Making Transactional Recruiting Metrics Transformational

ThinkstockPhotos-528744855The recruiting process used to be fairly straightforward: A position would open, and you would work to fill that position with the right person. Today, there is so much more to it. Recruiting now plays a part — directly or indirectly — in virtually every business objective a company has. How?

  1. The competition for talent is fierce. According to ManpowerGroup’s 2015 Talent Shortage Survey, 38 percent of employers across the globe report having trouble filling open jobs due to a lack of available talent. In a talent economy that is highly competitive, every aspect of a recruiting strategy impacts an employer’s ability to attract the best candidates.
  2. A company’s recruiters are at the center of a candidate’s brand experience. Recruiting influences an employer’s brand from start to finish. If a candidate has a poor experience with a recruiter, their perception of the entire company becomes more negative.
  3. Organizations and industries have varying needs. When it comes to recruiting metrics, one size fits one. While transactional metrics (like time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, applicant-to-hire rate, etc.) are often similar from one company to another, most high-level recruiting objectives need to be tailored to a company’s specific needs.

Because of this, recruiting strategies should measure more than just the traditional metrics that have been around for decades. While these metrics are still essential (they provide a baseline and key starting point for a strategy), they don’t show the whole picture. Transactional measures reveal quantity, but not quality. They sound good, but they don’t give a complete picture with an understanding of the more complicated dynamics associated with labor market trends, quality/productivity of new hires, hiring manager satisfaction, etc.

It’s time to take “transactional” recruiting strategies and make them “transformational.” There is more data available than ever before – and it keeps getting more sophisticated. Pair that with a talent-driven economy and we are presented with an opportunity to directly align recruiting strategy benchmarks with business mission.

To take your recruiting strategy from “transactional” to “transformational,” you should look for the following factors:

  1. Flexibility. Every initiative should have different metrics, depending on the pain points of the company or department.
  2. Innovation. RPO should be at the cutting edge of thinking about how they can impact mission.
  3. Agility. The recruiting team should have the ability to pivot. If they can’t (or aren’t willing to), they probably aren’t the right fit.
  4. Multi-Speed Readiness. Solutions need to align with readiness in different areas of the business.
  5. Feedback Loops. Any effective strategy should build in feedback loops, ensuring recruiting teams have the information they need to evolve their approach as necessary.
  6. Governance. A transformational recruiting solution needs to have support and guidance from the top, including executives from the supply side (the recruiting team) and the demand side (employers).

The competition for talent is real, and so is the battle for brand recognition. Companies are searching high and low to capture their share, and many are looking to experienced RPO organizations to add value and raise the bar.

Transactional metrics will always be valuable, but with advances in technology and the vast amount of data that is now available, there is so much more that can be considered. The opportunity now lies in taking metrics to the next level and aligning them with employee engagement and productivity – now and in the future.

Jim McCoy

Jim McCoy
Jim McCoy is chief revenue officer and general manager at Scout Exchange, a platform for marketplace recruiting.

Jim McCoy

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