If you haven’t brought big data into your recruitment processes, then you’re already being left behind.
Data-driven approaches – using data to find patterns and information you didn’t know existed – have taken off in sport. And equally, companies with advanced HR functions are beginning to use big data, in the form of talent analytics, to drive the performance of their business teams.
Following the principle that past outcomes are the best predictor of future success, organisations are using employee data to improve their recruiting and selection processes. For example, reviewing 10 years of resumé data for an organisation’s sales force may show patterns in education, experience or job history that influence employee success or tenure in a sales role. This can then be used to improve selection criteria when recruiting new sales professionals.
Such an analytical role removes much of the subjective decision making that can be so influential in the recruitment process.
Over many years at Randstad, we have made it our business to know where to find the numbers and how to analyse them to optimise, quantify and articulate their impact on business strategy and results.
The Randstad World of Work report 2013/14 indicates that around a third of employers across the Asia-Pacific region are using workforce analytics, although adoption rates vary by country. Software programs such as LinkedIn’s algorithmic ‘People You May Want To Hire’ recruiter, based on over 200 million career profiles, already do some of this for a price.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that it is not just organisations that are using big data – candidates use it, too. More than 50% of job searches are now driven by algorithm recommendations.
Within your business, talent analytics may be used to discover how long a person in a specific age group is likely to stay, to identify skill gaps, to test how a candidate performs in a simulated situation, to make the pre-employment selection process more efficient and accurate, to measure leadership skills and cognitive ability, and much more.
Best of all, talent analytics can make the entire recruitment process much faster and more efficient.
Big data alters the interview process, but it absolutely doesn't replace it. The human factor in making recruitment choices can never be completely replaced. Analytics are about improving on what we have now. They are a major tool in an increasingly powerful toolkit to ensure vital hiring decisions are made more efficiently and with better information, for the benefit of the organisation and its people.
To find out more about big data and the role it can play in your organisation, contact Randstad.