How can employers use data effectively in recruitment when systems seem to be disconnected from each other? How do we optimise top-of-funnel recruiting analytics to better understand and quantify the 'quality of hire'? At TechHR 2023, Asia’s largest work tech and HR conference, People Matters hosted a Masterclass with Sameer Penakalapati, Founder and CEO of Ceipal, who discussed the benefits of using analytical tools during recruitment and explained how Ceipal is empowering organisations to hire better. 

The importance of data in recruitment

“There is no silver bullet solution to finding the best talent. Only an effective combination of processes, tools, and integrations can help HR build a sustainable talent pipeline that fulfils the talent needs of today and tomorrow,” shared Sameer as he opened this insightful Masterclass. Having a tech perspective in your recruitment process can result in several advantages, including better quality of hire, faster hiring, cost optimisation, and improved diversity and objectivity in hiring. 

A typical organisation seeks candidates from several sources, such as internal recruiters, staffing agencies, talent suppliers, employee references, and job aggregator platforms. “At Ceipal, we help organisations envision how their talent function is benefitting from different sources by using advanced analytics. Through meticulous data collection and analysis, we help employers assess the effectiveness of different talent sources and recognise which source provides candidates that are the best fit”, explained Sameer. Like all good things, building these systems is not an instantaneous job, and if you want to create a sustainable talent pool, you need to put in the time and effort. 

The challenges of a disjointed recruitment system

The recruitment process includes several smaller, yet significant and complex steps. These are identifying the right talent, tracking talent, conducting interviews, selecting suitable candidates, and finally, hiring and onboarding. Throughout this process, recruiters curate talent from different sources and play an active role in engaging candidates. As things stand today, despite having many distinctive talent acquisition processes in place, most organisations lack an integrated platform or dashboard that can provide them with an overview of the larger interconnected data points. 

For example, the different pipelines that exist for candidates through referrals, hiring events, job posts, and social media do not intersect substantially. In many cases, candidate resumes stay in siloed ATS systems or email inboxes. There are other challenges that come with disconnected systems, such as fragmented candidate data, manual data entry, and lack of uniformity in the hiring process and onboarding experience.

Statistical and predictive analytical tools can offer these valuable insights that can help organisations access the right people through the proper channels. These tools can simplify the talent curation process by analysing talent needs through factors such as skill, industry, and location. While leading employment websites and job boards allow you to search for candidates based on different variables, there is opacity in understanding which source is the most efficient in providing suitable talent. Equipped with the right information, it can be easier for the HR team to determine where to invest their resources and look for the best talent. 

For instance, one of Cepial’s client in the aerospace industry was struggling to hire candidates at a specific location. “We analysed the seven sources of talent the company was using and determined that employee referrals were the most effective approach due to location proximity. The referral bonus program was also revised, encouraging more employees to refer people from their network. Hence, the client implemented local recruitment programs and experienced an uptick in its hiring activity”, highlighted Sameer.

Recruitment analytics for optimisation and candidate engagement 

Viewing recruitment data through analytical tools makes identifying underlying trends and patterns easier. With reliable and accurate data, companies can find the right candidate sources, eliminating the need to work with multiple talent suppliers and staffing agencies. Having the tools to measure different hiring data points can help HR to select the best candidate with the least amount of investment and in the shortest time. We need to start looking at every qualified resume as an asset, and ensure that it is connected to a single database, no matter its source. Enriching candidate profiles can fill this gap and help meet the hiring needs of large and service-based companies. Building a comprehensive candidate profile database can improve the quality of hire and make it easier to manage large volumes of candidate information efficiently. 

Building a positive candidate experience and engaging people throughout the recruitment process is imperative to attract and hire top talent today. The era of communicating solely through emails or phone calls is history, and candidates are more familiar with social media and instant messaging UIs. Using WhatsApp integration and chatbots to facilitate personalised interaction can also simplify the hiring process, as preliminary filtering and shortlisting can be done even before the first direct conversation. You can set up pre-determined questions about candidate experience, qualifications, and skills to rank qualified candidates as per priority before human intervention and analysis.

Similarly, once the candidate accepts the offer, it can be challenging to engage them before the joining date. A negative or unpleasant pre-joining experience may create a strain even before they start working and, in extreme cases, may force the candidate to consider other offers. Keeping candidates engaged throughout the recruitment process requires identifying the pain points, quantifying the challenges, and measuring the impact of different interventions on candidate experience.

Recruitment analytics: The final word

At every stage of the process, analytics can play an essential role in aggregating, refining, and analysing actionable data to facilitate positive and effective engagement. With Ceipal, you can also get rich data visualisation and reporting capabilities, turning opportunity losses into gains. The recruitment ecosystem intersects with nearly every vital business function, so it is best to find integrations that make it easier to understand and analyse hiring processes and trends.