The role of the HR pro is drastically changing, as well as the role of recruiters. Even those smaller, sort of autopilot tasks are evolving with data-driven changes. As recruiters pick up and learn one tool, another, more sophisticated tool comes along to replace it. Well, the recruitment tool of right now is big data. Big data can be utilized in almost any area of business, but right now let’s talk about big data and its application in recruitment marketing. 

 “What’s certain is that big data is the future of job recruiting and development, and understanding how to make sense of it will be critical to a company’s success. These days, big data is helping fast-growing companies find their perfect engineers, developers and executives.” - Michael A. Morell, Riviera Partners 

As the role of the recruiter evolves, recruiters are picking up several of the skills that traditionally marketers have required, but they are also becoming quite the data analysts (don’t worry, reporting and analysis tools do most of the heavy lifting). Recruiters are now using data-driven recruitment marketing to strategically attract and retain quality talent – both mounting concerns for the majority of business leaders. 

No More Pin the Job on the Donkey

The days of post and pray are over. Recruiters can now gather a wealth of actionable data from job boards. Objective information can be collected from job postings to help recruiters use this popular recruitment medium optimally, and craft the best recruitment messaging possible. Then, find the magical combination between placement and messaging factors.

Next, recruiters are able to target specific talent sources through this data, to reach the highest likelihood of enlarging the talent pool for each position. Previously, targeting sources was a bit of a risky business. To allocate spend in a niche manner, could mean totally blowing your budget on an attraction avenue with no ROI. Making you look like a… donkey.

Now, applying big data to this process will result in the creation of free-flowing talent pipelines, which in turn will decrease time-to-fill rates. Job boards are no longer the frustrating and costly game of pin the job on the donkey. Recruiters can now use job boards with data-driven action. All of this contributes to the smarter and more effective allocation of your recruitment budget.

The Magic 8 Ball of Recruiting

Until very recently, recruiters have been obsessed with a small pool of recruiting metrics. Well, of course now we know recruiters have to stop looking to the past for answers, and make the big switch to predictive analytics. Predictive analytics are found in the recruiting data that you already have; they are simply the connection of those data points. Predictive analytics help recruiters ask and answer the right questions.

• How many days does it take to hire an IT professional in Los Angeles?
• On what day, during which hours do IT professionals apply for jobs?
• What job boards do IT professionals from Los Angeles use most often?
• What is the application abandonment rate for an IT professional from Los Angeles on a non-mobile optimized site? 

I could go on forever with questions that can help recruiters target, attract and sign the talent they need, exactly when they need it. Big data connects the data points that give recruiters the answers. Big data reveals the trends we don’t see on the surface (or even under it, for that matter). This knowledge arms recruiters with the confident agility to tailor their methods and budgets for the best recruitment marketing efforts possible.

The big data movement has proven effective and will, therefore, last. A recent Deloitte study revealed 57% of human resources departments increased their spend on analytics. This is the direct result of tools that render previously useless data, now actionable and objective information. Recruiters today have solid data to replace assumptions and best guesses. 

As mentioned before, recruiters will not have to be analytical, mathematical clairvoyants, but they will need to be armed with the appropriate reporting and analytics tools. No one can achieve this level of highly targeted recruitment marketing without technology that turns backward-facing data into useful analytics.

Bio: Kelly Robinson

Kelly Robinson is the founder and CEO of Broadbean Technology, a sourcing and recruitment technology company. Broadbean Technology has created a strong global presence with offices in the US, Europe and Australia The company remains true to the core fundamentals of its inception: “Keep it light and fun while getting the job done!” Kelly writes about leadership and culture, as well as reducing friction in the candidate experience.