Writing recently in New Zealand’s HR magazine, QJumpers President Simon Oldham focused on some of the less well used aspects of technology aimed at simplifying the process.

Because when it comes to talent acquisition and HR strategy, it’s all very well investing in the latest automation and applicant tracking systems, but unless the company a) finds the right fit for their requirements, and b) adapts to be able to use the technology to the best of its ability, then they’re not going to be able to get their money’s worth.

Simon’s key findings – from research carried out both in New Zealand over the past 12 years and, more recently in the US over the past couple of years – is that firms aren’t getting the most out of two areas: talent pools and business intelligence.

“In our experience, the arrival of new technology hasn’t meant companies are necessarily making the most of new functionality,” Simon says. “And this is a mainly because of a fundamental point in recruitment and HR: it’s vital for companies to get a system that works explicitly for, or can be customized to, their specific requirements.

“In my experience, many companies come in with requirements based on what they’ve heard is best practice, but then don’t use that functionality. For example, companies ask for, but then might not use, their talent pool because it’s not intuitive or it requires one or two keystrokes more than hiring managers are prepared to make.

Alternatively, companies say they want business intelligence and reports but then hardly anyone in the company looks at them or, when they do, they don’t use them to improve their processes.” Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data, reporting and analytics have been major buzzwords in HR and recruitment for a few years now, and as departments really start getting to grips with all the information they have at their fingertips, it’s vital they make the most of it.

At QJumpers we have grown our recruitment software and talent pool expertise to be much more than a smart ATS. Realizing early on the importance of not only gathering data, but being able to extract it and use it specific to your business, we’ve developed reporting analytics that cover all your recruitment basics such as time to hire, applicant information and active/filled jobs, while also leaving room to tailor individual reports to suit your specific business needs.

But knowing you can access data is not the same as handling that data. So what are the golden rules governing the successful use of data analytics?

1. Ask for the right information to fill your data pool.
   • Where once it was enough to keep the details of applicants on file and then revisit the best ones when new roles appeared, the future of data use in HR and recruitment is going to be tied far more closely to measuring assessment results against both on-the-job success and other successful employees. This boils down to setting the right questions for candidates and understanding the type of traits a successful candidate might display. For example:
   • Keep candidate assessments simple so as not to scare off potentially good applicants while broad enough so they can be considered for a wider range of roles than they originally applied for.
   • Use tools to examine candidates’ social media profiles to see how closely they match existing successful employees.
   • Recruitment assessments are just the start of an ongoing data relationship between employee and employer and an important step in how companies attract and then keep hold of their talent.
   • Don’t limit information to task-specific questions – data will provide the basis for ongoing assessment and staff management where employment decisions such as advancement can be made on solid evidence not personal opinion.
2. Set and reset benchmarks. HR professionals must completely trust the benchmarks by which data is measured. Regular benchmarking requires an understanding of how a business is changing, how expectations adapt, and then give a better understanding of big picture themes and performance. In a rapidly changing business environment and an extremely competitive US market where recruiters have to be flexible and fast, and technology regularly outpaces business practice, having a continual process of assessing benchmarks can be the difference between owning data and owning usable data.
3. Learn how to extract data usefully. QJumpers puts a premium on creating intuitive, user-friendly dashboards that convert huge pools of data into usable information on which to make key recruitment decisions. The next big move in HR is likely to be deeper training in how to extract and interpret this information using a range of software tools as well as integrating data from throughout the business to get a clearer overall picture of performance. As the technology improves, having a modular system such as QJumpers makes more and more sense as we’re constantly looking at improved ways to store, extract and analyze information and can then add them into your business recruitment software package.
4. Learn how to use data efficiently. This is the number one priority for HR departments over the next few years. The type of big data revelations we’re looking at include:
   • AI-augmented screening and candidate assessment that can analyze speech and body language to give insights into personality.
   • Data trawling of skills and competencies to better match candidates with specific jobs and then perform ongoing analysis to rate those competencies against performance. This gives companies a far greater insight into their workforce, removes assumptions and can go a long way to helping mold a successful recruitment strategy.
   • Talent and succession-planning data will be able to key into how engaged and happy employees are giving recruiters predictive analytics on staff and staffing requirements.
   • Matching social media profiles of successful hires to those applying for similar roles will create a situation where recruitment software will be able to present shortlists of candidates alongside the probability of them fitting into your workforce.

To experience QJumpers’ innovative approach to combining recruitment technology with friendly, efficient customer support, or for more information on how QJumpers can help you integrate business analytics to develop a successful recruitment strategy and system [email protected].