Three Ways to Use Data to Improve Your Recruiting Efforts

Organizations can use data to aid their talent search in three essential ways.

From an employer’s perspective, there are two sides to a candidate search: On one hand, there’s the creative side. The HR department must craft compelling job postings, understand where to publish those listings, develop effective interview material, and drive traffic to the website through online content. On the other hand, there’s the logistical side which requires a strong understanding of the data behind the best strategies.

An applicant tracking system can help HR professionals uncover the trends and data that will benefit their recruitment process. Here are three ways to use data to improve your recruiting efforts:

1. Stay ahead of competition

How do employers bring in the top talent instead of letting it slip away? It starts by staying ahead of competition. According to UndercoverRecruiter, 75 percent of recruiters don’t utilize data to make informed hiring decisions. Applicant tracking systems can do everything from storing all applicant information to separating qualified from unqualified candidates, to evaluating and providing a report on cost per hire. The data this tool provides is vital and should be taken advantage of. Companies can stay ahead of the curve by using an ATS system to collect data when their competitors don’t.

2. Find applicants who fly under the radar

Let’s face it—a résumé is not always a perfect predictor of job success. The best recruiters will find hidden gems in the résumé pool while other organizations with less access to data may overlook them. Use ATS features such as pre-screening questions, key word search, and scoring to find talent that could otherwise go unnoticed. According to Forbes, data analysis can better match applicants to a given position based on certain qualifiers. Not only would this benefit a company seeking new talent, it could also reduce turnover by providing the right people for the right jobs.

Data analytics can have a huge impact on recruiting

3. Plan for the future

Companies aren’t always hiring, still, organizations can always plan for the next round of hiring. When posting a job, it is expected to receive numerous applications. An ATS will separate the qualified candidates, but just because an applicant isn’t the right fit for a current job opening, doesn’t mean they will not qualify for future openings. The right ATS will create a talent pipeline, allowing you to re-visit applicants who showed an interest in your organization. This type of data will save you time during the recruitment process!