Ask any Human Resources or Talent Acquisition professional about their career over the years, and they will tell you the people function is not what it used to be. There are a lot of buzzwords that are gaining a reputation, including Data-Driven Recruiting, Predictive Analytics, and Levels of confidence. But how can HR and TA professionals overcome the obstacle of an unpolished recruitment process?  

Digital transformation has been a widely accepted solution over the past few years and has streamlined the people function to a degree. However, two of the main themes when it comes to businesses of all sizes is the systems overload and the constant battle of prioritisation between HR and TA. Despite all this, there are steps that can be taken to strip the process back, bridge the gap between the programs your company is using and start taking actionable steps towards bringing the focus back to the talent.  

Systems overload

With the evolution of the HR function within businesses, HR technology developers have introduced a vast array of apps and new solutions to support work flexibility. According to HR Magazine, 66% of decision-makers across the UK and Ireland have seen an increase in the number of programs used. However, this has increased stakeholder and candidate needs and demands.  

While the growing number of solutions are re-establishing expectations, it also leads to app overload among the people function, as their expertise is now expected to range from HR matters, to wearing a tech hat, navigating Finance, IT, Legal, Procurement… and so on. According to HR Executive, over the past 3 years, the average number of recruitment systems has almost doubled, from 9 in 2019, to 16 at the end of 2021. With this accelerated trend being set to continue, the most important questions that need to be asked are:  

• Do these systems ‘talk’ to each other?  
• Is your business suffering from the limitations of siloed information, whereby ATS data is left on one system and subsequent data on others?
• Are you measuring how much of your recruitment process is data-driven?

• How confident are you in the information being generated by these systems?

HR vs. TA

The target user of these systems is also important to note – this is one of the reasons we are usually looking at so many different tech solutions, some dedicated to TA, some to HR, etc. And whereas there might be a tendency to put these people together as the representatives of a single function, reality is quite different. We need to look at the way HR systems work and how different they are from TA ones. Add to that the separate purposes they solve, and we are getting closer to obtaining a matrix that starts to reflect real life.

Let’s say you build these teams, get the systems, and start setting time aside to do ‘proper’ reporting – but by the time you realise the disparities, competitors are already way ahead in the race for the best talent. What is their secret? They were quicker to realise that they need to be forward-thinking with any recruitment strategy, to account for the opportunity that comes from periods of change and disruption.  

Where to start?

Going back to the basics and giving special attention to the raw data should be your first step, identifying some of the current data issues and which areas are lacking quality. This helps you understand your foundation so you can start forming a ‘wish-list’ of information and reports as an outcome. How far back should you go when it comes to reviewing the process? According to Lever, to make informed, sustainable hires, the recommendation would be rethinking the entire process of hiring, from first points of contact, to employee training sessions, all the way to recurring reviews.  

Conducting a deep dive analysis into your recruitment processes can be scary, but the great news is that there are solutions coming to the market which can make your day-to-day life a little easier, without emptying wallets. Traditionally, the starting point is looking at the data; however, at RTM we delve into the seen and unseen territories of your reporting, to first understand whether it helps drive your recruitment, and then work with you to establish a feasible plan of action, customised to your organisation’s needs and goals.  

The great reports you have are meaningless unless you have a degree of certainty in the quality of the underlying data. RTM’s team of specialists are working on a Data Consultancy service that will not only bring you answers, but transform your processes, providing you with reliability and the confidence to make decisions that ultimately drive success.  

To find out more, get in touch with our RTM talent experts today.