The Access Group, a UK-based provider of business management software, announced the acquisition of Elay, a multi-channel engagement automation platform. The firm has been on an acquisition spree.

On 31 October, The Access Group announced the acquisition of HireAra, a UK-based AI-powered candidate presentation platform that automates the process of formatting and presenting candidate CVs/resumes for recruiters. 

Financial details were not disclosed.

Access Recruitment, a division of The Access Group, stated that the acquisition will enable it to provide customers with tailored automation solutions, streamlining recruitment workflows by automating routine tasks. This allows agencies to focus their talent on higher-value activities while technology handles the mundane tasks, it added.

Acquiring Elay marks the next step in The Access Group’s AI and automation advancements within the recruitment sector, with its CRM automation already integrated with its Vincere CRM product and the chatbot functionality with Volcanic, the recruitment website builder.

Access Recruitment and Elay will offer customers a suite of features – collectively called ‘Access Automate’ - that will deliver an unrivalled recruitment experience and transform operations. These include:

• CRM (customer relationship management) automation – enabling recruiters to automate candidate and client engagement and business development workflows, deliver data hygiene tasks and cover back-office and compliance processes.
• LinkedIn outreach acceleration – boosting outreach around the clock through hyper-personalisation to capture more leads and build deeper relationships.
• Intelligent chatbots – enhancing every interaction with personalisation, from lead generation to handling routine inquiries or updating databases.

Christian Fleck, managing director at Access Recruitment, said in a press release, “Bringing Elay on board is an exciting step for Access Recruitment, and this acquisition marks a significant milestone in our commitment to delivering unparalleled value to our customers.”

Fleck said, “We know interest in AI and automation is at an all-time high for recruiters, and we’re pleased to add another way for our customers to leverage these technologies today, building on our already live AI-led functionality like our bias analyser in Volcanic. We want to show recruitment agencies how they can use AI or automation today to grow their operations and ultimately win more business.

“Working with cutting-edge tools like Elay underscores our dedication to bringing ready-to-use innovations to our customers - this acquisition will revolutionise recruitment outreach, helping our customers to capture more leads, deepen candidate-client relationships and accelerate revenue. We’re looking forward to working closely with Mehdi Este and the Elay team to make this integration as seamless as possible.”

Mehdi Este, co-founder of Elay, added: “Since founding Elay in 2020, our mission has been to revolutionise the way recruitment businesses connect and engage with their clients or candidates. Joining forces with Access Recruitment represents an exciting new chapter in our journey, one that will amplify the impact of our solution and bring even greater value to customers.”

The Access Group products feature in SIA’s interactive Front Office Directory, part of its new Staffing Tech Toolkit launched earlier this week.