Data reporting, data analytics, they talk about the same thing, right? Hardly. The former reads like a history book. It tells you where you’ve been. The latter is more like a crystal ball. It helps you see where you might be headed. Reporting and analytics are part of one team. They’re not the same, but you need both to sculpt a comprehensive recruiting strategy for the future.
RELATED: Is Your Recruitment Strategy Taking Advantage of Big Data?
Visit the Past but Don’t Live There
The past is a great place, even if it contains some unpleasant memories. In this case, the past is information from reporting. Knowledge gives you something to build on. It’s real and it’s tangible, and it’s the foundation for future efforts. That’s true, even if your future course is radically different. Without examining the past you wouldn’t know where and what to change.
Unfortunately, many recruiters focus on reporting and never make it to the really important step, which is analytics. ERE Media says that about 86 percent of talent acquisition efforts begin and end at reporting. But what good is all that information if it doesn’t help you design a better future?
Analytics Reveals the Whys and Hows of the Past
Reports are great in that they provide valid, factual information. But what they leave out is why and how it all happened. Imagine that you’ve had incredible success hiring for cultural fit. Your reports prove it in black and white. But what they can’t do is show you how to repeat and even improve on your past successes. That’s where analytics comes in.
According to ERE Media, recruiters who focus mainly on the past operate in a reactive way. Those who employ analytics are proactive. They also have a 40 percent lower rate of attrition and fill new job openings 20 percent faster, according to a Bersin by Deloitte study on recruitment.
How Analytics Can Help Your Recruiting Strategy
The goal of every recruiter is to work as efficiently as possible toward the best outcome. That outcome is a good hire that meshes with the company, has the necessary skills and aptitudes, and who wants to stay put. Unless you really do have a crystal ball and know how to operate it, analytics helps you make those important choices.
ERE Media says the benefits of moving well past simply reading reports are wide reaching and can affect numerous aspects of your business. Some of the ways that analytics helps include, but are certainly not limited to:
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- More accurately predicting good hires
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- Choosing the most effective channels for sourcing
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- Gaining valuable insights about attrition timing and how to resolve it
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- Predicting which candidates will stay on board before, not after, they’re hired
Reports are only half the story. They’re like a hamburger without the bun, a guitarist with one arm in a sling, and a cell phone without any service. Some of the elements are there. But they aren’t really useful without the rest. Analytics makes up the rest.
It’s not one single tool, but a resource that helps you determine or predict an outcome with greater accuracy. Both reporting and analytics are a vital part of every recruiter’s toolbox. You can’t predict future outcomes without solid reports to base your decisions on. But without analytics, all you’ve got are pages and pages filled with numbers that have very little meaning.
Looking for more ways to branch out from where you are and design a recruitment strategy that uses all of the available tools?