Traditional recruiting is filled with flaws, starting with the lack of a structured process and investment in assessments that analyze skills and mental abilities. And even when the right people respond to job postings, interview questions aren’t always based on required competencies, or the interviewer isn’t trained to conduct behavior-based assessments. Also, background checks or referencing often don’t occur until the final stages of recruitment.
Thanks to the digital age, recruiters can rely on software and analytical tools to make informed hiring decisions. Unlike conventional recruitment strategies, today’s hiring methods are driven by data. Here’s how data-driven recruitment helps attract more talent, retain better candidates, and hit recruitment metrics:
Improves the hiring process and candidate experience
A positive candidate experience is crucial to keeping talent from withdrawing their application. A bad interview experience is enough to make a candidate lose interest in a job even if they know they did well. Improving the candidate experience includes:
- Simplifying the candidate application process.
- Communicating with the candidate throughout the process.
- Creating positive interview experiences.
- Providing feedback to even unsuccessful candidates.
You can improve the hiring process and candidate experience by gaining insight from post-interview surveys. There is also hiring assessment software that captures feedback from applicants. The data gathered can measure company culture consistency, recruitment timelines, and interviewer’s skills and fairness.
Increases the quality of candidates
Job seekers and recruiters alike are leveraging social networks to make connections. You can attract better candidates online by using insight from data to refine job descriptions and targeting. Recruitment can achieve this by relying on metrics gathered from workforce intelligence apps and customized algorithms.
Applicant tracking systems, Google Analytics, and surveys are just some methods for collecting data. From this data, you can diversify your sourcing methods, improve screening questions, and schedule interviews better. The data can also help you write more enticing and competitive job offers. The data you collect can also create an impressive careers page, compelling job descriptions highlighting value propositions, and social media content that showcases company culture. These not only attract active candidates but the right talent.
Prevent candidates from abandoning the recruitment process
Just because a talented jobseeker applies for an open position in your company, doesn’t mean they will accept the job offer. Somewhere along the candidate journey, they may experience something that will make them abandon their application. There can be many factors that cause this, or it may be a case of an applicant realizing mid-journey that the position in the company is not the right match for them. You can avoid this by refining your job descriptions and targeting candidates better.
Also, with the rise of apps and platforms for job seekers, it’s unlikely that the person applying for a position at your company won’t look for other opportunities. Therefore, you should be treating all candidates as continual job searchers. Since they’ve also likely applied elsewhere, recruitment teams should be analyzing the competition. How are companies within your industry advertising their job openings and showing off their company culture? These organizations are likely trying to invite the same talents you’d like to recruit.
Conclusion
Data-driven recruitment can help you not only stay competitive but also ensure you’re sending the right message to the right candidates. Leverage data and insight to streamline the recruitment process, improve the candidate journey, and attract the right candidates.
Have you leveraged data in your recruitment process? Tell us about it. Email me at greg@inscapeconsulting.com.
