Automation Use Cases: Data Hygiene

Maintaining clean, accurate data across your database is essential for effective operations, reliable reporting, and excellent candidate and client experiences. Bullhorn Automation is a powerful tool that can help keep your records up-to-date while reducing manual effort and improving consistency.

Below are some high-impact use cases for data hygiene automations you can implement using Bullhorn Automation.

Need help getting started? Check out our guide to Building a Data Hygiene Automation

Archiving Records

Use Case: Archive Retired Candidates

Automatically identify and archive candidates who’ve let you know they’re retired. This helps keep your active talent pool relevant and easy to search.

Use Case: Archive Candidates with Invalid Details

Set up an automation to archive candidates with incomplete or inaccurate information, such as:

  • Invalid or missing phone numbers

  • Placeholder values like “TBD” in contact or address fields

  • Email addresses missing an “@”

  • Commonly used fake names

BlueprintClosed A prebuilt template in Bullhorn Automation for commonly used automations.: Archive Stale Candidates with Missing Data

Maintaining Contact Information

Use Case: Email Bounce Alerts

When an email to a candidate hard or soft bounces, automatically alert a member of your team so the record can be reviewed or updated.

Blueprint: Bounced Email Notification

Use Case: Missing Candidate Data After Registration

Trigger internal alerts or tasks when newly-added candidates are missing key details (e.g., phone number, email, job title, salary expectations). This helps ensure new records are complete from the start.

Data Cleanup

Use Case: Weekly Data Cleanup Alerts

Send each consultant a weekly email listing their active candidates who are missing key data fields like area, category, or skills. This helps clean up records proactively and saves time by reducing the need for manual checks.

Candidate Self-Service Profiles

Use Case: Candidate Profile Builder

Target candidates with incomplete records and send them a survey engagement to create their own profile. The data they provide (such as updated contact info, location, or job preferences) can be mapped directly into their Bullhorn record and logged as a note for context, like a mini CV!

Blueprint: Capture Missing Candidate Data

Use Case: Reconnect with Past Candidates

Send a friendly survey to past candidates asking them to confirm or update their information. You can segment candidates for next steps based on their responses:

  • Form completed: Add to a reengagement list.

  • Email bounced: Flag for alternative outreach.

  • No response: Archive or flag as inactive/no longer looking.

Improving Location Data

Use Case: Postcode Cleanup

Use automation to correct or remove invalid postcodes so your radius searches are more accurate and reliable.

Use Case: Standardize City Names

Automatically convert suburb names into their larger city or region (e.g., “Brooklyn” becomes “New York”) for cleaner, more effective location filtering.

Use Case: Candidate Location Preferences

Send a survey asking candidates where they’d prefer to work, then store their answer in a custom field. This is perfect for helping regional teams match talent quickly.

Use Case: Candidate Country Survey

Send a survey engagement asking candidates which country they’re located in, and automatically update the Country field on their ATS record based on their response. This improves data accuracy for international teams relying on country filters when searching for talent.

Managing Inactive Records

Use Case: Follow Up with Inactive Candidates

Engage candidates who haven’t had any recent activity (e.g., notes, submissions, or interviews) and send them a survey to update their details and help keep your database active and useful.

Use Case: Flag Inactive Job Records

Notify job owners and their managers if a job hasn’t had any activity in over two weeks to prompt action and check whether the job should be closed.

Use Case: Reassign Records from Inactive Users

If a record owner becomes inactive, reassign their candidates and clients so those records don’t fall through the cracks.

Status Management

Use Case: Contractor Status Updates

When a contractor finishes a placement, automatically update their status to reflect current availability and readiness for future redeployment.

Use Case: Candidate Drop-Out Follow-Up

If a candidate drops out but is still marked as "Placed," send a reminder to the record owner two weeks later to update their status if they’re still available and placeable. This prevents them from being overlooked in future searches.

Use Case: Sales Contact Status Updates

Update Sales Contact status based on active jobs, so that you can filter in Bullhorn ATS to see who's active with your organization.

GDPR Compliance

Use Case: Consent Collection Made Simple

Send an email and short survey to new candidates asking for permission to store their data and contact them via phone, email, or SMS. Record responses in relevant fields in Bullhorn. If they don’t give consent, a notification can be sent to an admin for data removal.

Blueprint: Request Candidate Consent - GDPR

Data Enrichment

Use Case: Placement-Driven Record Updates

When a new placement is added, automatically update key fields like job title or employment preference on the candidate’s record. It’s a simple way to ensure that records stay relevant without manual data entry.

Blueprint: Update Missing Candidate Position Title From Placement

Job Management

Use Case: Start Date and Status Updates

Automate reminders for consultants to keep job start dates and statuses accurate. This helps improve your pipeline value reporting and avoids clutter from outdated records.

Use Case: Automate Job Closures

Change the job Status to "Closed" when the number of placements is equal to the number of job openings, or if the job has been open for more than 60 days.

Use Case: Follow Up on Incomplete Job Data

Create a task for the job owner to follow up with a hiring manager if they have a job with incomplete data.