While it is universally acknowledged that data can help organisations make more informed talent decisions, not enough companies are taking advantage of it.
Against a backdrop of sector-wide skills shortages and an economy recovering from the pandemic, effective resourcing decisions require robust consideration and evaluations of existing initiatives, processes and issues.
Despite this, data from the CIPD Resourcing and Talent Planning Survey 2021, produced in partnership with Omni, reveals that while most organisations collect some data to inform their resourcing decisions, few take a comprehensive approach. For example, less than half (46%) collect data to identify skills gaps in their business, and less than a third (31%) collect data to help highlight future skill requirements.
A lack of awareness around key areas of resourcing also stood out in the results. Only 20% of organisations take the time to calculate the cost of labour turnover, and just 13% measure the return on investment (ROI) of their recruitment activities, with larger organisations more likely to measure ROI (18%) compared to SMEs (7%).
Getting started with data
Organisations can access data from HR systems, other departments like IT and sales, candidate/employee feedback, and external sources, such as salary surveys. This data can then be harnessed in a variety of ways to:
Ï Inform an evidence based approach to resourcing and talent management.
Ï Evaluate the ROI of hiring strategies or specific hiring campaigns reviewing the effectiveness of attraction channels next to cost, time and quality of applicants through to retention and performance of new hires
Ï Evaluate recruitment activities (attraction, selection and onboarding) to assess effectiveness in diversifying talent
Ï Demonstrate the impact of recruitment and selection processes on workforce and organisational performance
Ï Develop a retention and talent strategy along with measures of ROI to demonstrate organisational impact.
It’s important that the true effectiveness of talent acquisition is measured and we don’t stop measuring once a new hire starts. Making the right recruiting decisions is important, as is having the right brand, attraction methods, selection and onboarding methods but these can only truly be measured next to ROI when we look at wider people measures. Omni advocates looking at the full employee life cycle and the value a new hire brings over that time – reviewing quality of new hires time to effectiveness, promotion rate, engagement rate as well as retention is key. All of which point to finding and shaping strong, productive, engaged employees.
The effective utilisation of data requires dedication and a robust process that spans from planning to evaluation. To start gathering and using data productively, we recommend the following steps:
1. Plan
Start with setting goals and a clear purpose for any data activity. What questions are you looking for answers to, and how will data help you find those answers? Understanding what you want to achieve enables you to create key performance indicators to measure success.
2. Audit
It’s important to know what data is already available to you within the organisation and its quality in relation to what you’re looking to achieve. Conducting an audit will enable you to identify any data gaps that need to be filled from the outset.
3. Process
To weave data initiatives into the fabric of your organisation, roles need to be defined with clear objectives set for those taking on the responsibility. Now that the audit has determined where the data is coming from, whether that’s using existing information, like candidate drop-outs, or new
data, like candidate experience surveys, you can devise a data collection strategy and the technology required to support this.
4. Analysis and evaluation
Measuring the data you have gathered against the goals ascertained at the start of the process means you can report on progress, highlight areas for improvement and establish a more accurate ROI on hiring initiatives. Any insights gathered can also be concisely communicated to other key stakeholders both inside and outside the business.
Any organisation starting their data journey should continuously evaluate the process at all stages, ensuring any required adjustments and updates are made to deliver maximum efficiency.
Changing the way organisations assess talent for the better
Omni Assess is the dedicated assessment practice within Omni’s Resourcing Transformation Consultancy. We support organisations to achieve better outcomes through being able to deliver more effective, fairer, more inclusive, more engaging and more reliable talent assessments that enhance talent acquisition, talent development and talent management activities. For more information, contact James Crichton, Head of Assessment, on james.crichton@omnirms.com.
You can also download your copy of the CIPD Resourcing and Talent Planning Survey here.
