talent analytics: big data and your recruitment process.

If you haven't brought big data into your recruitment processes, you will already be left behind.

data-driven approaches – using data to find patterns and information you didn't know existed – have taken off in sports.

And equally, companies with advanced HR functions are beginning to use big data in the form of talent analytics to drive the performance of their business teams.



Following the principle that past outcomes are the best predictor of future success, organisations use employee data to improve their recruiting and selection processes.

For example, reviewing ten years of resumé data for an organisation's sales force may show education, experience or job history patterns that influence employee success or tenure in a sales role.

This can then improve selection criteria when recruiting new sales professionals.



Such an analytical role removes much of the subjective decision-making that can be so influential in the recruitment process.



Over many years at Randstad, we have made it our business to know where to find the numbers and how to analyse them to optimise, quantify and articulate their impact on business strategy and results.



The Randstad World of Work report 2013/14 indicates that around a third of employers across the Asia-Pacific region use workforce analytics, although adoption rates vary by country.

Software programs such as LinkedIn's algorithmic 'People You May Want To Hire' recruiter, based on over 200 million career profiles, already do some of this for a price. 



It's also worth bearing in mind that it is not just organisations that are using big data – candidates use it, too. Algorithm recommendations now drive more than 50% of job searches.



Within your business, talent analytics may be used to discover how long a person in a specific age group is likely to stay.

it may also be used to:

• identify skill gaps
• test how a candidate performs in a simulated situation
• make the pre-employment selection process more efficient and accurate
• measure leadership skills and cognitive ability, and much more.

Best of all, talent analytics can make recruitment much faster and more efficient.



Big data alters the interview process, but it doesn't replace it. The human factor in making recruitment choices can never be completely replaced. Analytics is about improving on what we have now.

They are an essential tool in an increasingly powerful toolkit to ensure vital hiring decisions are made more efficiently and with better information for the benefit of the organisation and its people.