Improve Quality of Hire Using Recruiting Data and Analytics

(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is brought to you by our friends at Criteria Corp, a leading provider of pre-employment testing services. They’ve just relaunched their customer interface, HireSelect. It’s been completely reworked to help organizations hire faster and smarter. Enjoy the post!) 

Regular readers of this blog know I’ve talked on numerous occasions about the need to use technology strategically in the business. Technology can bring compliance, consistency, and scalability. It can reduce administration, so organizations can spend more time with candidates and employees.

Technology can also aid in data collection and analysis. Now to make sure we’re all on the same page here, let’s look at a couple of definitions. Data are facts and statistics collected for reference or analysis. And analytics is the systemic analysis of data or statistics. I know that at times I’m guilty of using terms like data and analytics interchangeably. But for today’s conversation, it’s important to note that data is the information and analytics is what you do with it.

The reason I’m bringing this up is because recruiting technologies, data, and analytics aren’t anything for organizations to be hesitant about. Let’s take artificial intelligence (AI) for example. Organizations were initially resistant (understandably), but they’re gradually becoming used to it. That’s because they’ve realized how AI isn’t replacing business functions; it’s actually making processes easier AND helping managers make more informed decisions.

In the above example, using AI shouldn’t be viewed as an “all or nothing” proposition. It just means that the organization has extra resources to help them achieve their goals.

Now let’s shift to recruiting data. The same principles apply. Organizations might be reluctant to use data and analytics in recruiting. The good news is there are many different types of recruiting data. Here are a few examples:

·       Sourcing data includes effectiveness by source and hires by source.

·       Planning data includes census data, headcount, and employee tenure.

·       Recruiting data includes vacancy rates and new hire retention.

Another form of recruiting data to consider is pre-employment assessments, such as cognitive or behavioral assessments. Yes, that’s right. We should think of pre-employment assessments as a form of data. This might be a new way of thinking for some organizations. But, consider this – for any candidate that a company is evaluating, their test scores can be viewed as an additional data point to help the recruiting team make a more informed hiring decision.

Using Recruiting Data Responsibly

I must admit that I really like this line of thinking about pre-employment testing because it aligns with the basic rules and guidelines we need to follow when dealing with data.

Establish the goal. Recruiting data should align with your recruiting strategy. When we’re talking about pre-employment testing, that means knowing why the organization is conducting testing.

Agree on the data. Organizations need to research the best pre-employment assessments to make sure they are using a test that is valid and reliable. They should research and purchase assessments from a reputable vendor.

Support the process. Testing isn’t meant to make the hiring decision for you, it’s meant to provide you with more information so that you have a richer understanding of a candidate’s potential.

Guide selection. While pre-employment testing is scientifically proven to be more predictive of job performance than most other traditional hiring factors, that doesn’t mean it should be the sole deciding factor, since those other factors (i.e. interviews, experience, etc.) are still very relevant and valuable.

Train stakeholders. Anyone responsible for using data needs to understand how the data is collected and how to properly interpret it. Same goes with pre-employment testing.

I asked Criteria Corp CEO Josh Millet to share his philosophy about the relationship between testing, data, and analytics. “Our philosophy is that data (i.e. pre-employment tests) provides very little value if it isn’t properly validated to be predictive of job success. If you’re relying on a metric that isn’t validated and isn’t predictive of anything, you’re ultimately just wasting your time and potentially even making a misguided decision. This is why it’s so important to use a testing vendor that offers tests that are scientifically validated in the context of employment outcomes.”

Use Pre-Employment Testing as a Data Point

Treating pre-employment testing as a data point in the recruiting process gives organizations a different perspective on how to use testing. Not as a silver bullet to solve all your recruiting challenges, but as a complement to the other steps in the hiring process. Because when we give data and analytics the right place in the hiring process, we’ll get good outcomes. In this case, that means good hires for the company.

If you want to learn more about how pre-employment testing can benefit your recruiting strategy, check out Criteria Corp’s “Definitive Guide to Pre-Employment Testing”. I found this to be a comprehensive guide that I’ve got on the corner of my desk all the time.

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