Using data to drive decisions is always a recruitment best practice. In times of unexpected and accelerated change, it becomes even more critical to make decisions based on facts.
Certainly, 2020 qualifies as such a time. So far this year, companies have been dealing with a global pandemic and a business shutdown that, over the course of 10 weeks, led to nearly 41 million new unemployment claims. Now, companies face a phased approach to business reopening as they implement new safety protocols and do their best to address ongoing health concerns on the part of employees and customers.
If this weren’t enough, civil unrest has created additional challenges.
As the country navigates its way to a healthier place, data can help serve as a compass, at least in terms of talent acquisition.
Pointing the way
A new Appcast whitepaper, Transparency in Recruitment Programmatic Platforms & Job Ad Exchanges: Why It Matters, looks at the importance of obtaining data from programmatic platforms in order to make informed decisions.
Questions to ask, and answer, about your programmatic platform include:
- Does the platform share the mix of job boards and sources that generate job seeker engagement?
- Does the platform easily accept shared data on which candidates are quality by your definition?
- Does the platform change its bids or sources based on the quality of your candidates? Said differently, does the action of a click, candidate, and quality candidate make the system make different decisions?
- Does the platform provide quality data to its job board and other source partners?
- Does the platform share its own data readily with you via interface and API?
Timing and availability
Data is only relevant if it’s timely and can be acted upon. With this in mind, you want data that is available in real-time. Data in a report is not as useful; data that’s as close as possible to when an event occurs, such as when a click becomes an applicant, provides the best opportunity for analysis and action.
You also want to be able to marry the data from your programmatic platform with data in other systems in order to consume it however you’d like. For example, you may want to know if a click turned into a short-term hire, or if the person went on to be promoted and stay with your company for years.
Why is this kind of information important?
In the current environment
Understanding what drives quality candidates, and in turn new hires, will help you make better recruiting decisions. At the same time, insight available through data analysis will help you respond quickly to changing circumstances.
When you need to ramp up quickly or suddenly shift your hiring focus, data can help further your hiring goals. How? Data from your programmatic platform can show you which of your job postings are getting the most applicants. And that’s only one example.
What’s the saying? “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” The quote is frequently attributed to Einstein, but he never said it. Be that as it may, the saying has merit, from a big picture perspective and the standpoint of everyday tasks.
If you’re searching for different – better, more meaningful, actionable – results, data provides a path forward. In the midst of a chaotic year, relying on your programmatic platform data will help you make timely, relevant recruitment decisions. It may not solve every business challenge, but it’s a step in the right direction.
You may also enjoy:
- Whitepaper: Programmatic Recruitment Technology 101
- Webinar: Fall Hiring: 3 Scenarios to Plan For Now
- Blog: More Candidates This Fall?
