Smart Hiring Choices: From Data to Decisions

Here’s a quick overview of how data analysis facilitates smart hiring decisions, what tools can be useful at different stages of the hiring funnel, and top tips for using data-driven hiring as a key business driver.

The importance of data analysis in smart recruitment

Traditional recruiting, with its manual CV screening and multiple stages of pre-evaluation of candidates’ skills, is not only time consuming; It is also subject to human error and faces a high risk of bias. Automation software mitigates most of these risks while significantly reducing time to hire. Depending on a company’s hiring needs, AI-powered software can also address other challenges — for example, it can assess a candidate’s cultural fit or ensure full compliance with DEI practices.

Key benefits of a data-driven approach to recruiting include:

• Focus on objective, clearly traceable metrics to eliminate unconscious bias and ensure 100% unbiased hiring;
• Ease of expansion to accommodate different pipelines, even if hiring goals change or volumes increase;
• Complete automation of repetitive tasks, such as initial resume screening or interview scheduling;
• Predictive intelligence to identify potential hiring needs;
• Advanced customization options, suitable for different recruitment needs;
• Track direct communications of all participants in the recruitment process;
• Psychological assessments of the candidate and reasonably accurate predictions of how each candidate will behave in an established work culture;
• Enhancing the candidate experience at every stage of the recruitment process.

Automate software every step of the way

While no company, even in the same industry, is exactly alike in the details of its functions and hiring needs, hiring paths always follow the same logic. The following tools can help automate all essential hiring stages, taking the hiring process to a whole new level.

Candidate Management Systems (CMS)

An effective recruitment path starts with choosing a high-quality CMS that meets your business goals and hiring needs. Today, most available tools are powered by artificial intelligence, at least to some extent. Depending on the business and hiring details, one can use global market favorites like Monday and Zoho Recruit or choose any other advanced CRM system suitable for the company’s goals.

Of course, it’s also possible to start with an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) as a simpler and generally more affordable solution. However, the main benefit of using CRM systems is that they ensure a more candidate-focused approach and are also better suited to working with passive candidates, who make up around 70% of the global workforce and are generally viewed as a more valuable human asset due to their ability On the job. Solid work experience.

Global contact databases

Professional contact search databases come to the rescue when a recruiter’s immediate circle of contacts doesn’t have a suitable candidate, and time is of the essence. While social media, including LinkedIn or more specialized platforms like GitHub, can help connect recruiters with relevant professionals, the whole process can be a bit slow for proactive hiring. Tools like SignalHire are designed to speed up this process via a global database of contacts that supports searches grouped by industry, location, job title, years of experience, and other customizable parameters.

Moreover, the service also provides a LinkedIn email finder An extension that pulls individual contact data directly from social media without having to switch browser tabs. Both techniques are incredibly useful for engaging passive candidates – a process that typically requires more creativity and attention to detail on the part of the recruiter.

Artificial intelligence-based CV screening tools

Screening, traditionally considered the most effort and time-consuming part of the larger hiring process, is made easy with AI-powered resume screening tools. Unlike previous generation CV analysts, who were useful while working with already pre-structured data, AI examiners are more versatile and are taught how to “make” decisions on their own.

In this category, one of the best truly versatile solutions is HireVue. The tool works on recruiters’ input and can filter out resumes that are clearly mismatched. This functionality saves a huge amount of time when screening active job seekers, but it can also apply to screening passive candidates if you upload a set of profiles downloaded from a contact database.

Pre-employment assessment tools

These tools are designed to pre-test candidates’ skills and abilities after they pass the screening stage. Depending on the specifics of the business, it is possible to choose from a variety of services designed to test programming skills (for example, HackerRank) or designed for behavioral tests and questions to pre-assess the candidate’s cultural fit and soft skills (Caliper, SHL, The Predictive Index). ).

However, tools aimed at testing hard skills are not exclusive to programming. Some services, like Test Gorilla, are more diverse and cover a wider range of hard skills tests, such as language proficiency, typing speed, and other non-coding assessments. Again, the choice of program will depend largely on the specifics of the business and staffing needs.

Automated interview scheduling

Another nightmare phase of the hiring process, with endless cycles of emails back and forth, can finally be put to an end with automated interview scheduling software. Most tools currently available work the same way – they allow candidates to self-select into open positions based on a recruiter’s schedule; However, there may be slight differences in features and prices. Here, the choice can be made almost randomly, but if you’re looking for a tool that has already gained trust and has a lot of free features, Calendly is a good app to consider.

Make data-driven hiring work for your business

Like all other tools, automation software helps those who know how to operate it. In the context of recruitment, this includes having a clear recruitment strategy – a process that begins with an understanding of long-term business development goals and hiring procedures that can accommodate those goals. Successful short-term automation programs include:

• Establish clear KPIs and metrics for specific periods, vacancies, etc. Identifying “classic” weaknesses, such as high employee turnover or poor performance, is a good start, but it’s not always that simple. Often, it is important to understand short- and long-term hiring goals, including the time it will take to fill specific vacancies, expected staffing needs, etc.
• Continuously analyze data and look for ways to improve current processes. This includes analyzing any hard data (cost of hire, quality of hire, campaign length, etc.), as well as gathering feedback from other recruiters, hiring managers and new hires to identify areas where there is room for improvement.
• Train teams in data literacy to ensure that all participants understand hiring needs, focus on specific KPIs, and act on the same data.

Finally, recruiters should always aim for the best possible candidate experience. First, candidates who don’t make it to the specific vacancy are still part of a larger network – and may prove to be ideal for another vacancy later on. Most importantly, a positive candidate experience has a direct impact on a company’s reputation – and in a world where brands are constantly competing for the best human talent, a good reputation is key to success.