activities. With Bullhorn Automation, you can automatically identify and fix incomplete, outdated, or inconsistent records, saving time and improving search, reporting, and overall productivity.

Here’s a guide to getting started with data hygiene automation.

Looking for inspiration? See Automation Use Cases: Data Hygiene

Create Your List

Start by creating a list that captures the records needing attention. Define which records belong in the list by setting conditions such as:

• Phone > Does Not Have Phone Number

• Has Activity > Bounce

• Skills > Is Blank

See our section on Lists for help with building your list and choosing criteria.

Build Your Automation

Once your list is set, create an automation to take action on those records.

Useful Data Hygiene Steps

• Update Step: Use this step to Copy, Clear, or Set values in a field:

  • Copy: Move data from one field to another, including between entities (e.g., from a placement to a candidate record).

  • Clear: Remove outdated or incorrect data.

  • Set: Apply a consistent value, such as a status, title, or category.

• Send Notification: Use this step to notify record owners if data is missing or requires review.

  • Example: Send a notification to a consultant if their candidate is missing a location or phone number.

• Send Engagement: Use this step to trigger a survey to collect updated candidate or contact information (e.g., location, availability, job preferences). Responses can update fields automatically.

• Enrich (Amplify only): Use this step to enrich records by generating summaries or filling in missing data with the help of AI Assistant.

For a complete guide to all available automation steps, see the Automation Steps Overview.

Data Hygiene Blueprints

Save time by starting with one of our ready-made blueprints instead of building your automation from scratch. Automations created with blueprints can be fully customized, and so can any steps and messages included.

Some useful options for data hygiene include:

• Archive Stale Candidates with Missing Data

• Bounced Email Notification

• Capture Missing Candidate Data

Check your Automation Blueprints library for more options that can help keep your database clean and up-to-date.

Start with a small, high-impact area (such as email bouncebacks or missing phone numbers), then expand to broader data cleanup once you're confident with your setup.

Key Metrics to Track

By putting the strategies above into action, you’ll improve data accuracy and free up your team to focus on high-impact work. To see how effective your data hygiene automation is, keep an eye on these key metrics:

• Percentage of database that is usable: How much of your database is complete and actionable

• Percentage of database that is engaged: Measure how many records are actively interacting with your communications

• Bullhorn Automation Scores: Identify the most responsive candidates and contacts

• Conversion rates: Track how clean, segmented data improves performance across workflows

• Admin time saved: Monitor reductions in time spent on manual updates and data entry