From Guesswork to Insight: Why Data Matters in Hiring
It feels like every day I am reached out to by a new business offering AI or Data Driven solutions to the hiring process. They promise competitive advantages, higher employee retention, cost savings, improved candidate quality, faster time-to-hire, and transparency all using AI, Algorithms, or Data Driven Insights. While this blog isn’t going to be about software solutions, they do have a point. Utilizing data can lead to better hiring practices and result in your business hiring and retaining top talent (and saving money). Whether you have a full HR tech stack or not, here are some practical examples that any business can use to improve their hiring process.
Before we talk about specific examples, I do think it is important to point out what everyone already knows about data. It isn’t foolproof and not all data is created equal. You can’t use data unless you are intentional about collecting it. Depending on the sophistication of your business this might require fancy tools, but it doesn’t have to, and it can be more intuitive if you are asking the right questions. Do you know your cost-to-hire? Time-to-hire? Time-to-Productivity? Do you gather candidate feedback data? Let’s explore some different metrics that can be used to streamline the entire recruiting process and provide measurable insights that can allow your team to make more informed hires.
Time Based Metrics
Time based metrics include time-to-hire, time-to-fill, time-to-productivity. These are all tracked by most all ATS systems, but regardless of your tech stack, they provide valuable insight into your recruiting process and are a great place to start auditing the effectiveness of your hiring process. Evaluating time-based metrics can lead to better expectations with hiring managers, better candidate experience, and self-reflection and on internal interviewing practices.
Quality Based Metrics
Quality Based Metrics can include the source of your hire, candidates per hire, new hire retention rate. Do you know where your top candidates come from? When you make a hire, are they the right fit? Do you utilize assessments? While I am skeptical that the answer to better hires lies in more assessments, gathering insights into what makes your best hires successful will surely allow for better hires in the future.
Cost Based Metrics
A hiring process that utilizes data is more efficient. More efficient processes save money. Cost-based metrics can greatly reduce hiring costs and provide better use of your hiring budget. Do you know the performance of your job advertising? Monitoring the sources you receive applications from is critical and provides a blueprint for how you should allocate your budget. It should also make it easier for you to calculate your cost-per-hire.
Candidate Experience
Measuring Candidate Experience can offer valuable insights for your interview process. Candidate experience is usually measured by surveys and results can offer valuable insights into an applicant’s perception of the interview process. Measuring new hire satisfaction can track whether candidate’s expectations during the process match the advertised role. Reviewing interview scores on Glassdoor overtime can track improvement. Candidate acceptance rate is a good indicator into the effectiveness of your process.
Overall, asking the right questions can lead to better, more intentional data collection. Better data can result in an unbiased assessment of your company’s hiring practices and can drive faster, smoother, and fairer hiring. While top companies are utilizing AI-powered technology, advanced assessments, data analytics, and predictive modeling to optimize their hiring decisions, advanced tools are not required to leverage the power of data. Whether you are a recruiter or hiring manager, understanding the essentials of data driven hiring, can help you select and land top candidates.
Meet the Author
Jake Harris
Partner, Accounting & Finance Practice Area; Partner, Operations & Supply Chain
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Turn Hiring Data Into Your Competitive Edge
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