Train the Trainer: The Effect of Peer Upskilling

Recruitment teams don’t struggle with tools so much as they struggle with habits. Between Bullhorn, automation and dashboards, none of it sticks unless the skills and behaviours behind the screen are there.

That’s why “train-the-trainer” and peer upskilling matter. Building up internal champions helps here. They’re the ones who can coach and teach everyone else, leading to an increase in adoption and data quality. And the best bit? The tech finally pays for itself.

The real problem isn’t the CRM

It’s not the system. It’s the habits around it. These are the patterns we see inside agencies that make Bullhorn look "clunky,” even though the fix is often behavioural and teachable.

For example, notes without actions. Calls might get logged, but without a next step, and no Task or reminder. So hot candidates go cold; client follow-ups are missed; leaders assume there’s been “no activity.”

With the train-the-trainer fix, you come up with a single rule: one touch = one update. If you add a Note, you set a Next Action (Task) or move the Submission status. Champions can then spot-check this live during huddles.

The main issue we find is that the day after any sort of platform-led training, the knowledge has already gone. By the next day, most people revert to old habits.

This learning transfer is only productive when training actually leads to changed behaviours and better results on the job. And the best way to do that is with the sort of training that speaks to the right people. These internal champions are the ones who evoke change within their agencies. We’re talking ops leaders.

Getting this transfer right is exactly what moves the needle on outcomes like productivity and job satisfaction. It’s not the event itself that has any impact; it’s what comes after.

This can be precisely the reason why Bullhorn often looks underused or clunky. Rolling out new workflows only to watch usage revert to old habits within weeks is a result of poor transfer. Without reinforcement of the underlying context by a trusted colleague, this can fail more often than not.

Why training the trainer works

The best reason why training the trainer is so effective is because it aligns with how adults actually learn at work.

The 70-20-10 model suggests that most workplace learning comes from on-the-job experience (70%), followed by what you pick up from others (20%) and then only a fraction from formal training (10%).

By training the trainer, you’re building that 20% social learning that’s situated in the work itself, turning power users into coaches who reinforce the 10% in real time. This can take the form of spot checks, weekly huddles, or just simply being available to answer any Bullhorn queries when they come up.

How this looks in Bullhorn

With all the work RE:STACK has done with various recruitment agencies up and down the UK, in America and Australia, we’ve seen familiar symptoms.

From data with incomplete fields, free-text notes and duplicate records to steps being skipped or work being completed outside of Bullhorn, it’s not hard for processes to go awry. We’ve also seen cases where features are being underused by the team, with only a select few using them.

A peer-led approach to training helps resolve all of this because the champions sit inside the day-to-day. They’re the ones running lightweight health checks, surfacing missing fields and stale jobs, coaching in the flow, so records link correctly, and translating metrics into something everyone understands.

Example

Perms desk: one shortlist method, resulting in a cleaner forecast

The issue

Each consultant “shortlists” differently (notes, tasks, spreadsheets). Managers can’t trust conversion rates.

The ritual

• 10-minute morning huddle

• Open the shared list; anything Submitted to Client > 48 hours gets chased

• Every Interview must have a Linked Appointment

• No Offer counts unless Comp Details are added

Result

Within two weeks, pipeline and forecast reports align with reality because statuses mean the same thing to everyone.

Bullhorn’s own guidance stresses the importance of adoption and data standardisation in order to unlock value and AI readiness. It’s your internal champions who make those behaviours routine.

How to build internal champions

We’ve put together a simple blueprint for building internal champions in four steps.

1.        Choose the right champions

The people you’re really after are the doers with credibility across desks. Look for consultants who already model tidy pipelines and clean records.

2.        Give them a train-the-trainer kit

In order for the right behaviours to trickle down, these champions need a Bullhorn usage playbook, checklists for onboarding and offboarding, and ready-to-use surveys. These help identify where Bullhorn is slowing your staff down and why.

3.        Embed peer learning

Consider initialising weekly 15 minute micro classes that go over one issue and a simple fix. Or more intense power hour clinics that help you tidy your desk. New joiners could even be buddied up with champions for the first three weeks to establish best practice from the get-go.

4.        Measure adoption alongside output

While it’s easy to get stuck in simply measuring output, it’s also important to measure adoption too. Tracking signals like percentage of jobs with required fields complete, calls logged against the record, and time to fill by desk gives you more of an idea about how your consultants are using Bullhorn.

If you share wins widely, this can also build the social proof that drives further adoption.

The payoff for training the trainer

It’s not just a single person you’re training here. It’s a process that allows for faster onboarding, cleaner data and more informed decision making.

Peer-to-peer learning accelerates onboarding, improving retention and building leadership capacity. And that’s exactly what recruitment agencies need in a market that changes weekly.

When champions keep Bullhorn usage consistent, leaders finally get a single source of truth.

Want this for your agency? Take a look at our Consultancy service.