Before jumping into the facts, let’s create a word picture for you.
You are a recruiter and your organization announces a vacant position. Thousands of applications start flowing in. You begin your day scanning each and every resume manually- you read about their individual skills, education, work experience, etc.
Now, let’s take a month’s leap. Well, you’re doing the same thing and now, but now you’re thoroughly frustrated and exhausted. And eventually, as you call up the shortlisted candidates for an interview, they have already found a job somewhere else. And now you are busy trying to figure out where you lost your productivity and how it still did not give fruitful results.
What a perfect example of more hard work and less returns.
This is exactly why the traditional means of recruiting required major enhancement. In addition, manual hiring faces other challenges like gut-based decision making, lack of knowledge around technical aspects of the hiring, etc.
Thanks to the latest tech-driven hiring models, recruitment has received the push it required. The gathering/screening of candidate data and conducting the entire process becomes a lot more convenient. Recruitment has received a good amount of support in terms of tech. But, it requires further analytical processing.
The usage of that data remains inefficient in plenty of organizations. Here is where data-driven hiring comes to play.
What is Data-driven Recruitment?
Too much data inflow and lack of efficient use of the same is a common challenge all companies face. A data-driven approach helps organizations process the data ‘usefully’.
For example, in terms of hiring, through this data, HR professionals can figure out:
- The platform where most candidates apply.
- The exact area where most candidates lose interest in applying for your company.
- The reason behind a low response rate, and a lot more.
Data and technology go hand in hand:
Overall, a data-based approach ensures the correct usage of data and techniques to improve the hiring process. This data is, in turn, achieved through the efficient use of technology in the recruitment processes. Hence, without effective technology, there cannot be an influential data approach in place.
Correct facts and statistics can help make informed hiring decisions- from screening, selection, to the further process. As a result, organizations can ensure a cost-effective hiring process with better results. It subsequently enhances their employee branding as well.
Things to remember while advancing recruitment (Insights from TSOW Podcast):
The three tiers of hiring concerns:
Mike Cohen, the founder of Wayne technologies, throws some influential insights into the requirement of the proper usage of data-driven software. We have so many resources which make the entire recruitment process convenient and faster for us.
Sourcing candidates, contacting them, giving out the assignments, all of this has become a matter of one-click now. Finding out a good fit for the organization has become a lot easier.
The goal should be to assess the data effectively. There are plenty of points to consider while hiring a candidate: “How would the person fit?”, “What are the options here?”, and so on.
According to Mike, assessing data every day is mandatory for recruiters to find the response rate they achieve, the number of candidates contacted and selected, etc.
He divides the recruitment concerns into three tiers:
1st tier: To keep a track of the source of the CVs. Not all organizations adopt an ATS to facilitate this process. They are simply using google sheets to fulfill the purpose manually.
2nd tier: The next step should be mailing passive candidates. Mike suggests automated messaging campaigns for the same.
3rd tier: A major step is to record these applications and conversations into the ATS. Moreover, the ATS should connect to the HR system to ensure transparency. Additionally, the HR department stays constantly updated with the data as well.
The idea behind advanced recruiting:
We also discussed advanced recruitment with another guest, Ambica Chaturvedi (Director of Human Capital and Special Initiatives at Antara Senior Living), who is personally very excited about the advancement of technology in the HR space. According to her, it brings a sense of consistency and dilutes the element of bias in the process. This entire idea creates more bandwidth for the HR teams for more value-driven work, which will benefit the business as a whole.
She has more than 18 years of experience and has offered her services to global giants such as Mercer, Essar, and Aegis Global.
Where should we implement tech-driven recruitment?
A talent acquisition professional for one of the global leaders, Tata Consultancy Service, Meetika Malhotra, explains the importance of tech-driven recruitment. She states three major areas to implement the same:
Scheduling: Even in the biggest of MNCs, HR professionals need to call up their managers and the candidates individually to schedule an interview. It can lead to a delay in the entire process and the meetings. Ultimately, it results in a poor candidate experience. It can be reduced through the availability of efficient scheduling software.
Feedback: Many startups still have a paper feedback system. There is a need for an automated feedback process to help store it and continue the process conveniently. An easy example would be an instant email asking for feedback from the candidate right after their interview.
Rejection: Meetika highlights that digitization is required to inform candidates about their rejection. The practice of ghosting the candidates is still prevailing in plenty of companies. Giving them a heads-up enhances the experience of the candidates.
Meetika says that more digitization requires a lot less tracking. There is a proper system for the same. Hence, HR professionals can do more influential tasks with the time they save accordingly.
The transformation is more about people and less of tech/data
Digital transformation plays a catalyst role in hiring just the right set of people in an organization. However, according to Jimit (Chief Technology Officer at MIT World Peace University), digital transformation is more about people than technology or data.
Ultimately, It is the people who use these tools. Hence, it requires an overall organizational change. It is not easy; it requires good backing from the leaders.
This transformation assists in onboarding people faster. Additionally, digital tools provide a lot of metrics in several segments like attendance, leaves, performance management system, etc.
Hiring is in its transition phase:
Head of Business for Delhivery and Co-founder and COO of Workex, Anupam explains how India is a trust deficit country. He gives an example of the challenges the e-commerce industry faced in its initial days.
People were reluctant to place an order without having a Cash on Delivery option. However, with the evolving trust of more and more people in e-commerce, things are now changing.
The recruitment industry is going through a similar transition. The latest way of hiring has changed the required time by 100x.
The internet and social media play a major role in doing the same.
Anupam highlights that matching ideologies is crucial. Hiring suitable candidates can improve overall productivity and employee retention.
Data collection isn’t enough; act on it!
Our next guest, Head HR at Five Star Business Finance Limited, Mahesh tells us how “data collection is the key”. But moreover, it depends on how the organizations use these analytics in the HR domain to make effective data-driven decisions.
“HR is a treasure trove of data. The challenge is to use and convert it into necessary analytics.”
These factors did not receive a significant amount of attention for quite a long time. Today, we have tech which can offer useful analytics: where do the employees come from, how do they perform, what is their next step, etc.
The analysis is not the only step; it requires further assistance. You found a specific pattern in your hiring process. What next? Does this work in every situation?
Data-based decisions are going to be fairer. You can draw effective initiatives to target those segments. Better engagement leads to better productivity, and eventually, better profits.
Areas of BGV and employee self-service are already automated. One does not need to answer candidate/employee FAQs individually. Companies need to focus on more areas for automation.
Benefits of inculcating technology and data in hiring
Finding the correct sourcing channels
You published your candidate requirement on multiple platforms. But how many platforms actually proved fruitful? Through data-driven sourcing, you can analyze which platforms are serving you the best when it comes to finding candidates. It can allow you to be more attentive towards those for further requirements.
Elimination of bias in hiring
Assessing candidates through data rather than personal instincts can be proven beneficial. Irrespective of the amount of effort, a different sense of perception can lead to human bias easily. Quantifiable and tangible data allows a more objective decision-making process.
A bird-eye view of the entire hiring process
Data-driven hiring can help gain insights into what your candidates feel about the process. Figure why the process lacks enough response, the steps you require to achieve good results, etc.
Saves cost and time
Setting the necessary parameters can help you reduce the efforts you need to put towards the entire process. It gives a clear picture of the expectations out of the candidates and what you offer.
Instead of investing that amount in hiring, it can be better used for employee retention and satisfaction. It can, in turn, reduce the overall employee turnover cost for the organization.
Better and more specific candidate applications
Getting a huge number of applicants for a particular role can be great, but also extra effort. More than often, not all candidates are eligible for the role you need to hire for. With the correct goals and objectives already set, data-driven hiring ensures candidate applications from those who can meet those. It also assures a better candidate experience.
Conclusion
Above all, in today’s fast-processing world of digitization and advancements, technology and data are not concepts that are fancy/optional. It is mandatory for companies receiving a huge inflow of applications for particular job roles.
About The Shape of Work podcast:
The Shape of Work: a podcast series bringing insights into the future of work and how it is shaping our workplace.
We conduct plenty of more discussions around topics like recruiting, HR software solutions, employee well-being, etc. We have welcomed some extremely influential guests, having extensive backgrounds in the field of HR, Leadership and Development, Talent Management, and a lot more. With around 170+ episodes and 12,000+ downloads, it offers great insights into making every organization a better place to work.
