Why You Need to Use Data in Recruiting

If you work in recruiting, you already know it’s important to find ways of determining which candidates are most likely to succeed at your organization. You probably also know that you shouldn’t rely solely on one strategy.

For instance, when recruiting lower-level employees, you might keep the process within your own department. However, when filling more significant roles, such as CEO, you might coordinate with an executive search firm to help you find the strongest candidates.

You should also consider expanding the methods you use to identify and attract strong talent. Incorporating more data into the process is a particularly smart idea to consider. In recent years, recruiters for numerous organizations have begun to recognize the value of leveraging data to make more informed hiring decisions.

You can do the same. To better understand why you should use data (and to get a sense of how you can use it), keep the following points in mind.

1. Data Gives You More Confidence and Reduces Bias

Numerous factors can influence your decision when you choose to hire a new employee. That said, not all of these factors necessarily should play a role in your choice. Sometimes recruiters decide to hire particular candidates simply because they have a “gut feeling” about them.

There are certainly instances when this can work out. Sometimes, your instinct is telling you something worth listening to, even if you’re not entirely sure exactly what it is. On the other hand, a gut feeling about a candidate can also be a result of unconscious bias. After all, you’re only human, and all humans are prone to unconscious bias at times. It’s unavoidable. Unfortunately, it can also be the reason you end up hiring the wrong candidate (or overlooking the right one).

That’s less likely to happen when you use HR data and analytics during the recruiting process. While data shouldn’t be the only factor guiding your decision, it can offset the influence of bias.

Additionally, many recruiters understand the feeling of being less-than-confident in their choices. A little bit of self-doubt is common in this field. This is another good reason to use data when reviewing candidates. You’ll simply feel more confident in your final decision if you know it’s supported by genuine data and analysis.

2. Using Data Can Help You Prepare

Data doesn’t merely help you choose a candidate during the hiring process. It can also help you prepare for the entire year of work ahead of you.

For example, you may review your organization’s HR data to identify turnover trends. This helps you better determine how many roles you may need to fill in the coming year. As a result, you can prepare accordingly. This boosts your efficiency when it comes time to actually fill those roles.

Although this may require more detailed analysis, studying turnover trends could also help you identify the reasons people are leaving your organization in the first place. Maybe you find that lower-level employees tend to leave after working for the company for a certain amount of time, such as two years.

Knowing this gives you the opportunity to consider what happens at the two-year mark which leads to this. Perhaps the company is slow to offer promotions and raises. Thus, employees who have been loyal for some time without feeling rewarded for it may decide to pursue employment elsewhere.

That’s just one example. The reasons your company’s employees leave may be different. Regardless, turnover is costly. Studying HR data can help you reduce it.

3. Using Data Helps You Identify Errors in Your Approach to Recruitment

No recruitment strategy is perfect. There’s always room for improvement. One of your main goals should be to identify precisely how you can improve your strategy. Once again, using data can help.

For example, you may review employee performance data to get a better sense of what qualities and skills your most successful employees share. This helps you identify stronger candidates in the future.

That said, it can also help you determine how you could improve. For instance, you might discover that your strongest employees all lacked a specific qualification that was typically considered a necessary skill. Perhaps their strengths in other areas compensated for what would generally be considered a weakness.

After analyzing your top performers, you might realize that rejecting candidates simply because they lack a particular qualification isn’t necessarily the right approach. Historical data indicates this “weakness” won’t prevent most employees from succeeding.

There Are Many Additional Uses for Data in HR Processes

Remember, this is merely a brief guide. It’s by no means a comprehensive overview of the ways you can and should use data in recruiting. However, it should help you better appreciate the value data can offer.