IT for Recruitment Agencies: Candidate Data Compliance Without Enterprise Budget
Recruitment agencies live on candidate data. The risk is holding it too long. We set up the compliance layer - M365 Purview retention labels, ATS deletion workflows, and a documented record of processing - so GDPR deletion stops being manual work.
Candidate data deletion runs automatically
Purview retention labels delete M365 data when the retention period expires, without anyone remembering to do it.
How
Rejected candidate CVs, interview emails and reference checks in M365 are deleted automatically after 6 months, and the configuration is exported as compliance evidence.
Rejected candidate CVs, interview emails and reference checks in M365 are deleted automatically after 6 months, and the configuration is exported as compliance evidence.
The ATS and M365 are covered together
Deletion no longer stops at the ATS boundary.
How
We configure ATS deletion workflows for the main candidate record and Purview for the email, files and notes that live outside the ATS.
We configure ATS deletion workflows for the main candidate record and Purview for the email, files and notes that live outside the ATS.
Compliance evidence is always ready
The record of processing activities is built from the actual retention policy configuration.
How
When a supervisory authority or client asks, you export the policy report and deletion logs instead of scrambling to write documentation.
When a supervisory authority or client asks, you export the policy report and deletion logs instead of scrambling to write documentation.
Why this industry's IT is different
Recruitment agencies process more personal data per employee than almost any other small business. Every CV, interview note and reference check contains names, addresses, employment history, salary expectations and sometimes sensitive personal data. Under GDPR, most of that data has to be deleted within months of a rejection.
Small agencies rarely have a systematic way to do this. The ATS might hold the main record, but the same candidate data lives in email, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams. The right technology is already in Microsoft 365: Purview retention labels can delete data automatically once the retention period expires.
Common challenges
- Candidate data lives in both the ATS and Microsoft 365, creating deletion gaps.
- GDPR requires deletion of unsuccessful candidate data within 6 months unless a legitimate interest is documented.
- Subject access requests and deletion requests are hard to fulfil without a single view of candidate data.
- Agencies lack the budget and staff for enterprise compliance tools.
TechSuit's approach for this industry
We map where candidate data actually lives: ATS, Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams. That visibility is the foundation of any deletion workflow.
We then configure Microsoft Purview retention labels in M365 Business Premium: labels for rejected candidates (6 months), consented candidate pools (24 months), and hired employees (aligned with employment law). Auto-labelling policies apply these labels based on folder location, email patterns and ATS status.
Finally, we document the record of processing activities and create a deletion workflow that covers both the ATS and M365. The result is an agency that can prove compliance with a few clicks, rather than a manual spreadsheet.
M365 Business Premium includes Microsoft Purview, which is what we use for the M365 side. We also configure the ATS's own GDPR deletion features. If you use a different email platform, we can recommend an equivalent approach, but M365 is the most cost-effective path for most small agencies.
Stop deleting candidate data by hand
Book a free 30-minute call. We will show you how to automate GDPR deletion across your ATS and Microsoft 365.