The recruitment industry has existed for centuries, but it is only in recent years that it’s changed drastically with technology at the forefront. As technology continues to evolve and big data becomes more readily available, employers should use it to ensure they hire the right person.
As most of us know, the job seeker relies on the recruitment industry to help them find the right job, but it is equally as important for the employer to find the right candidate. Hiring the wrong person can potentially cost a business significantly, in some cases being the most expensive mistake a business can make. Some experts go as far to estimate that the cost of a ‘mis-hire’ could be anywhere from four times annual salary for supervisors all the way up to 15 times annual salary for vice presidents and executives.
The importance of measurement and tracking
Figures such as this have prompted recruitment to go beyond the HR teams to the C-level executives, putting an added focus on measurement and increased focus on tracking and maximising recruitment budgets to ensure technology tools and platforms are used effectively. Saying that, HR teams need to ensure an effective recruitment strategy is implemented to reduce outputs and improve the use of valuable resources such as time, effort and money. Utilising their Applicant Tracking System is a good first step in helping to do this. In addition, simply using the sheer amount of data available from mobile to determine: What is the best time or day of the week to post a job? From which city are we seeing the most applicants? HR teams that are able to use this information to implement an effective recruitment strategy will be able to save time, effort and money in the recruiting process. Ultimately, the best employers will be those that can leverage big data to move from a reactive to a proactive stance when it comes sourcing candidates for a job. It should be a necessity for every employer’s decision-making toolbox.
Sharing ‘big data’
HR teams can also now work with IT to understand how big data can be analysed to derive insights which address their business challenge – primarily filling a position with the right candidate in a timely manner which benefits the organisation and the person hired. In other words, big data analytics can for the first time take most – although never all – of the “guess work” out of the recruitment process.
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Syncing up to benefit from data is not only relevant to employers, but to the recruitment industry as a whole. If everyone in the recruitment industry, from the job boards to the recruiters to Indeed, could integrate and share data, the industry would run more efficiently and cost effectively. For example, recruiters know the market really well. They know what their industry employers are looking for in a candidate, and can provide the candidate with inside tips and tricks. For the job seeker, a search engine system, such as Indeed.co.uk, makes the job search easier as candidates simply type in a desired job role and location, and that is it.
This calls for an evolution towards ‘intelligent aggregation’, where job seekers benefit from a specific and realistic job search and the employer receives an added layer of insight to help them structure and tweak their campaign on a regular basis. Although aggregators will remain the genesis of intelligent search, the fundamental shift in jobseeker expectation and how recruiters approach costs for hiring means that job search is no longer about traffic or numbers, but about fit. Simply lining up hundreds of jobs and hundreds of candidates won’t cut it in the recruitment space from now on.
Prior to Indeed, Gerard was Sales Director for Oracle's Technology business and graduated from Cork Institute of Technology in Electronic Engineering in 2001. Later he completed IMI Management Diplomas in 2004 and IMD Switzerland Executive Program in 2006.
- Gerard Murnaghan
