As of July 1, the Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) is going to taking a real bite out of unwanted e-mail and texts,and it will apply to recruitment professionals and third party agencies worldwide. According to the law, as third party agencies we are organizations selling and promoting a service. We will need to prove that we have consent to reach out to new, existing and potential customers using electronic messages, a list that possibly includes tweets (ouch!).

The CASL doesn’t just affect how we get customers but, the recruitment professional relying solely on their company emails, LinkedIn InMails, Tweets and Facebook messages for contact with candidates put the third party agency at risk too.

According to the law, if the message is of a “commercial nature,” then it is a commercial electronic message (CEM) under CASL and subjected to fines. Fines for such emails considered “spam” could cost the agency owner(s) $10 million in fines per incident, not to mention the further risk it puts the third party agency at for the personal lawsuits after the fines are levied.

Here are some tips for you to prepare for CASL:

• Have in place systems that allow you to document and respond. Your applicant tracking systems (ATS) is going to be your best defence again unfounded claims. Make sure you have 100% compliance from everyone in your organization to use your ATS email feature. This will allow for you to add and remove people automatically dependent on their responses to receive your information.

• Update your ATS regularly. Review your ATS and make sure you have up to date information on all clients and candidates. If the clients or candidates have been dormant for longer than 30 days, NOW is the time to reach out them and get their “expressed consent” to receive information from you (which could be great for sales).

• Update your email signature. Ensure your email is CASL compliant including a signature that provides unsubscribe options, a mailing address and an email address or phone number to contact your organization.

• Brush up on your solution selling skills, so that you will be able to uncover your clients’ and candidates’ true wants and needs. Going into the future, clients and candidates will no longer just say, “Send me an email.” Now you will need to be sure you are sending them emails addressing their wants and needs.

• Prevent unsubscribes with value. When you do have someone on your mailing list, you will need to ensure they don’t unsubscribe. This means as a recruitment professional you will need to provide them valuable content. The definition of valuable content for clients and candidates will need to be defined by them, requiring you to be that true solution provider with perceptive listening skills that will allow you to actually cater to clients’/candidates’ wants and needs.

• Take responsibility. Don’t rely on LinkedIn, Monster, Careerbuilder or any other job board to protect you. Pick up the phone, introduce yourself and get consent directly from the person before sending your emails. It gives you a great opportunity to build your network.

I thought as a recruitment professional and an owner of a third party agency, I didn’t need to worry about the New Anti-spam laws until I started looking into it for the Curta blog. This law is going to be another game changer for the staffing and recruitment industry.

But you do have choices: do nothing or go with it and turn it into an opportunity to improve your business relationships. So, my suggestion is take the time now and get the assistance you need to stay competitive in today’s market.