While recent Executive Orders have removed the requirement to prepare federal affirmative action plans for women and minorities, it remains important to track applicant data to better understand effective recruitment strategies and to comply with federal and state non-discrimination laws. In this update, we will look at why using applicant disposition codes remains important and how to effectively use them when conducting a workforce analysis.
Applicant Disposition Codes allow recruiters and HR professionals to track which stage an applicant progressed to during the selection process, as well as why an applicant was not selected (often referred to as the “step” and “status” of each applicant).
Dispositions codes are part art and part science. We want them to be detailed enough to understand what step the candidate made it too, but not overly complex to the point of confusing recruiters and/or hiring managers on the candidate’s status.
In this case, the “step” would be the stage at which an applicant was removed from consideration in the selection process. Examples of this would be as follows:
“Phone Screen”
“On-site Interview”
“Sent to Hiring Manager for Review”
The “status,” then, would denote the reason why the candidate was not selected. Examples for this can be found below:
“Lacks Basic qualifications”
“Unsatisfactory Assessment”
“Less experience than selected candidate”
Keeping track of both step and status for each candidate can assist in ensuring that the recruitment process is consistent with your company’s policies or practices. Leaving applicant disposition codes vague, or not maintaining them at all, can make it more difficult to assess why certain candidates were selected over others.
Applicant disposition codes are particularly useful when a job posting results in a large number of applicants. Maintaining applicant tracking data allows an employer to evaluate which candidates were not reviewed or which didn’t meet the basic qualifications as a starting point.
In addition, Section 503 and VEVRAA compliance requirements still remain in place and applicant data is an important part of this reporting. Recording and retaining applicant information on those who have identified as a protected veteran and/or individual with a disability is required of covered federal contractors and subcontractors. Sound applicant disposition codes can help employers better evaluate the data analytics under Section 503 and VEVRAA, including how many candidates were hired verses those who applied.
In addition to these requirements, there is a current focus on merit-based recruitment practices and the removal of practices that would be considered illegal DEI under EO 14398 or existing federal law such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Among other analyses, a review of your hires and recruitment strategies would greatly assist in ensuring that there are no instances of discrimination within the recruitment/selection process. In this vein, having a method to track and document candidates who were selected remains an important tool to maintain consistent and effective recruitment practices.
One common question is how detailed disposition codes should be. A good practice is to develop disposition codes that align with your current recruitment strategies and steps in your hiring process.
For example, if a certain job posting requires a degree in a specific field, having a disposition code that denotes that the rejected candidate did not meet this requirement would allow you to weed out differences between applicants. Recruiters and Human Resource professionals can work together to keep the codes consistent and aligned with job-related values and merit.
Conducting training around the creation and consistent usage of disposition codes is a step that one should not neglect as well. It is important that recruitment teams are regularly trained on the importance of applicant dispositioning, what each disposition code means, and when to use each code. This helps to ensure that your organization will have the records it needs to explain its hiring decisions.
We recommend that organizations keep in mind the following best practices with regards to applicant dispositioning:
Review current disposition codes or start creating disposition codes if none are in use to ensure job-relatedness
Use both steps and statuses when creating disposition codes for each applicant
In each status, remember that vagueness may cause uncertainty when analyzing your data, so it is important to keep it detailed
Conduct training with the recruitment team and HR professionals to ensure alignment between disposition codes and recruitment strategies
If you would like more details regarding how to create better disposition codes and how to align them, Berkshire can help provide consultation through our People Insights team. You can also reach out to your current consultant, if applicable, to discuss these items in further detail.