Recruiting organizations increasingly leverage Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) software to build proactive talent pipelines and engage candidates before and beyond the application process. For mid-market and enterprise employers using the iCIMS Talent Cloud (Applicant Tracking System), selecting a compatible CRM is critical to ensure seamless data flow and unified candidate experiences. In this comparison, we evaluate iCIMS’ native CRM alongside several prominent third-party talent CRM platforms that either natively integrate with iCIMS or offer robust API-based compatibility. Each platform is assessed on its integration approach with iCIMS, core features and differentiators, candidate/recruiter experience, common industry use cases, pricing model, and user/analyst feedback. Click here to view the original output, which includes citations and is presented here in full.

We focus on 6–10 leading CRM solutions favored by enterprise Talent Acquisition teams – including iCIMS CRM (formerly Jibe) and other top vendors like Beamery, Avature, Phenom, Symphony Talent (SmashFlyX), GR8 People, and Eightfold. These platforms have strong market presence (some appearing among the top 5 by market share) and reputations for serving large organizations. Below is a high-level comparison table of key features and capabilities, followed by detailed summaries for each platform.

CRM Platforms at a Glance

Table: Feature and integration comparison of leading Talent CRM platforms (including iCIMS’ native CRM and third-party vendors). Each platform supports core CRM functions (talent pipelining, automated outreach, analytics), but they differ in integration approach, areas of specialization, and ideal fit for iCIMS customers.

Below, we provide detailed summaries of each CRM platform – highlighting how they integrate with iCIMS, key features, user experience, industry-specific use cases, pricing, and relevant user/analyst commentary.

iCIMS CRM (Candidate Experience Management, formerly Jibe)

Integration with iCIMS: As an in-house product, iCIMS’ Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) – now part of the iCIMS Candidate Experience Management (CXM) suite – is natively built into the iCIMS Talent Cloud. This means seamless, real-time integration with the iCIMS ATS for bi-directional data sync. Candidate and job data flow automatically between the ATS and CRM, enabling features like talent rediscovery of past applicants directly from the ATS database. No middleware is needed – iCIMS CRM essentially operates as an extension of the ATS (often referred to as iCIMS Connect or CXM in the platform).

Core Features & Differentiators: iCIMS CRM (CXM) provides a full-suite of candidate engagement tools tightly coupled with the ATS. Its differentiators include AI-powered talent matching and engagement scoring – the system can automatically score candidates’ fit and interest level, helping recruiters prioritize leads. It offers robust marketing automation: users can build behavior-based email campaigns and SMS text campaigns with personalized content tailored to candidate interests. This includes automated nurture drip campaigns, talent network newsletters, and text messages (leveraging iCIMS’ TextRecruit integration). The CRM also has integrated event management capabilities: recruiters can create branded event landing pages, send invites, manage RSVPs, and even use a mobile app for event check-in – covering virtual and in-person hiring events end-to-end. Another standout is the new AI “Copilot” email drafting assistant, which helps craft outreach emails by suggesting content and tone, saving recruiters time on writing. Additionally, iCIMS CRM supports chatbots and “Text-to-Apply” features (through its digital assistant) to engage candidates on career sites and via SMS. These features reflect iCIMS’ focus on improving the candidate experience within the recruitment process.

Candidate & Recruiter Experience: For candidates, iCIMS CRM aims to create a smoother journey from interest to application. Because it is integrated with the ATS, candidates in talent communities can seamlessly apply to jobs without re-entering data, and recruiters can track source and engagement history in one profile. iCIMS enables modern conveniences like chatbot Q&A on career sites, self-scheduling for interviews, and even “apply by text” options to reduce friction. Candidates receive relevant job recommendations and personalized content via the campaigns. For recruiters and talent teams, having the CRM inside iCIMS means one less system to log into – the interface is unified. Users report that the platform is robust, though there can be a learning curve given its breadth of features (and some have noted it can be “overwhelming” until you learn to configure it properly). The benefit is powerful analytics and single-database reporting: recruiters can easily track which talent pools or sources yield the best hires. In fact, iCIMS offers advanced analytics to measure each candidate touchpoint (e.g. applications by source such as job board vs. email campaign vs. career site), so recruiting teams can optimize their sourcing spend. Overall, the user experience is described as fairly good and improving – iCIMS was recently ranked #1 by some analysts in enterprise user experience for recruiting software. However, users have also cited that customer support and some UI customizations can be challenging at times, which iCIMS has been addressing through improved support models.

Industry Use Cases: Being an enterprise-grade solution, iCIMS CRM is used across industries – from tech and finance to retail and healthcare – particularly by mid-to-large organizations that already use iCIMS ATS. It’s well-suited for talent pipeline nurturing at scale: for example, companies have used it to host large talent communities (talent pools) for critical roles or diversity hiring programs, then automatically rediscover and remarket to past applicants, turning their ATS database into a sourcing well. The integrated virtual event capability made it popular for campus recruiting and job fair management during the shift to online events. Global organizations appreciate the multi-language support (20 languages) for creating localized candidate experiences. Additionally, iCIMS emphasizes features that help improve diversity and inclusion – e.g. the AI-driven matching is designed to reduce bias by focusing on skills, and the CRM has tools to engage diverse talent with personalized content. High-volume hiring (such as seasonal retail hiring) is another use case, where automated texting, chatbot screening, and scheduling can drastically cut down time-to-hire. Overall, any iCIMS customer looking to significantly improve candidate experience (from first contact to application) and maintain warm relationships with candidates would find use cases for iCIMS CRM – indeed, it’s positioned as “the better bet” if you want to improve candidate experience during recruitment (versus more standalone CRMs that do broader talent marketing).

Pricing Model: iCIMS CRM is typically sold as an add-on module to the iCIMS Talent Cloud platform. Pricing is not publicly posted; it is usually enterprise/annual licensing based on the size of the organization or number of recruiter seats. There may be different package levels depending on features (for instance, adding TextRecruit, AI capabilities, etc., can affect pricing). In practice, iCIMS (being a large SaaS vendor) negotiates contracts individually – so a mid-market company might pay per-seat or a flat annual fee for CRM on top of their ATS. There is no “freemium” option; it’s a licensed software. Prospective buyers often work with iCIMS sales to determine pricing, and integration/implementation is generally included for existing ATS customers. In summary, expect seat-based or module-based licensing costs, aligned to enterprise budgets (smaller organizations might find it pricey, whereas it’s cost-effective for larger organizations that can maximize all features).

User & Analyst Commentary: iCIMS CRM has evolved via acquisitions (Jibe in 2019, TextRecruit, and Candidate.ID in 2021) which bolstered its capabilities in recruitment marketing and automation. Analysts have noted iCIMS offers one of the most complete suites for talent acquisition, covering ATS + CRM. In a 2024 review, iCIMS Talent Cloud was highlighted as “best for mid to large-sized businesses focusing on candidate experience”. Users on G2 praise the platform for helping “stay organized with high-volume recruitment and easily establish candidate relationships”. On the flip side, some users on TrustRadius mention that support responsiveness and certain integrations could improve. Overall, iCIMS CRM is regarded as a strong, if not the strongest, option for companies already invested in the iCIMS ecosystem, delivering an integrated experience for recruiters and candidates.

Beamery

Integration with iCIMS: Beamery is a standalone talent CRM that is designed to integrate with popular ATS/HCM systems rather than replace them. While there isn’t a native iCIMS-Beamery plugin, Beamery offers extensive integration APIs and has partnered with integration services to connect with ATS like iCIMS. For instance, third-party integrators like Joynd list Beamery among the common iCIMS integrations, streamlining data flow between Beamery and iCIMS ATS. Typically, candidate data (prospect profiles, talent pool membership, campaign history) can flow from Beamery into iCIMS when a candidate applies or is pushed, and job requisition data can flow from iCIMS to Beamery to enable matching. Beamery’s general integration strength is evidenced by it being the “only certified CRM integration” for Workday Recruiting and an SAP Endorsed App, demonstrating its ability to integrate deeply with enterprise ATS platforms. This means that similar API-based integration with iCIMS is feasible – many iCIMS customers use Beamery via middleware that provides near real-time sync. Some HRIT teams have implemented bidirectional sync (with applied candidates or status updates flowing back to Beamery), though mostly Beamery serves as the source of talent leads that eventually get converted in iCIMS. In short, Beamery’s integration with iCIMS would be categorized as middleware/API integration, often with the help of implementation partners or the vendor’s integration toolkit. Users have commented that “the integration with our existing HR tech stack was seamless” in Beamery’s case, reflecting the vendor’s focus on smooth interoperability.

Core Features & Differentiators: Beamery markets itself as a Talent Lifecycle Management platform, but at its core it’s a CRM with very rich features for talent marketing and pipeline management. A major differentiator is Beamery’s emphasis on a built-in Career Site builder and talent network signup experience. Unlike some CRM tools that assume you have a separate career site, Beamery enables companies to create branded, editable career microsites and landing pages to capture leads. These career sites can be easily edited via drag-and-drop, without needing a web developer, and they offer personalized job search for candidates (Beamery’s site will recommend relevant openings to a candidate based on their profile). All candidate interactions on these sites feed into Beamery’s CRM talent pools automatically. Another Beamery strength is its use of AI and data intelligence – Beamery has a proprietary “Talent Graph” that powers features like skill tagging, AI-driven matching, and predictive talent scoring. It can analyze candidate profiles (or even external databases like LinkedIn) to suggest which candidates in your talent community best fit a new req. Beamery also offers “Skills Advisor” and workforce planning analytics, helping companies identify skill gaps and plan talent development.

One unique differentiator Beamery highlights is compliance and fairness in AI: it underwent a third-party audit of its AI algorithms for bias and compliance (notably complying with New York City’s Local Law 144 on automated hiring tools). This indicates Beamery’s focus on responsible AI use – a selling point for enterprises concerned about new AI regulations. Additionally, Beamery includes features like succession planning (tracking pipelines of internal talent for future roles), which goes beyond typical external CRM scope and can be valuable for internal mobility.

Core CRM capabilities of Beamery include: robust email marketing and automation, with nurture campaign workflows that respond to candidate behavior; segmentation tools to slice talent pools by various criteria; SMS texting (Beamery itself doesn’t have a native chatbot as a differentiator – notably, one con is you must integrate a chatbot like Paradox or Mya if you want conversational AI). Beamery also has a “Talent Assistant” chrome extension for sourcing (allowing recruiters to import prospects from sites like LinkedIn with one click). And it supports integrations to social recruiting and job boards as well – although a user noted they’d like to see even broader job board integration coverage. Finally, on the analytics front, Beamery provides pipeline analytics and source tracking. Its AI can also do things like automatically highlight potentially biased language in job descriptions and ensure career sites meet accessibility standards (WCAG AA compliance) – which is a differentiator for organizations with strong DEI goals.

Candidate & Recruiter Experience: Candidate experience with Beamery is meant to be highly engaging: candidates often first encounter Beamery through a talent community signup form or an event. The career site experience is dynamic – candidates can create a profile, see recommended jobs, and join talent networks easily. By capturing their data early (even before applying), Beamery enables ongoing personalized communications. The content (job recommendations, campaigns) candidates receive is tailored by Beamery’s AI based on their skills and interests, which helps keep them warm. However, because Beamery is separate from the ATS, candidates might notice a transition when they actually apply (typically they are handed off to iCIMS at application stage; Beamery’s 2016 partnership with LinkedIn allowed “CRM connect” to smooth this, but apply flow is something companies design carefully to be seamless). Beamery doesn’t force candidates to create accounts on the ATS just to join the network, which reduces friction.

For recruiters, Beamery’s interface is praised for being modern and intuitive. Users say it’s “very easy to build and maintain talent pools” and that the Beamery team helps customize it to their needs. Recruiters can quickly search the entire talent database with AI assistance, and the system proactively surfaces qualified candidates (one user described that Beamery helped them achieve 10% of hires coming from Beamery talent pools, significantly reducing time-to-hire for early careers hiring by enabling proactive pipeline building). The recruiter dashboard provides engagement scores for candidates, showing who is “warm” and interacting with content. This helps prioritize follow-ups. The main UX downside noted is that some features shine most when you import all applicants into Beamery (to leverage full matching), but not every organization wants to sync every single applicant due to volume, so smaller subsets might limit some AI matching utility. Additionally, the recruiter interface language is English-only by default (Beamery’s help materials can be translated at cost), which could be a consideration for multinational teams (whereas Avature, iCIMS, etc., have multi-language UIs). Overall, recruiters find Beamery highly beneficial for strategic sourcing, though they do rely on integration to ensure no candidate falls through the cracks between Beamery and the ATS.

Industry Use Cases: Beamery is used by many Fortune 500 companies and high-growth firms, particularly those in technology, finance, consulting, and even retail – organizations that want to proactively build talent pipelines and engage passive talent. Common use cases include university recruiting (where Beamery can capture leads at campus events and nurture students until they are ready to apply), diversity hiring initiatives (using the bias-check tools and targeted campaigns for underrepresented groups), and global employer branding (since Beamery can host multi-language career content and ensure compliance with regional data laws like GDPR, which it explicitly manages). It’s also valuable for hard-to-fill roles: recruiters can search and rediscover prior candidates with specific niche skills. The platform has been touted for enabling outbound recruiting – going beyond posting jobs to actively reach out to talent (Beamery supports both outbound and inbound recruitment strategies). This means companies in highly competitive talent markets (like tech) use Beamery to nurture relationships with talent communities (e.g., software engineers, data scientists) long before they have open roles, so that when requisitions open, they have engaged candidates ready. Additionally, large organizations with multiple business units or brands use Beamery to manage separate talent pools and personalize content by brand or region. Beamery’s compliance and auditing features make it a fit for finance and other regulated industries that need to ensure outreach follows data privacy rules. One notable industry use: Beamery has been implemented in Workday Recruiting environments to provide CRM capabilities that Workday lacks – by analogy, iCIMS users integrate Beamery for similar reasons: advanced talent marketing and pipeline functionality on top of the ATS. Overall, Beamery excels as a strategic CRM for enterprise TA teams focusing on long-term relationship building (less about quick transactional hiring, more about cultivating talent pipelines).

Pricing Model: Beamery does not disclose pricing publicly, which is common in enterprise HR software. It’s generally sold as a SaaS subscription to mid-large enterprises. Pricing likely depends on the number of modules and the scale of talent database. Beamery offers various modules (CRM, career sites, events, internal mobility, etc.), so customers can purchase the full suite or just the CRM component. Typically, annual licensing is the norm, possibly with tiers based on the number of recruiter seats or candidates in the database. Some sources note that Beamery’s pricing is in line with other high-end talent platforms – so it can be a significant investment primarily viable for larger organizations. Implementation services might be bundled or charged separately (especially for integration setup and career site configuration). In one comparison, Beamery’s cost was noted to compete with other top players like Phenom and Avature, suggesting a premium price for its advanced capabilities. However, many companies justify the cost with the reduction in agency spend and faster hires that Beamery’s pipeline approach yields. To get an exact price, organizations usually go through a sales consultation to scope their needs.

User & Analyst Feedback: Beamery is frequently mentioned alongside Avature, Phenom, and Eightfold as a leader in the talent CRM space. Users on G2 and other review sites rate Beamery positively (often in the mid-4 stars out of 5 range). In reviews, TA leaders have called Beamery “a game changer for our TA strategy”, citing its ability to personalize talent pools and significantly cut time-to-hire by enabling proactive engagement. Pros highlighted by users include the flexibility to customize the system and the “amazing” support from the Beamery team in tailoring the platform. Another praised the “easy integrations” with their HR tech stack. On the downside, some users wish Beamery had built-in chat or more native features (like an ATS) so they wouldn’t need multiple systems. Analysts have recognized Beamery for its innovation in AI – for example, being first-movers in auditing their AI for bias, which is a forward-looking differentiator. In summary, Beamery is seen as a best-of-breed CRM, ideal for sophisticated TA teams; the main caution is to ensure your organization can invest the effort in integration and fully utilizing the rich feature set for maximum ROI.

Avature

Integration with iCIMS: Avature is known for its integration flexibility. It provides a module called Avature Junction, a native integration framework that allows connecting Avature to other systems via APIs. While Avature can function as an ATS itself, many companies use it alongside another ATS (like iCIMS) purely for CRM and recruiting marketing. In such setups, integration is typically achieved through custom API connectors or batch file feeds. Avature supports exporting candidates to an ATS or updating candidate statuses via API. Given Avature’s highly configurable nature, an iCIMS customer could integrate the two systems so that, for example, new applicants in iCIMS sync back to Avature talent pools, or prospects in Avature are created as leads in iCIMS Connect. However, note that Avature does not have a plug-and-play iCIMS connector; integration would be a project (often handled by Avature’s services team or a client’s IT team). Avature’s own documentation highlights “custom API integrations” as a key strength – it’s designed to fit into complex HR tech stacks. The flip side is integrations can take time: users report that Avature’s timeline for new integration projects can be 3+ months and somewhat costly, due to their queue and consultation process. So while bidirectional sync with iCIMS is possible (and indeed Avature has been integrated with other ATS like Taleo, SuccessFactors, etc., at many companies), expect that it requires planning. In summary, Avature’s integration with iCIMS would be custom, via API, with Avature’s flexibility allowing deep data exchange (talent pools, jobs, applications), but it’s not out-of-the-box.

Core Features & Differentiators: Avature was one of the pioneers of recruitment CRM software and is often lauded for its unparalleled configurability. A standout differentiator is that Avature is essentially a platform toolkit: clients can customize data models, workflows, and user interfaces extensively. This means Avature can be tailored to very specific recruiting processes. Out-of-the-box, Avature CRM offers a rich set of features: email marketing automation (with advanced capabilities like templates, personalization, full tracking of open/click rates, and even A/B testing of campaigns). It supports SMS texting campaigns and two-way texting with candidates. Avature has a built-in career site content management system, enabling custom-branded career pages, talent community sign-up forms, and landing pages for events or campaigns. These pages can be created for different audiences (e.g., a special landing page for a diversity recruitment campaign, or a microsite for campus hiring) and integrate with Avature’s CRM so that sign-ups flow directly into pipelines.

Avature’s search and sourcing capabilities are also notable. It includes a semantic search engine and AI that can suggest synonyms/related skills for better candidate matching. The Avature WebSource tool allows recruiters to source passive candidates from the open web – by entering a search query for a role, it will comb through public sites (like LinkedIn, GitHub, etc.) and pull back potential candidates, which can then be converted into Avature leads in one click. This blurs the line between sourcing and CRM, making Avature a one-stop shop for finding and nurturing talent. Another differentiator is event management: Avature has robust support for recruiting events – you can create event registration pages, check-in candidates via mobile app, and track event ROI. It also offers modules beyond CRM: Avature has optional ATS, onboarding, performance, and learning modules, making it a broad talent platform. Even if using only CRM, customers benefit from features like interview self-scheduling and survey tools that Avature built for ATS usage.

What truly sets Avature apart is the breadth and depth of features – one review noted it “covers more ground than iCIMS in terms of offered features”. For example, Avature CRM can maintain a repository of “silver medalists” (candidates who were runners-up in previous processes) and automatically surface them when similar roles open, fast-tracking time-to-fill by leveraging known talent. It also captures data to compute metrics like Candidate Net Promoter Score (NPS) and various pipeline health indicators (DEI mix in pipeline, source performance, etc.), which recruiting leaders appreciate for strategic planning. Essentially, Avature’s differentiator is being ultra-flexible and feature-rich – many competitors have tried to match its configurability, but Avature remains a leader for complex use cases.

Candidate & Recruiter Experience: The candidate experience with Avature can be very polished, but it largely depends on how the client configures it. Companies using Avature for career sites often provide a highly branded, engaging career site with videos, employee testimonials (Avature even has a video content creation tool for recruitment marketing), and chatbot or live chat. The apply process can be streamlined (though if Avature isn’t the ATS, the candidate might be passed to iCIMS at the application stage, which introduces a step). If Avature is used only as CRM, candidates interact with it mostly by joining talent communities, RSVPing to events, or receiving campaign emails. Those emails and texts can be very personalized – addressed to the candidate’s interests, with dynamic content. Avature supports multi-language candidate portals and communications, beneficial for global candidate pools. Candidates also have the ability to create profiles, update their information, and set job alerts when engaging via Avature’s system.

For recruiters and admins, Avature can be both empowering and somewhat complex. Users consistently praise how configurable and powerful the system is: “the most flexible tool I have ever used” said one talent acquisition manager. Recruiters like that they can modify workflows or set up new campaigns easily (with proper training). The UI has improved over years, but because Avature can do so much, some find the interface less intuitive initially. There is a learning curve, and less tech-savvy users might feel overwhelmed by the options. Admins have immense control – though a con is that certain permission configurations still require Avature support to implement (no system-level super-admin to do every config). In daily use, recruiters benefit from features like drag-and-drop pipeline Kanban boards, tagging candidates, and automated actions (e.g., if a candidate clicks an email link, Avature can auto-move them to a different campaign). The platform is generally stable and fast, but one user noted that if they need a new solution or integration, Avature’s team is needed which can slow things down. Also, because it’s highly customizable, organizations often dedicate an operations person to manage Avature (whereas a more off-the-shelf CRM might not need as much admin work). Overall, the recruiter experience is as good as you configure it – many rave about it enabling them to do their job better, citing that “Avature is intuitive, easy to use for our recruiters and other teams alike” once it’s set up for their needs. The platform’s flexibility in building reports and dashboards is a plus for data-driven recruiters.

Industry Use Cases: Avature’s client base skews toward large enterprises, multinationals, and RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) providers. It is frequently used in industries like consulting (e.g., Big4 firms for campus recruiting globally), investment banking (talent pipelines for analysts associates), technology, defense (where complex clearance hiring pipelines exist), pharmaceuticals, retail (for large volume hourly hiring pipelines), and more. High-volume hiring is a big use case – for example, companies that need to hire thousands of seasonal workers create talent communities and drip campaigns via Avature to keep those candidates engaged year-round. University and early career recruiting is another area Avature excels: its events module and campus sourcing tools allow large companies to manage university relations, capture student leads at career fairs, and nurture them until graduation. The globalization support (multi-language UI and campaigns, compliance with EU data laws) makes it suitable for global talent acquisition teams who need one system across regions. Some organizations also leverage Avature for internal mobility and employee referrals – even though iCIMS might offer an internal “opportunity marketplace,” Avature can run alongside to enhance those initiatives. In fact, Avature has dedicated solutions for employee referrals and alumni networks. Given its configurability, Avature is often chosen when a company has very specific workflows or branding requirements that other CRM tools can’t meet. For instance, if a company wants to implement a unique candidate scoring formula or a specialized approval process for talent community contacts, Avature can likely be configured to do it. Analyst reports often position Avature as “best overall CRM for enterprises” (TechnologyAdvice did so in 2023), indicating that for robust enterprise use cases, Avature is a top choice. The caution is that for small or midsize companies, Avature might be “too much” – one analysis advised against using it for small teams with limited open roles because its power is really evident at scale.

Pricing Model: Avature’s pricing is highly custom and typically on the higher end, reflecting its enterprise focus. They usually charge an annual SaaS license fee, often structured by modules (e.g., you pay for CRM module, and additional fees if you add ATS, campus recruiting, etc.). Pricing may also consider the number of users (recruiter licenses) and sometimes the number of employee or candidate records (though Avature often advertises “unlimited candidates” in CRM). Implementation is a significant aspect – Avature usually requires a implementation project that can take a few months; some implementation cost may be baked into first-year fees or billed separately. Because each customer’s configuration can be unique, Avature tends to not have flat-rate public pricing. You can expect that it competes in price with other top-tier TA suites – likely six-figure annual costs for larger implementations. However, clients get a lot of value if they fully utilize the platform. Avature also operates on a direct sales model (no self-service purchase), so a personalized quote is needed. There is no free trial given the complexity, but existing customers often note that while the cost is high, the ability to consolidate multiple tools (events, CRM, sourcing, etc.) into one can offset other expenses.

User & Analyst Feedback: Avature consistently receives praise for its flexibility and power. Users on G2 have called it “the most versatile platform” and love that it gives them “so many options to create solutions to help drive the business forward”. Particularly, RPO firms (who serve multiple clients) find Avature invaluable because they can tailor workflows per client in one system. Another liked that Avature releases new features throughout the year and shares best practices on how to implement them. The common dislikes in reviews are about speed of support and implementation times – e.g., “the inability to work in the fastest way possible when needing a new solution implemented” and needing Avature to make some configuration changes. Essentially, users accept a bit of slowness for changes as a trade-off for the platform’s robust capabilities. Analysts view Avature as a leader: for example, Gartner’s Market Guide and Forrester’s reports often cite Avature among top CRM/Recruitment Marketing solutions for global enterprises. TechnologyAdvice named it “Best overall CRM for enterprises” in 2023, underscoring its strength in that segment. It’s also notable that Avature has an almost cult-like following among TA Ops professionals who appreciate its depth – many large companies that switched to Avature have become case studies of improved hiring metrics (e.g., faster fills by leveraging silver medalist pools, or expanding sourcing reach with WebSource). The bottom line from feedback: if you need a highly customizable, enterprise-grade CRM and have the resources to support it, Avature is top of the list, whereas if you want quick simplicity, you might look elsewhere.

Phenom

Integration with iCIMS: Phenom (formerly Phenom People) is designed as a layer on top of ATS systems, and it has a history of partnership with iCIMS. In fact, Phenom and iCIMS announced a formal partnership in 2016 to improve the candidate experience, allowing seamless transfer of application data from Phenom’s platform to the iCIMS Talent Platform. In practice, this means if a company uses Phenom for the career site and CRM, a candidate can search jobs and fill out an application on the Phenom front-end, and all that data (resume, answers, etc.) is automatically parsed into iCIMS ATS as a new applicant record. This greatly reduces application drop-off, as Phenom can present a user-friendly apply process (including features like “Apply with LinkedIn” or cloud resume upload) while iCIMS remains the system of record on the back-end. Beyond the apply flow, Phenom’s integration can be configured for deeper sync: many organizations set up a two-way integration where certain status updates in iCIMS (e.g., interview stages, or disposition codes) feed back into Phenom CRM. This enables Phenom to, for example, trigger an automated nurture email if a candidate in the CRM later gets marked as not hired in the ATS. A Phenom user on Reddit noted that Phenom offers a “2-way hiring status integration” for an extra cost, allowing candidate status updates in one system to sync to the other and enabling mid-funnel communications triggers. In summary, integration between Phenom and iCIMS is typically via API connectors: Phenom is a certified iCIMS partner, so they have likely pre-built connectors for common data exchanges (jobs, applications, statuses, etc.). It is largely bidirectional, especially if a client opts for the full integration package – and many do, since that’s how Phenom adds value on top of an ATS. Implementation of the integration is often managed by Phenom’s team in coordination with iCIMS. Net takeaway: iCIMS customers can integrate Phenom smoothly, with the front-end Phenom experience overlaying the ATS and ensuring data continuity.

Core Features & Differentiators: Phenom brands itself as a Talent Experience Management (TXM) platform, covering the experiences of candidates, recruiters, employees, and management. Focusing on the CRM (candidate experience) aspect, Phenom offers a wide array of features. A core strength is its AI-driven personalization – from the career site to emails, Phenom uses machine learning to tailor content to each candidate. For example, when a candidate visits a Phenom-powered career site, the site will recommend jobs and content (like blog posts or employee stories) based on that candidate’s profile or browsing behavior. Phenom’s CRM includes dynamic talent pipelines where candidates are automatically added to relevant pools (e.g., all software engineers from California who joined the talent community in the last 6 months), and these pools update continuously with new leads. Recruiters can create automated nurture campaigns targeting these segments – sending scheduled emails or texts, and Phenom tracks engagement.

Phenom also has an integrated chatbot (Phenom Bot) that can handle FAQ, prescreen candidates, and even schedule interviews. The chatbot works on the career site and via popular messaging channels. Another differentiator is Phenom’s focus on automation of recruiting tasks: it has a feature for one-way video interviews where candidates can self-record answers to preset questions (helpful for initial screening at scale), and an AI scheduling tool that coordinates calendars and lets candidates self-schedule interviews from recruiters’ invites. This ties into their high-volume hiring offering – Phenom emphasizes how these automations can shrink time-to-hire “from days to minutes” for hourly roles.

Phenom’s CRM capabilities also extend to organizing virtual and live recruiting events, employee referral management, and an internal talent marketplace for companies (though internal mobility is a separate module, it shares the CRM concept of engaging talent). Phenom provides robust analytics dashboards that show the pipeline conversion rates, source performance, campaign ROI, and even predictive analytics (like predicting which candidates are likely to become applicants). Importantly, all these features reside in one platform – including the career site CMS – so Phenom touts that you don’t need separate systems for CMS, CRM, chatbot, etc.. This one-platform approach is a key differentiator against some competitors that might need multiple integrations for similar functions.

Another unique element: Phenom leverages AI to create fit scores and dynamic candidate insights. For instance, it will score how well a candidate’s skills and experience match a job and highlight those for recruiters. It also automatically enriches candidate profiles (pulling data from social profiles or past applications). Phenom’s recent innovation includes an AI assistant for recruiters that can automatically surface candidates when a new req opens, and an AI career assistant for candidates (the chatbot and personalized job suggestions). Also, Phenom is known for a strong referral and networking feature: candidates can refer others easily, and recruiters can track referrals (one user mentioned Phenom makes it easy to capture who referred a candidate and even flags referred applicants with special icons, simplifying referral bonus tracking).

Candidate & Recruiter Experience: Candidate experience is where Phenom shines, as that was the company’s founding mission. Candidates interact with a modern, mobile-friendly career site that feels personalized. They can opt into talent communities by simply providing an email or phone (low barrier), and then Phenom’s system might prompt for more info or pull data from a resume/LinkedIn to build their profile. The apply process through Phenom is streamlined – apply forms are short and optimized for conversion, with options like one-click apply with LinkedIn or Google Drive resumes. If candidates start an application but drop off, Phenom can send an automated follow-up nudging them to finish (this alone recaptures many would-be abandons). The chatbot helps answer candidate questions 24/7 (“Do you have remote work options?”, etc.) which improves their experience and interest. Candidates also benefit from receiving relevant content: e.g., someone interested in marketing roles might get an email campaign with “Day in the Life of our Marketing Team” or upcoming networking events for marketers. Overall, candidates often find Phenom-powered sites far more engaging than traditional ATS job portals – less login friction, more dynamic content. Phenom also enables communication on candidates’ preferred channels: if someone doesn’t respond to email, recruiters can easily switch to text messaging from within Phenom. One G2 review specifically said “the ability to text candidates…is good to have when an email isn’t being responded to”, highlighting that multichannel reach.

For recruiters, Phenom is generally reported to be user-friendly and visually intuitive. The platform’s UI is modern (often compared favorably to consumer-grade apps) and the learning curve is moderate. Recruiters have a “Talent Dashboard” where they can see new leads, track where their candidates are in the pipeline, and get AI recommendations (like “These 5 silver medalists from last year match your new req – consider reaching out”). The two-way integration means recruiters often don’t have to do double data entry between Phenom and iCIMS – they work in Phenom for front-end tasks and rely on iCIMS as the core ATS. One particularly positive piece of feedback is how Phenom supports customizing experiences for different personas and processes while remaining easy to use. For example, recruiters can have different landing pages or workflows for campus hires vs. experienced hires, all managed in Phenom. Recruiters also save time with the automation: scheduling interviews can be done by sending a link and letting candidates pick a slot (no back-and-forth emails), and the system handles reminders. In addition, Phenom’s CRM automatically logs every candidate interaction (email opens, clicks, chatbot chats), giving recruiters insight into candidate interest. A compelling anecdote from users is that Phenom’s two-way integration and AI features “save a ton of time” – routine tasks like updating statuses or searching for candidates are expedited. There are few criticisms of the recruiter experience; perhaps one is that Phenom is a large system and occasional glitches or needed enhancements (like the user who was learning the “always-on campaigns” feature and wasn’t sure it worked with dynamic lists). Phenom’s support team and customer success are generally well-regarded, often working closely with clients to continually improve usage.

Industry Use Cases: Phenom has a broad client base across industries – it’s used by big tech companies, healthcare systems, manufacturers, financial institutions, retail chains, and more. Volume hiring is a standout use case: companies like fast-food chains or large retailers use Phenom to process huge applicant volumes quickly (through chatbots, text outreach, and bulk scheduling). One example is high-volume hourly roles where Phenom’s automations can get a candidate from “Hello to Hired” in a single day (applying via chatbot, instant screening questions, and auto-scheduling an interview). On the other end, specialized hiring benefits too: e.g., Phenom’s personalized nurturing is great for engaging scarce talent (like nurses, software engineers) over time with meaningful content so the company stays on their radar. Global organizations deploy Phenom for multi-language career sites and campaigns – Phenom supports many languages and can tailor content by region. Campus recruiting is supported through event management features (virtual event pages, text invites) and Phenom’s ability to manage talent communities of students and new grads. Another use case is enhancing internal mobility: Phenom’s platform extends to employees, helping companies encourage employees to apply for internal roles or gigs, which is increasingly important in enterprise talent strategy. Phenom also markets use cases around diversity hiring – recruiters can track diversity metrics in the pipeline and ensure diverse talent pools are being nurtured (though the AI’s role in reducing bias isn’t heavily publicized, the platform does have features like masking candidate info to focus on skills). Analyst recognition underscores these: Phenom was named a Leader in Everest Group’s 2023 PEAK assessment for CRM platforms, and Gartner’s 2025 report on Talent Acquisition Suites ranked Phenom #1 for “Extended CRM” use case. This suggests Phenom is often seen as the go-to solution for companies wanting an integrated talent experience spanning attraction, engagement, and conversion.

Pricing Model: Phenom’s pricing is modular. Companies can purchase different combinations of its platform: typically, Phenom Career Site + CRM is a common bundle, with optional add-ons like the chatbot, SMS, referrals, university recruiting, and internal mobility modules. Pricing is usually annual subscription based on the organization’s size (number of employees or number of hires per year). Phenom tends to target mid-to-large enterprises, so pricing can range broadly – smaller companies (a few thousand employees) might spend in the low tens of thousands per year, whereas a Fortune 100 company could have a multi-year seven-figure deal if they use Phenom globally across many modules. The model is generally not per-user; it’s more about overall usage and modules. Implementation services might be extra or included depending on the deal. Phenom often demonstrates clear ROI metrics (faster hiring, higher career site conversion, etc.) to justify the cost. It doesn’t offer a free tier; however, they sometimes do pilot programs for specific modules. A third-party source noted G2 users reported a Phenom average rating 4.4/5 and mentioned typical customers are enterprise – implying it’s priced and built for that segment. All considered, prospective iCIMS customers looking at Phenom should expect premium pricing commensurate with an enterprise software, but also the ability to replace several point solutions (career site CMS, email tools, etc.) with one platform.

User & Analyst Commentary: Phenom is widely recognized as a leader in Talent CRM/Talent Experience. Users frequently comment on its ease of use and comprehensive feature set. One G2 reviewer succinctly stated: “It’s an easy-to-use program. The two-way integration is a game changer. The AI features are extremely useful and save a ton of time.”. Another user highlighted the intuitive interface and how easy it is to create landing pages and career sites, calling the experience “seamless”. Phenom’s mobile-friendly design and modern UI get high marks. On the flip side, some users mention that certain advanced configurations (like always-on campaigns with dynamic lists) can be tricky, but often these are newer users still learning. Customer support by Phenom is often praised as well; Phenom usually provides a dedicated customer success manager to enterprise clients.

Analysts have been bullish on Phenom: along with the Gartner and Everest recognitions mentioned, Phenom often appears in “top HR tech” lists. In 2023, it was named a Leader in the Everest Group’s CRM assessment, citing its comprehensive capabilities. The company has also won awards for innovation in AI (their AI was ranked highly among AI companies in HR). One differentiating praise is Phenom’s approach to the whole talent experience – analysts note that its integration of candidate, recruiter, employee, and manager experiences in one platform is unique in the market. For an iCIMS customer, the consensus is that Phenom can significantly uplift the recruiting front-end: as one user on Reddit described, Phenom “hosts our website + apply process” and solves several issues like eliminating forced account creation for candidates and automating follow-ups on incomplete applications, which they say is a “much better use of our time” than building such integrations in-house. Such testimonials show the real-world impact (in this case, improved apply conversion and less IT burden). All in all, Phenom is seen as a top-tier solution that can transform the talent acquisition process, and user feedback backs up its ability to deliver on improved efficiency and experience.

Symphony Talent (SmashFlyX)

Integration with iCIMS: Symphony Talent, which acquired SmashFly in 2019, offers its CRM under the name SmashFlyX. It is built to integrate with a variety of ATS, and iCIMS is no exception. Integration is typically handled via secure APIs or scheduled data feeds. There isn’t a native plug-in in iCIMS, but many organizations have successfully connected SmashFly to iCIMS using the iCIMS API or integration middleware. In integration, SmashFly acts as the recruitment marketing frontend: candidates may join talent networks or be nurtured in SmashFly, and when they eventually apply, the system pushes their data into iCIMS ATS. Conversely, jobs from iCIMS can be pulled into SmashFly to power the career site and campaigns. According to Joynd (an HR integration provider), SmashFly was among the “most-requested integrations” for iCIMS, highlighting that this combination is common for enhancing iCIMS with CRM capabilities. User feedback indicates that SmashFly is “easy to integrate [with] other systems”. For example, one TrustRadius reviewer specifically listed “ability to integrate other systems with SmashFly” as a strength, suggesting that exchanging data with ATS or HRIS is straightforward. Typically, integration allows near real-time updates: e.g., when a candidate joins a SmashFly talent network, a lead record might be created in iCIMS; or when a requisition is posted in iCIMS, it shows up on the SmashFly-powered career site. While not as instantaneous as a native module, these integrations are mature – SmashFly has been interfacing with ATS like iCIMS, Taleo, Workday, etc., for over a decade. In summary, API integration via connectors is the route, often supported by Symphony Talent’s implementation team or partners like IBM, Deloitte, etc., who do TA tech integrations.

Core Features & Differentiators: SmashFly was one of the original recruitment marketing platforms, and its feature set reflects that comprehensive approach. Key features include:

• Talent Network & Landing Pages: SmashFly lets companies create branded landing pages (for campaigns or events) with Talent Network forms where candidates can submit their info even if they aren’t ready to apply. These forms feed the CRM talent pools. Having a robust talent network is a core concept of SmashFly – e.g., “Join our Talent Community” forms on career sites are powered by SmashFly to capture passive candidates. Users specifically appreciated the “Talent Network Forms” in reviews, as they increase conversion of career site visitors into leads.

• Automated Email Campaigns and Nurture Streams: Users can build email campaigns with drag-and-drop editors and schedule them or set them to trigger based on candidate actions. SmashFly introduced the concept of “nurture tracks” – automated sequences of emails or texts that progress over time. For instance, a diversity nurture track might send a series of monthly updates about the company’s D&I efforts to keep diverse candidates engaged. The platform can send follow-up emails based on engagement (if a candidate clicked a link vs. ignored an email, different next steps). A globenewswire release noted SmashFly’s AI recommendation engine for pipeline intelligence that suggests top candidates by skills and engagement, which ties into prioritizing who gets nurtured.

• SMS/Text Recruiting: SmashFly integrated text messaging early on (through partnership and later native SMS). Recruiters can send text blasts or one-to-one messages to candidates from the system. Given the rise of texting, this is crucial for hourly roles especially.

• Job Distribution and Posting: SmashFly includes capabilities to distribute jobs to various job boards and social media (though often clients still use separate job distribution tools, SmashFly can handle some feeds). One pro review mentioned the ability to “post requisitions to different job sites” easily.

• Social and Referral features: It has social media recruiting tools that allow jobs or content to be shared on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc., and an employee referral portal where employees can share jobs to their networks and refer candidates, tracking those referrals in the CRM.

• Event Management: Similar to others, SmashFly supports creating events in the system, managing invitations and registration, and tracking attendees. It might not have as advanced on-site app as iCIMS’ solution, but it covers the basics (Symphony Talent also had an events app called Experience Cloud that pairs with SmashFlyX).

• Analytics & Source Tracking: SmashFly provides a marketing-style dashboard: where did your leads come from? Which campaign emails are performing? It tracks source of hire, talent network growth, campaign engagement metrics, etc. It also can track how many eventual hires came from the talent network vs. direct applicants. This helps demonstrate ROI of CRM efforts.

One differentiator historically was SmashFly’s focus on pipeline intelligence – identifying and ranking candidates in your database who best fit open roles (Symphony Talent integrated some AI for candidate-job matching post-acquisition). Another differentiator: being a unified platform for recruitment marketing; SmashFly was often praised for doing all the pieces (career site front, CRM, referrals, analytics) in one. After being acquired by Symphony Talent, it likely gained better integration with Symphony’s creative services and programmatic ad tech. The new combined platform (SmashFlyX) might also emphasize content personalization on career sites.

Candidate & Recruiter Experience: For candidates, SmashFly aims to engage them before they apply. A typical candidate experience is: they visit a company’s career site (which might be powered entirely or in part by SmashFly’s front-end), they see an option to “Join our talent community” and perhaps fill a short form. They might also see targeted content (Symphony Talent is known for career site personalization, so candidates could see content relevant to, say, engineering if they’re an engineer). Once in the talent community, candidates receive periodic communications – job alerts, company news, event invites – which keep the company in mind. When they do apply, ideally the data they already provided pre-populates the application (depending on integration). Overall, candidates benefit from a more continuous relationship with the employer rather than the “black hole” of an ATS. Also, the career site experience under SmashFly tends to be more user-friendly and mobile-optimized than older ATS pages.

For recruiters and recruitment marketers, SmashFly provides a central hub to manage all these engagement efforts. Recruiters can search the talent network by keywords, skills, etc., and see who might fit a new req. The UI for SmashFlyX (post-2019) has been updated to be more modern and user-centric, though historically some users found the UI a bit dated (Symphony has likely improved it). According to one HR tech analyst user, SmashFly allows recruiters to “track candidate engagements with requisitions” (seeing if a candidate viewed or clicked a job) and offers “personalized email campaigns” easily. Another noted benefit was that it helps nurture leads and keep candidates updated about culture and jobs – this indicates recruiters felt it aided the long-term relationship. Recruiters likely appreciate the ability to automate routine follow-ups (like post-event thank you emails, or nurture series for new leads). A user pro comment also said SmashFly makes it “easy to integrate” with other tools, meaning recruiters can use it alongside assessment tools, background checks, etc., without hiccups. There might be some learning curve for recruiters new to CRM, but SmashFly’s focus being recruitment (not general marketing) means the interface uses recruiting terminology and workflows, which is easier for TA folks to grasp. Perhaps the main critique has been that since it’s separate from the ATS, recruiters have to reconcile data between two systems (though integration mitigates this). But recruiters who adopt it generally see value in having more touchpoints and insights on candidates – e.g., knowing a candidate in iCIMS came from a SmashFly campaign or attended an event can inform how the recruiter approaches them.

Industry Use Cases: SmashFlyX is used across industries but has been particularly popular in companies that invest in employer branding and proactive talent acquisition. For example, large companies like Ford (Automotive), Panera Bread (retail/food), and Boeing (Aerospace) were known SmashFly customers, indicating usage in manufacturing, retail, defense, etc. Campus recruiting and events is a big use: many firms use SmashFly to manage their campus talent pipeline – capture students at career fairs and then nurture them until they convert to applicants for internships/jobs. Diversity recruiting campaigns are another use case; recruiters can create pools for women in tech, veterans, etc., and run tailored nurture content, track engagement and progress towards diversity hiring goals (SmashFly even had features for diversity hiring reporting). High-volume hiring in sectors like hospitality, customer service, or seasonal hiring is also common – here SmashFly helps keep a bench of candidates warm and then blast out invites when hiring season comes, reducing time to fill. RPO and staffing agencies have also used SmashFly as a candidate engagement tool to complement ATS. One particular strength is for companies that do a lot of Employer Brand marketing – SmashFly (and Symphony Talent’s combined offering) can serve as the content management system for career sites, host employee testimonial videos, and run social media recruiting campaigns. Essentially, for organizations that see recruitment as a marketing funnel, SmashFly is a fit. The platform’s continued inclusion in market share reports (ranked #5 in CRM market share in 2023) shows it’s widely adopted.

Pricing Model: SmashFlyX’s pricing is not public, as with others, but it is likely a subscription based on modules and company size. Historically, SmashFly (pre-acquisition) was sold as an enterprise software with annual contracts. After joining Symphony Talent, there might be bundling options (Symphony also sells creative services and programmatic advertising, which could be packaged). Typically, a client might pay a base fee for the platform (including a certain number of recruiter users and support for a certain talent database size). If career site hosting is included, that might affect cost. Also, if additional modules like programmatic ad posting or SMS texting credits are included, that could be add-on costs. It tends to be license-based (enterprise) rather than usage-based. Small businesses likely find it too expensive; it’s geared for mid-to-large organizations. Pricing likely competes with Phenom and Avature at the higher end for full-suite capabilities. Some sources mention SmashFly pricing being customized to each client’s needs (so one company might just use it for CRM and pay less than another that uses CRM+career site+ads). The general expectation should be a significant five-figure to six-figure annual investment.

User & Analyst Commentary: Users who have reviewed SmashFly (Symphony Talent) note that it’s a “must-have” in a modern recruiting toolkit for capturing and nurturing leads. Many emphasize the importance of having such a platform in today’s job-seeker market. Pros highlighted in feedback include the personalized campaigns and ability to track candidate engagement easily. Recruiters enjoy how it keeps candidates informed about company culture and opportunities, essentially building a pipeline that yields hires down the line. On G2 and TrustRadius, Symphony Talent/SmashFly usually scores in the high 3s to low 4s out of 5. It might not have as high ratings as some newer UI players like Phenom, but it’s respected as a mature product. One area that saw criticism historically was the user interface (some found it not as intuitive or the analytics not as deep as they wanted), but Symphony Talent has likely been addressing that.

Analyst-wise, Symphony Talent (including SmashFly) has been recognized in reports like the Forrester Wave for Recruitment Marketing – often in the leader or strong performer category. The acquisition by Symphony combined creative services with tech, which analysts saw as a differentiator for employer brand execution. In market share terms, as noted, Symphony Talent held a significant portion of the CRM market. A notable analyst comment came from Aptitude Research around the acquisition: expecting “integration of SmashFly’s core CRM features into Symphony’s product as well as internal mobility” – indeed, since then, the unified SmashFlyX platform covers CRM and internal talent mobility. All considered, the sentiment is that SmashFly (Symphony Talent) is a proven solution in recruitment CRM with breadth of features. It might not have all the flash of the newest AI startups, but it has robust functionality that talent acquisition teams have relied on for years. For iCIMS customers specifically, SmashFlyX provides a way to get advanced recruitment marketing without abandoning iCIMS – and many have taken that path historically. As one HR tech consultant site put it, if your ATS lacks CRM, you can layer a solution like Beamery, Phenom “or SmashFly” on top – that endorsement as one of the go-to CRM layers speaks to SmashFly’s established position in this niche.

GR8 People

Integration with iCIMS: GR8 People is somewhat unique on this list because it is an all-in-one Talent Acquisition Platform – incorporating an ATS, CRM, and other tools in one system. It typically isn’t used alongside another ATS, which means there’s rarely a case where GR8 People CRM alone integrates with iCIMS ATS; the two products are essentially competitors. Therefore, native integration with iCIMS is not offered, and using GR8 People purely as a CRM while keeping iCIMS would require custom work. In practice, an organization choosing GR8 People usually uses its ATS capabilities too. However, to address the question of compatibility: GR8 People does have open APIs and integrates with common HR tech tools (assessment, HRIS, etc.), so technically one could set up an integration where leads in GR8 People are sent into iCIMS, but this would not be an out-of-the-box or supported configuration. Rather, GR8 People positions itself as replacing the need for iCIMS by providing both ATS and CRM. In contexts like an RPO or a staffing firm that might use multiple systems, it’s conceivable they could push data from GR8 to a client’s iCIMS, but generally, for iCIMS customers, GR8 People would be an alternative platform, not an add-on. In summary, compatibility via API is theoretically possible (the vendor has APIs for candidate data), but it’s not a common or intended use-case since overlapping ATS functionality would conflict. For completeness, GR8 People does integrate with various sourcing tools and social platforms (as any CRM would) and can import/export data, so an iCIMS client could perhaps import historical data from GR8 if transitioning, but not run them concurrently in a standard way.

Core Features & Differentiators: GR8 People markets itself as “The Everyone Platform™”, meaning it covers end-to-end talent acquisition. Key components are Source, Attract, Engage, and Hire all in one. Focusing on the CRM (“Engage”) features: GR8 People’s CRM has all the expected capabilities – talent pools, email and SMS campaigns, workflows for nurturing candidates, and analytics. Some differentiators include:

• Unified Database: Because CRM and ATS are one system in GR8, all candidate data and activity (whether they have applied or are just leads) resides in one profile. This gives recruiters a 360° view without needing to sync data between systems. It also means any CRM action (like emailing a silver medalist) is aware of real-time hiring status (e.g., if that person just applied to something else).

• Ease of Use and Automation: GR8 People emphasizes intuitive design and automation to “eliminate low value tasks” for recruiters. For example, it has automated talent matching (the system can automatically match new applicants to other open reqs or to talent pools), and automated workflows that move candidates through steps or send communications based on triggers. It’s also known for robust resume parsing and quick data entry – one G2 review praised the bulk resume upload and that integrations with LinkedIn/Indeed were present to reduce manual work.

• Personalized Campaigns: Recruiters can create highly targeted campaigns with merge fields and branded templates (the system comes with template libraries). Users liked that the campaign tools produce “professional customized messages” easily. Multi-channel campaigns can be run (email, text).

• Built-in Text and Chat: GR8 People includes an integrated text recruiting tool and even a chatbot/virtual recruiting assistant module. This means recruiters can text candidates from within the platform (with opt-out management, etc.), and set up chatbot interactions on the career site or via messaging apps. Not all CRM platforms have their own chatbot – GR8 People offering one is a differentiator, especially for those who want one vendor for everything.

• Event and Campus Recruiting: GR8 People has a dedicated events module for career fairs, info sessions, etc., including mobile event apps for on-site check-in, QR code scanning, etc. They also have specialized workflows for campus recruiting (like managing university relationships and interview schedules).

• Referrals and Internal Talent: While primarily external focused, GR8 People’s single platform can manage employee referrals seamlessly (employees enter referrals and recruiters see them in CRM/ATS) and internal candidate engagement as well.

• Analytics and Dashboards: It includes configurable dashboards to monitor pipeline health, source performance, and recruiter productivity. Given everything’s in one system, the analytics can be quite comprehensive (tracking from source to hire without data silos). It likely tracks metrics like time to engage, conversion rates per talent pool, etc.

One differentiator often cited is platform agility – GR8 People is a smaller vendor than say iCIMS or Oracle, so they pride themselves on quickly adding new features and being responsive to client needs. In recent G2 press, GR8 People was recognized for customer satisfaction and usability. Indeed, user reviews frequently commend their support team and how often the software updates with improvements. A recent addition is support for emerging needs like direct sourcing (for contingent workers) and specialized analytics for DEI and candidate experience.

Candidate & Recruiter Experience: Since GR8 People covers the whole recruiting continuum, candidates experience a seamless process from joining a talent community to applying to onboarding. For example, a candidate might join a talent pool via a quick form or by texting a keyword (text-to-join) – GR8’s text recruiting can allow candidates to simply send their email or resume via text to join. They then receive personalized content. When they apply, it’s the same system, so they don’t have to re-enter data they already provided. The career site on GR8 People is typically modern and on par with other top platforms (it supports mobile-responsive design, accessibility, and dynamic content insertion). Because GR8 People is not as large as some competitors, its career site capabilities might be slightly less flashy than Phenom’s (for instance, Phenom’s AI personalization might be more advanced), but generally candidates get a user-friendly, straightforward experience. One noted feature is interview self-scheduling – GR8 People allows candidates to self-schedule interviews, which is a smoother experience than back-and-forth emails. Also, their chatbot can guide candidates, answer FAQs, and even screen, making the process interactive. Overall, candidates dealing with GR8 People-powered systems often comment on the ease of applying and the continuous engagement. One user review mentioned “our applicants have been able to apply and make their way through the entire hiring process with ease”, attributing that to GR8 People’s system.

For recruiters, GR8 People offers a unified workflow: they don’t have to toggle between ATS and CRM. This can increase efficiency – for instance, a recruiter posts a job, and from the same interface, they can immediately search their talent pools for matches and launch a campaign to re-engage those candidates. Recruiters benefit from fewer manual tasks thanks to automation (the system might auto-rank candidates or auto-progress statuses based on rules). GR8 People’s interface gets high marks for usability – described as “very customizable and easy to use”. Because the platform is all-in-one, recruiters have less complexity in tech stack, which can mean less training needed. GR8 People also provides specialized interfaces for different roles: recruiting coordinators, sourcers, hiring managers, etc., each can have tailored views. The feedback on support is stellar – multiple users highlight that the GR8 People team is extremely responsive and helpful. That means the recruiter experience is backed by good vendor support for any issues or config changes.

One standout in user feedback is scheduling: G2 users gave GR8 People a very high rating for interview scheduling ease. This suggests recruiters find its scheduling tools (like calendar integrations, automated reminders) very helpful. Another practical plus: integrations with LinkedIn and Indeed for sourcing are built-in, so recruiters can easily export candidates from LinkedIn Recruiter to GR8 or pull in Indeed resumes, saving time. There’s also mention of bulk resume uploads, indicating recruiters can import candidate lists (like from a job fair) efficiently. Considering all, recruiters on GR8 People can do sourcing, CRM, and ATS tasks in one place – many find this less cumbersome than managing separate systems and integrations.

Industry Use Cases: GR8 People, being an end-to-end platform, is often used by organizations that want a unified solution. Its clients include corporate HR teams in various industries as well as RPO firms. For example, Randstad Sourceright (a big RPO) has been a client, using GR8 for their recruiting operations, citing that they filled 80% of jobs with existing talent using GR8’s talent pools. This speaks to the platform’s ability to enable re-deployment of known candidates. GR8 People is also known in the university recruiting scene – it has features for managing campus events and intern pipelines, which attract companies with large college hiring programs. Global companies use it as well; the platform supports multiple languages and currencies for a global career site and hiring processes.

It’s also geared for high-volume hiring scenarios: clients in retail or hospitality who need to process thousands of applicants appreciate the automation (text-to-apply signage leading directly into GR8 People’s CRM, quick screen and schedule). Diversity hiring initiatives can be managed since you can tag and track diverse candidates in the system and run campaigns tailored to them. In terms of org size, GR8 People historically targeted mid-to-large enterprises (similar to iCIMS’ market) – say companies with a few thousand to 100k employees. However, GR8 People often highlighted its success with complex environments – e.g., Teradata (tech) cutting time-to-fill by 25% using GR8’s automation, or Informatica reducing tools and costs by consolidating on GR8. So a big use case is tool consolidation: companies wanting to simplify their TA tech stack from many point solutions down to one platform.

Pricing Model: GR8 People’s pricing is typically an enterprise SaaS license. Since it includes ATS + CRM, the pricing likely scales with the size of the organization (number of employees or number of recruiters/hiring managers using the system). It is likely seat-based or company-size-based. For example, a company might pay per recruiter user per year, or a flat fee for up to X employees. GR8 People doesn’t publish pricing, but as a single platform it could be cost-competitive against buying ATS and CRM separately. Some SMB-focused reviews mention it’s suitable for “enterprise-level recruitment”, implying it may not be cheap for very small firms. The vendor might offer different packages or modules (though their philosophy is one platform, one price; they might not segment CRM separately). Implementation is usually done by GR8 People’s team or certified partners and would be an extra cost (or bundled into first year). They often tout quick implementation relative to some bigger ATS. There are no known free versions; it’s a fully paid solution, but ROI can be seen by eliminating other subscriptions. Overall, an interested organization would get a custom quote based on their hiring volume and requirements.

User & Analyst Commentary: GR8 People consistently receives positive user reviews for its customer service and usability. In G2’s Spring 2025 report, it earned 12 badges including ones for high customer satisfaction, indicating users are happy. Real user quotes: “integrations and usability and outstanding technical support team” – this came from an enterprise user praising not just the tool but the vendor’s team. Another review: “system is very customizable and easy to use… little to no issues… applicants go through with ease… staff is fantastic”. Such feedback underscores that GR8 People has achieved an excellent reputation for meeting customer needs and quickly resolving any issues. The mention of continuous feature updates suggests users see the product evolving to include new capabilities (e.g., recent AI features or improved UI).

Analysts haven’t widely covered GR8 People in major waves, possibly because it’s a smaller private company, but it has been recognized in niche reports. For example, some analyst commentary in 2021/2022 noted GR8 People as an “Emerging player” that offers a compelling unified platform alternative to giants like iCIMS and SuccessFactors. Its strength in RPO space (where recruiters need one agile system for many clients) was often highlighted – that’s a testament to its flexibility and comprehensive nature. GR8 People’s focus on both ATS and CRM aligns with a trend that recruiting systems should do both (Gartner has noted that having separate ATS and CRM may eventually give way to unified TA suites, which is exactly GR8’s model). For iCIMS customers evaluating GR8 People, the feedback suggests GR8 People can indeed handle everything in one – but switching to it means replacing the ATS. If that path is taken, users can expect a strong partner in GR8 People given its customer-centric praise. In summary, user reviews frequently emphasize speed, simplicity, and support as GR8 People’s hallmarks, making it a beloved tool among those who have adopted it.

Eightfold

Integration with iCIMS: Eightfold AI is positioned as a Talent Intelligence layer that complements existing systems like ATS and HRIS. It was built to be integrated, and indeed it has a supported integration with iCIMS Talent Cloud. Eightfold typically connects to an ATS via API, importing data such as jobs, candidates (applicants, past applicants, maybe employee data for internal mobility) into Eightfold’s AI platform. For iCIMS, Eightfold would use iCIMS APIs to fetch data like job requisitions and candidate profiles, run its AI matching, and then push insights or candidate rediscovery results back. For example, if a new job opens in iCIMS, Eightfold can scan the ATS database and produce a list of silver medalist candidates ranked by fit. These might be surfaced either within Eightfold’s interface or sent into iCIMS (some clients integrate via daily sync or real-time calls where Eightfold can update candidate tags in iCIMS or similar). Eightfold’s product documentation often indicates it “sits alongside” ATS/HCM systems – which implies a co-existence integration model. So iCIMS users typically access Eightfold’s own UI for AI search/match and CRM campaigns, but when they want to take action like advancing a candidate, that candidate record will be in iCIMS with notes or flags from Eightfold.

Additionally, Eightfold can integrate with career sites: it often powers job recommendations on career pages (“recommended jobs for you” sections), which requires embedding Eightfold’s technology into the site that is likely connected to the ATS job feed. So integration touches: ATS data sync, career site plugin, and possibly integration to send campaign emails (Eightfold can use its system or trigger via ATS, depends on setup).

Since Eightfold is an AI-heavy solution, integration depth might include reading resumes, applications, and outcomes from iCIMS to continuously learn. The GetApp info explicitly lists iCIMS as an integration and also mentions others like Lever, Greenhouse, Workday, confirming Eightfold’s broad compatibility. Implementation for iCIMS-Eightfold integration is typically handled by Eightfold’s team working with the client’s iCIMS APIs.

Core Features & Differentiators: Eightfold’s core differentiator is its AI Talent Intelligence. Unlike traditional CRMs that rely on manual talent pooling and rule-based campaigns, Eightfold leverages a massive global dataset and machine learning to drive recruiting actions. Some key features:

• AI Matching & Recommendations: Eightfold’s algorithms analyze resumes, profiles, and job descriptions to infer skills and experience. It then provides powerful matching – e.g., for an open req, it will instantly surface the top 50 candidates from your entire talent database (past applicants, leads, referrals, etc.), even if they applied years ago for something else. This “Talent Rediscovery” is a signature use case. It can also match people to roles they didn’t apply for but would fit, something recruiters might miss. One G2 reviewer highlighted “Top Candidate Recommendations for any position” as an amazing feature.

• Personalized Candidate Engagement: Eightfold’s CRM component allows scheduling and sending of campaigns, but here’s the twist – it can use AI to select the best audience for a campaign. For example, instead of a recruiter manually picking 200 people to blast an email about a new job, the recruiter can ask Eightfold to find who is most likely to respond or be a good fit, leveraging its predictive model. Eightfold claimed “AI can even select the right audience for any message, a power no other talent CRM can offer”.

• Skill Insights and Talent Graph: Eightfold maintains a taxonomy of millions of skills and career trajectories (gleaned from analyzing public data like resumes, LinkedIn profiles). It uses this to infer missing skills from a candidate’s resume, or suggest adjacent skills that might be valuable. It also can indicate probability of a candidate learning a skill or transitioning roles. This goes beyond typical keyword matching; it’s a holistic view of talent potential.

• Diversity & Bias Mitigation: Eightfold’s algorithms are designed to ignore factors like age, gender, ethnicity and focus on skills and experience, which they claim helps reduce bias. They provide diversity analytics – e.g., predicting the gender or ethnicity mix of talent pipelines and highlighting where bias might be occurring. (It’s tricky since they don’t explicitly collect those attributes, but they use name inference for analysis, which some companies use cautiously.)

• Automation & Workflow: Eightfold can automate parts of recruiting: e.g., automatically screen applicants by fit score, or automatically send qualified ones to hiring manager review. It’s less about manual workflow configuration (like Avature) and more about intelligent auto-actions based on AI scoring.

• Scheduling and CRM Basics: Eightfold added features like interview self-scheduling and automated interview coordination (some users praise Eightfold’s scheduling as one of their favorites). It also supports sending bulk emails or texts, though perhaps not as richly as marketing-oriented CRMs – but it does integrate with email systems to track replies, etc.

• Internal Mobility & Career Site: Eightfold’s platform covers internal mobility (employees get recommendations for open roles or career paths within the company) and that same engine is used externally on career sites (showing visitors jobs that fit them best, if they upload a resume or connect a profile). The internal side is a differentiator since not all CRMs focus on that – Eightfold often sells Talent Acquisition and Internal Talent Management together, because the AI benefits from having both employee and candidate data.

• Continuous Learning: Eightfold’s AI supposedly improves as it gets more data (both global data and client-specific outcomes like who got hired, who performed well). This concept is that over time it refines what “good” looks like for your organization’s hires.

Overall, Eightfold’s differentiator is doing the heavy lifting of sourcing/matching with AI rather than manual recruiter effort. A notable line from marketing: “Eightfold gives talent teams intelligent applications needed to optimize the entire talent lifecycle” – meaning it’s not just a CRM but an AI brain across recruiting and retention.

Candidate & Recruiter Experience: Candidate experience with Eightfold is somewhat indirect. If a company uses Eightfold on their career site, a candidate might see a prompt like “Upload your resume for personalized job recommendations” – upon doing so, they get a list of matched jobs, even ones they might not have thought to search for, which can be a positive surprise and lead to more applications. This can particularly engage passive candidates who are browsing; they might join the talent network to get such recommendations via email later. If the candidate converses with a chatbot, Eightfold might power the logic behind job matching in that conversation. Also, as Eightfold helps companies reach out to silver medalists and past applicants, candidates experience re-engagement: for example, months after applying, they might get a message “We have a new role that fits your profile, check it out”, which makes them feel remembered and valued. Eightfold ensures these communications are targeted, so candidates receive relevant opportunities rather than spam. The candidate application process itself still goes through the ATS (iCIMS), so Eightfold doesn’t alter that UI, except it might shorten it by pre-populating info if integrated properly. In essence, candidates may not know Eightfold is at work, but they benefit from more personalized interaction (job suggestions, relevant outreach, possibly quicker process if good matches surface sooner).

For recruiters, Eightfold can be transformative. Instead of manually searching through thousands of resumes in the ATS, a recruiter can let Eightfold surface likely candidates in seconds. They can search with advanced criteria (like “Java AND Python AND machine learning” and the AI will also bring those with related skills like “AI” even if not exact keyword). G2 users mention “the search and calibration is very useful” and that Eightfold allows triangulating on exact talent via rich criteria. Recruiters also see fit scores on profiles, which guide them where to spend time. Eightfold’s UI typically presents candidates in a list with scores and key skill matches highlighted, which is a different experience from an ATS list view. This helps recruiters quickly prioritize who to contact. On contacting, Eightfold enables easy bulk actions – e.g., select top 20, send an email inviting to apply. Because it’s one platform for both external and internal talent, recruiters/hiring managers can compare internal vs external candidates for a role, which encourages internal mobility. Also, Eightfold can proactively notify recruiters “You have 50 marketing coordinators in your database who might fit the new Marketing Manager req” – a bit like a recommendation feed, reducing reliance on fresh applicants or expensive job ads. This is a shift from reactive to proactive recruiting.

Recruiters generally appreciate these capabilities, though it’s worth noting effective use of Eightfold requires a change in mindset – trusting the AI suggestions and working those leads. Some recruiters may initially be skeptical of an AI’s picks, but many report being impressed by the relevance of candidates surfaced (like finding a great candidate who applied for a different role 2 years ago, whom they’d have never remembered without the AI). The scheduling features also lighten recruiter admin burden: Eightfold’s ability to coordinate calendars or send automated reminders keeps the process moving (some reviews highlight scheduling and interview management as a plus).

One potential drawback is that Eightfold’s interface might not (by itself) handle all the CRM campaign sophistication that a dedicated recruitment marketing tool does – e.g., designing beautiful email templates or multi-step nurture flows might be simpler in something like Avature or Phenom. Eightfold’s emails might be more utilitarian in comparison, since its focus is on the AI matching. However, companies often use Eightfold primarily for matching and use their ATS or other systems for mass communications. Eightfold’s candidate profiles also aggregate data in a user-friendly way: a recruiter can see not just the resume, but also inferred skills, previous roles, possibly social links, and whether the person is in other talent pools. That comprehensive profile helps recruiter decision-making. Another experience note: Eightfold provides a “Candidate360” view that can highlight things like likelihood to relocate, or which locations a candidate might fit (if they have some, say, work authorization info), giving recruiters more context without extra research.

Industry Use Cases: Eightfold gained traction initially in tech companies and forward-looking enterprises, and now is used in many sectors (retail, finance, manufacturing, government, etc.). One major use case is Talent Rediscovery – companies sitting on huge ATS databases of past applicants leverage Eightfold to unlock that value, often reducing the need (and cost) for new sourcing. For example, a large company might have a million resumes in iCIMS; Eightfold can find relevant candidates in that pile for current openings, turning past “waste” into hires. Another use case is Diversity Hiring: by focusing on skills and using features like blind screening (hiding names), Eightfold helps identify candidates who might have been overlooked and measures diversity in pipelines. Companies with strong diversity initiatives might use Eightfold to see, for instance, that they have many qualified female engineers in their system who never applied to a particular role but should be considered, and then engage them.

High-volume hiring is also a scenario – not in the sense of processing 10,000 hourly applications (that’s more Phenom’s territory), but in the sense of quickly matching thousands of applicants to the right roles. Eightfold has been used by organizations hiring en masse (e.g., companies ramping up hiring for a new division) because it can rapidly triage and rank applicants.

Internal mobility and upskilling is a big use: many Eightfold customers use it internally to let employees find new roles or recommend trainings to gain skills for future roles. This crosses into HR management rather than external CRM, but it’s part of the value prop.

Eightfold is also used for recruiter efficiency in industries with lean TA teams – if a company doesn’t have a huge sourcing team, Eightfold acts as a “force multiplier” by doing sourcing work via AI. Government and defense contractors have looked at Eightfold for clearing talent pools and skill-based matching (especially as they pivot to skill-based hiring).

Analyst reports like Gartner have recognized Eightfold in categories like Talent Acquisition technologies, and it’s often mentioned in the same breath as Beamery and Phenom but with a tilt towards AI and internal mobility. One LinkedIn post (from an industry expert) compared Beamery, Avature, Phenom (CRM-centric) to Eightfold as more of an AI layer for HCM – indeed Eightfold can layer on any system, not just ATS but also LMS for skill development, etc., which is a broad use case beyond recruiting.

Pricing Model: Eightfold is usually sold as an enterprise subscription. They often price by modules: e.g., Talent Acquisition (external) module, Internal Talent (mobility) module, possibly contingent or diversity modules. Pricing likely scales with enterprise size (number of employees, which correlates to number of candidates, etc.). It’s reportedly not cheap – Eightfold often competes on value rather than budget, given its sophisticated AI. Some sources indicate target customers are 2,000+ employees, suggesting mid-large enterprises who can invest significantly. Deals can run into the six or seven figures annually for global implementations. ROI is typically pitched in terms of saving on recruiting agency fees, faster hiring (so less vacancy cost), and improved retention (for internal uses). Eightfold might offer volume-based pricing – e.g., up to X number of employee profiles and Y candidate profiles analyzed.

Implementation costs may be additional, as integration with ATS and initial AI training is a project. There’s no free trial, but they might do pilot projects. It’s a pure SaaS model though, not one-time license. Given Eightfold’s unique value, many companies have been willing to budget for it if they have strategic talent initiatives.

User & Analyst Commentary: Eightfold generally receives positive reviews especially for its matching capability. G2 shows Eightfold AI around 4.2/5 stars. Users have said things like “extremely user friendly and the scheduling features are one of my favorites I have ever used!”, indicating that once people use it, they find it intuitive and helpful, even beyond the AI matching (like scheduling). Others highlight the strong partnership and willingness of Eightfold to improve the platform together – this implies Eightfold’s team works closely with clients and iterates quickly, which is a positive for enterprise relationships. A lot of praise goes to the quality of recommended candidates: recruiters often mention that Eightfold finds great people that they might have missed, effectively broadening their pipeline with internal talent or past candidates. One reviewer pointed out how Eightfold allows focusing on “exact talent via a rich array of criteria” and not just basic filters, which underscores the powerful search capability.

Criticisms or areas to watch: AI results are only as good as data, so if a company’s data is outdated or resumes are scant, Eightfold might not perform magic. Some users might have expected even more from AI (there’s often hype vs reality to manage). Also, for smaller companies, Eightfold could be more tool than needed – if you don’t have large datasets, a simpler CRM might suffice, which some have noted.

Analyst-wise, Eightfold has made waves by being included in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Talent Acquisition (if such existed) and by receiving significant investment (which analysts note as validation of its approach). It’s been labelled a leader in AI Talent Platforms. A measure of market presence: it was one of the top 10 in CRM market share by revenue (though lower than Avature/Phenom), which is notable for a newer entrant.

For iCIMS customers, analysts or consultants might say: if you want to supercharge your existing ATS with cutting-edge AI, Eightfold is a top option – it “transforms your entire talent ecosystem” by bringing intelligence mined from millions of data points. That’s a bold claim, but many early adopters have seen recruiting and internal hiring gains from it. In summary, the market views Eightfold as a trailblazer in AI for talent, with the caveat that it’s best leveraged by organizations ready for an AI-driven approach. The platform’s ability to integrate widely, including with iCIMS, and provide unique capabilities makes it a compelling complement to an ATS for those looking beyond traditional CRM.

After evaluating these platforms, it’s clear that each CRM offers distinct advantages. iCIMS’ own CRM is tightly integrated and strong in candidate experience; Beamery and Avature deliver highly configurable, feature-rich solutions suited for complex needs; Phenom and SmashFly focus on comprehensive recruitment marketing and exceptional front-end engagement; GR8 People provides an all-in-one simplicity with top-notch support; and Eightfold introduces advanced AI intelligence to uncover talent opportunities. The best choice for an iCIMS customer will depend on their specific priorities – whether it’s seamless native integration, maximum flexibility, AI-driven automation, or unified platform convenience.

Below is a feature grid summarizing key capabilities across these CRM platforms for quick comparison, followed by a list of sources for the information in this analysis.

Feature Comparison Grid

(Table: Key features and differentiators of each CRM platform, with focus on integration, AI, campaigns, career site, events, internal talent, analytics, and unique value.)

Sources

• 【21】iCIMS – Candidate Experience Management (CXM) product page. Describes iCIMS CRM features like ATS integration, campaigns, events, and AI matching.

• 【25】TechnologyAdvice – “Top Candidate Relationship Management Software” (2024). Provides pros/cons and features for iCIMS, Avature, Beamery, etc., including iCIMS’ focus on candidate experience (chatbot, events, DEI) and Beamery’s integrations and bias audit.

• 【28】TechnologyAdvice – Beamery section. Notes Beamery’s career site builder and compliance (AI audit) features, and cons like needing third-party chatbot.

• 【33】Integral Recruiting (Blog) – discusses CRM integrations with ATS. Mentions Beamery as “only certified” CRM for Workday and notes adding a CRM (Beamery, Phenom, SmashFly) on top of an ATS preserves talent communities.

• 【35】TechnologyAdvice – Avature section. Highlights Avature’s implementation services, events tools, multi-language support, API integrations and advanced sourcing (WebSource) and analytics (DEI, NPS).

• 【66】G2 Review (Avature) – User feedback calling Avature “the most flexible platform” with extensive configurability, and noting slow integration project timelines as a con.

• 【39】Phenom Blog – Phenom-iCIMS Partnership (2016). Describes seamless transfer of application data from Phenom to iCIMS, improving apply conversion (LinkedIn apply, cloud resumes, etc.).

• 【43】Reddit (Recruitment thread) – Practitioner describing using Phenom with Workday. Confirms Phenom’s two-way integration (hiring status sync) for mid-funnel communications if enabled, and benefits like no account needed for candidates, follow-up on incomplete apps.

• 【41】Phenom Press Release (2023) – Everest Group PEAK Matrix. Summarizes Phenom CRM capabilities: AI-driven pipelines, nurture, matching, video interviews, AI scheduling, analytics. Emphasizes high-volume hiring support (video assessments, fast scheduling).

• 【50】TrustRadius – iCIMS vs Symphony Talent (SmashFlyX) comparison. User pros: SmashFly easy integration with other systems, talent network forms, personalized campaigns; and iCIMS texting features. Highlights importance of nurturing leads with culture content.

• 【48】SoftwareSuggest – SmashFly Features. Lists SmashFly’s key features: Talent Network, Automated Nurture Campaigns, Email, SMS, Analytics, Job Distribution, Referrals, Mobile, Diversity recruiting, AI/ML, etc..

• 【46】Apps Run The World – CRM Market Share 2023. Ranks top vendors: Microsoft (LinkedIn) 28.7%, Bullhorn, Avature, Phenom, Symphony Talent, etc., with iCIMS ~7.7% and Beamery also in top 10. Also gives examples of enterprise customers: Ford using Symphony Talent SmashFly, Farmers Insurance using iCIMS CRM, etc.

• 【64】GR8 People G2 Reviews (on GR8 site). User quotes: “integrations and usability and outstanding support” – mentions LinkedIn/Indeed integrations, bulk resume upload, branded templates, continuous feature updates. Another: “system is very customizable and easy to use… applicants go through with ease… support team is fantastic”.

• 【53】GR8 People Website – outlines the “Everyone Platform” components: Source, Attract, Engage (CRM), Hire (ATS). Case studies: Randstad filling 80% jobs with existing talent via GR8 pools, etc.

• 【56】GR8 People “Engage” page – describes modern Talent CRM doing it all: personalized automated campaigns, workflows, and smart automation assessing qualifications and engagement continuously. Also lists features: marketing campaigns, text/chat, questionnaires, self-scheduling, design templates.

• 【58】Eightfold Website/Info – notes Eightfold’s CRM use-case: engage talent with content they want. Emphasizes how historically CRMs took effort, but Eightfold’s Personalized CRM can schedule and deliver campaigns to entire talent pool easily, with AI selecting the right audience. Also mentions compliance (GDPR) and high talent network response rates.

• 【70】G2 – Eightfold Overview. Describes Eightfold sitting alongside ATS/HRMS and bringing AI intelligence from millions of data points, turning talent data into competitive advantage. Lists that it’s available in 24 languages, 155 countries.

• 【71】G2 Reviews (Eightfold) – User likes: easy resume upload for candidates and AI shows other opportunities; extremely user-friendly scheduling and messaging features; powerful search criteria and triangulation on talent; top candidate recommendations via AI; great for finding interested candidates for hard-to-fill roles.

• 【69】G2 Review (Phenom) – Quote: “It’s an easy-to-use program. The two-way integration is a game changer. The AI features are extremely useful and save a ton of time.”. Illustrates user praise for Phenom’s ease, integration, AI.