There’s a lot of skepticism regarding adopting new tech, especially in HR. After all, your current tools might feel “good enough” for the job. HR teams and early-career hiring managers often feel stretched already and introducing a new platform may add more complexity and stress. Why risk disrupting systems that (almost) work, right?

The early-career hiring landscape is changing fast, and what worked a few years ago isn’t cutting it anymore—especially for today’s Gen Z hires, who expect more than just the basics. The common concerns we hear are rooted in real concerns but often stem from sticking with what’s familiar rather than what works.

Let’s examine these top objections and how Abode helps early-career teams.

1. “Why can’t we use our CRM for this?”

One of the most common objections we hear is, “We already have a CRM in place. Why can’t we just use that to manage our early-career hires?” It’s a fair question. Candidate Relationship Management tools are fantastic for managing purely transactional aspects, so it’s easy to think they can handle your candidate engagement needs.

But here’s the catch: CRMs aren’t built for this. They’re designed to manage clients or customers, not to nurture the unique needs of early-career talent from the moment they accept an offer to their first day on the job.

Early-career hiring involves more than just tracking interactions. It’s about keeping your candidates engaged and excited over potentially long periods—sometimes months before their start date.

CRMs lack the engagement features needed to cultivate a real connection.

Case in point: Danaher struggled to manage communications for their JUMP program, where candidates needed ongoing interaction. They found that their traditional system had limited capabilities. After switching to Abode, Danaher achieved a 98% candidate adoption rate, ensuring their hires stayed engaged and informed.

Why Abode:

• Abode is explicitly built for early-career management. Its features, such as personalized check-ins, interactive forums, and automated reminders, keep young talent engaged.
• Abode helps create an interactive, nurturing environment that CRMs simply can’t deliver or replicate.

2. “Why can’t we use our onboarding tool for this?”

Onboarding tools are great for getting new hires set up and familiar with your company after they’ve officially started. But what about the critical period between offer acceptance and day one? That’s where traditional onboarding tools fail and where companies lose talent due to reneges.

Lithko communicated with new hires using basic tools like email and spreadsheets. Before Abode, their communication was inconsistent, and they were losing new hires during the pre-start period.

Since switching to Abode, they’ve seen a 50% reduction in reneges because they could engage new hires well before day one.

Onboarding tools might help with paperwork and compliance, but they’re not designed to nurture candidates and build relationships before the job starts. Abode bridges that gap.

Why Abode:

• Abode engages candidates immediately when they accept the offer with tailored communication, tasks, and community-building features.
• Candidates feel connected, supported, and excited about their new role long before the traditional onboarding tool would have entered the picture.

3. “My program is too small to need something like this.”

Some HR teams feel their early-career programs are too small to justify investing in a dedicated platform like Abode. It’s an understandable concern—why invest in tech if you only manage a handful of interns or new grads?

Here’s why: even small programs have logistical challenges that can waste time and resources. The truth is that tools like Abode save you time on admin tasks, freeing up more of your team’s bandwidth to focus on building relationships with your hires.

Take American Family Insurance, for instance. Despite having a modest-sized intern program, they found that using email and LinkedIn groups for communication was chaotic and inefficient. Since moving to Abode, they’ve achieved 100% candidate adoption and 90.6% engagement, even with a smaller-scale program. Abode’s automation features ensure nothing slips through the cracks, regardless of your program’s size.

Why Abode:

• Even small teams could save hours each week by automating communication and engagement with new hires.
• Whether you’re onboarding 10 or 1,000, Abode ensures a seamless and personalized experience for every new hire.

4. “We don’t have enough content to keep new hires engaged.”

Creating enough content to engage candidates during the long pre-start phase can seem overwhelming. HR teams are already busy enough—how can they possibly generate enough videos, articles, and updates to keep new hires excited?

The good news? You don’t have to. Abode comes with built-in tools that make content creation and distribution easy. You can use ready-made templates for everything from checklists to welcome messages, and Abode’s automated reminders ensure that candidates stay in the loop with minimal effort on your end.

Cognizant is an excellent example of how this works. They needed to engage hundreds of early-career hires but didn’t have the resources to create an endless stream of custom content. With Abode’s templates and automated communications, they reduced their admin workload by 50% and saw 91.3% candidate engagement.

Why Abode:

• Abode makes setting up and automating content delivery easy without needing a dedicated team.
• You can focus on what matters most—welcoming new hires—while Abode handles the rest.

5. “We don’t have the budget or time for this.”

This is a common objection, especially for HR teams that are already stretched thin and have limited budgets. But, investing in Abode actually saves time and money in the long run.

UHY struggled with high renege rates, which cost them over $100,000 yearly. After implementing Abode, they reduced their renege rate by 81%, which saved them $82k. Because Abode automates so many manual tasks that normally take up your team’s time, it saves hours every week—time your team can spend on more strategic, high-value work.

Why Abode:

• Abode saves early-career team members 5 hours per week on average by automating communication and engagement.
• The platform pays for itself by reducing costly reneges and boosting retention rates.

Conclusion

When you investigate the objections, they don’t hold up under the weight of the evidence. Whether saving time, reducing reneges, or creating a better pre-boarding experience, Abode consistently delivers results that make life easier for HR teams and early-career hiring managers.

Ready to scale your early-career program and give your new hires the best possible experience? Abode is here to help you engage, attract, and keep top talent while saving you time and resources.

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