A Glossary of Key Database & CRM Concepts for Keap Users in HR & Recruiting

In today’s fast-paced HR and recruiting landscape, leveraging technology effectively is paramount. Keap, as a robust CRM, empowers professionals to streamline talent acquisition, candidate management, and employee lifecycle processes. However, to truly harness its power, a foundational understanding of key database and CRM concepts is essential. This glossary clarifies the critical terminology you need to know, providing insights tailored specifically for HR and recruiting professionals using Keap, helping you build more efficient, automated, and scalable operations.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

A CRM system is a technology for managing all your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. The goal is simple: improve business relationships to grow your business. For HR and recruiting, a CRM like Keap extends beyond traditional “customers” to include candidates, employees, vendors, and hiring managers. It centralizes communications, tracks engagement, and helps orchestrate the entire talent journey, from initial outreach to onboarding and beyond. By effectively managing these relationships, recruiters can nurture talent pools, expedite hiring cycles, and enhance the candidate experience, ultimately leading to better hires and reduced churn.

Database

At its core, a database is an organized collection of structured information, or data, typically stored electronically in a computer system. It’s designed to be easily accessed, managed, and updated. In the context of Keap for HR and recruiting, your database holds all critical information about candidates, employees, companies, and interactions. This includes contact details, resume data, interview notes, offer letters, and communication history. A well-structured database is the backbone of efficient operations, enabling quick searches, precise filtering, and reliable data for reporting and automation, crucial for making informed decisions in talent management.

Record

Within a database, a record represents a complete set of data for a single item or entity. For HR and recruiting professionals using Keap, each individual candidate, employee, or company typically constitutes a single record. This record aggregates all associated information—such as their name, contact details, application history, interview feedback, relevant skills, and communication logs—into one cohesive profile. Managing individual records effectively ensures that all pertinent details are easily accessible and up-to-date, preventing data silos and ensuring a comprehensive view of each person or entity throughout the talent lifecycle.

Field (or Property)

A field, often referred to as a property in Keap, is a specific category of data within a record. It represents a single piece of information, such as “First Name,” “Email Address,” “Job Title,” or “Date of Application.” Each field has a defined type (e.g., text, number, date, dropdown) that dictates the kind of data it can hold. For HR and recruiting teams, strategically defining and utilizing fields allows for granular data collection and organization, enabling precise candidate segmentation, automated communications based on specific criteria, and robust reporting on key metrics like time-to-hire or source of hire. Properly configured fields are vital for clean data and effective automation.

Tagging (Keap)

In Keap, tagging is a powerful segmentation tool that allows users to categorize records (contacts, companies, etc.) based on specific attributes, behaviors, or statuses. Tags are essentially labels you apply to records, such as “Hiring Manager,” “Active Candidate,” “Java Developer,” “Onboarding Phase,” or “GDPR Opt-in.” For HR and recruiting, tags are indispensable for organizing talent pools, triggering automated campaigns (e.g., sending specific follow-ups to candidates tagged “Interviewed”), and quickly filtering lists for targeted outreach. Effective tagging strategies enhance personalization, reduce manual effort, and improve the relevancy of communications throughout the recruitment and employee journey.

Segmentation

Segmentation is the process of dividing your entire database of contacts or records into smaller, more manageable groups based on shared characteristics. Using criteria like tags, custom fields, geographic location, or engagement history, HR and recruiting professionals can segment their Keap database to target specific candidate pools or employee groups. For example, you might segment “Passive Talent – Software Engineers,” “New Hires – Q3,” or “Candidates for Sales Roles.” This enables highly personalized communication, ensures that relevant messages reach the right audience, and prevents sending generic information to your entire database, thereby improving engagement and efficiency in all talent-related outreach.

Automation

Automation in CRM refers to the use of technology to perform routine tasks and workflows without manual intervention. In Keap, this involves setting up sequences and campaigns that automatically send emails, create tasks, update records, or apply tags based on predefined triggers (e.g., a candidate applying for a job, reaching a certain stage, or clicking a link). For HR and recruiting, automation can handle initial candidate screening, send interview reminders, distribute onboarding documents, and track follow-ups. This not only frees up valuable recruiter time but also ensures consistency, reduces human error, and accelerates processes, allowing teams to focus on high-value interactions.

Campaign (Keap)

In Keap, a campaign is a series of automated actions and communications designed to guide a contact through a specific journey or process. For HR and recruiting, Keap campaigns are crucial for managing various talent workflows. Examples include an “Applicant Nurture Campaign” for new candidates, an “Interview Follow-Up Campaign” for those progressing, or an “Onboarding Sequence” for new hires. Campaigns can include emails, tasks, internal notifications, and even integrations with other tools. They ensure consistent engagement, timely communication, and a structured approach to every stage of the talent lifecycle, significantly improving efficiency and candidate experience.

Lead Scoring

Lead scoring is a methodology used to rank prospective candidates or employees based on criteria relevant to their potential value or fit. In Keap, this typically involves assigning points to various attributes (e.g., skills, experience, qualifications) and behaviors (e.g., website visits, email engagement, job application history). A candidate with a higher score might be prioritized for outreach or fast-tracked through the hiring process. For HR and recruiting, lead scoring helps identify the most promising talent efficiently, allowing recruiters to focus their efforts on high-potential individuals, ultimately reducing time-to-hire and improving the quality of hires.

Pipeline Management

Pipeline management is the strategic process of tracking and managing candidates or employees as they move through various stages of a recruitment or internal HR process. In Keap, this is often visualized as a series of stages (e.g., Application Received, Phone Screen, Interview, Offer, Hired, Onboarding). Effective pipeline management ensures that no candidate falls through the cracks, provides clear visibility into the status of all active processes, and helps identify bottlenecks. For HR and recruiting teams, this means better organization, more accurate forecasting of hiring needs, and the ability to optimize each stage for greater efficiency and a smoother experience for all involved.

API (Application Programming Interface)

An API is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate and exchange data with each other. Think of it as a translator that enables systems to “talk.” For Keap users in HR and recruiting, APIs are fundamental for integrating Keap with other essential tools like Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), HRIS platforms, background check services, or calendaring tools. These integrations eliminate manual data entry, ensure data consistency across systems, and unlock powerful automated workflows, such as automatically creating a new Keap contact when a candidate applies via your ATS, or syncing interview schedules.

Integration

An integration refers to the process of connecting two or more separate software systems so they can work together and share data. Leveraging APIs, integrations allow information to flow seamlessly between Keap and other platforms critical to HR and recruiting operations, such as job boards, assessment tools, e-signature platforms (e.g., PandaDoc), or internal communication systems. This eliminates the need for manual data transfer, reduces errors, and creates a more cohesive and efficient tech stack. For example, integrating Keap with a background check service can trigger the check automatically upon offer acceptance, streamlining the pre-hire process.

Data Migration

Data migration is the process of transferring data from one storage system, format, or application to another. This is a common requirement when an organization adopts a new CRM like Keap, upgrades its existing system, or consolidates data from multiple sources (e.g., spreadsheets, legacy HR systems). For HR and recruiting, successful data migration ensures that historical candidate data, employee records, and communication histories are accurately and completely transferred into Keap. Careful planning and execution are crucial to maintain data integrity, avoid loss, and ensure that the new system is populated with reliable information from day one.

Data Integrity

Data integrity refers to the overall accuracy, completeness, consistency, and reliability of data over its entire lifecycle. In Keap, maintaining data integrity means ensuring that candidate profiles are up-to-date, contact information is correct, and all records accurately reflect the latest interactions and statuses. Poor data integrity can lead to ineffective automation, miscommunications with candidates, flawed reporting, and compliance risks. HR and recruiting teams achieve high data integrity through proper data entry protocols, regular data audits, deduplication efforts, and leveraging automation to update records automatically, ensuring trustworthy information for critical decisions.

Sandbox Environment

A sandbox environment is an isolated, non-production instance of a software system used for testing, development, and training without affecting the live, operational data. For Keap users, especially those involved in complex HR and recruiting automations, a sandbox is invaluable. It allows teams to experiment with new campaign logic, test integrations, or train staff on new features in a safe space. This risk-free innovation environment ensures that new workflows, such as a revamped onboarding campaign or a new lead scoring model, are thoroughly vetted and optimized before deployment, preventing disruption to active recruitment processes or existing employee data.

Webhook

A webhook is an automated message sent from an app when a specific event occurs. It’s essentially an event-driven notification delivered over HTTP, allowing real-time data flow between systems. For HR and recruiting teams integrating Keap with other tools, webhooks are incredibly powerful. For example, a webhook could be triggered when a new application is submitted in an ATS, sending that data directly to Keap to create a new contact record and initiate an applicant nurture campaign. This immediate, programmatic communication eliminates polling for updates and allows for sophisticated, real-time automation that significantly speeds up processes and enhances responsiveness.

Reporting & Analytics

Reporting and analytics in Keap refer to the processes of collecting, analyzing, and presenting data to gain insights into recruitment and HR performance. Keap allows users to generate reports on various metrics such as candidate sources, conversion rates at different pipeline stages, communication effectiveness, and overall hiring velocity. For HR and recruiting professionals, robust reporting provides the quantitative data needed to evaluate the efficiency of talent strategies, identify areas for improvement, and demonstrate ROI. These insights are crucial for making data-driven decisions that optimize recruitment efforts and contribute to organizational success.

If you would like to read more, we recommend this article: Unlock Risk-Free Innovation: Keap One-Click Restore to Sandbox for HR & Recruiting