how people analytics can improve recruitment outcomes.

What role do people analytics play in your current recruitment process? If data and analytical tools aren’t already a vital part of every stage of the hiring process, you could find it extremely challenging to fill job vacancies considering today’s tight labor market. In addition, inefficient recruitment practices are compounded when working with a high-volume workforce.

What is people analytics? In short, it’s the process of collecting and analyzing data on your manufacturing or logistics workforce to make informed business decisions. Why are people analytics so important? By analyzing large-scale data collection about your employees, you’re better equipped to understand why they act the way they do and proactively resolve their needs. This, in turn, can help with talent acquisition and eventually improve business performance.

While this type of analytical data can provide insights into a wide range of business decisions, our guide specifically focuses on how people analytics can improve your company’s recruitment efforts.

how talent analytics can improve your recruitment process

Today’s employers are finding it hard to fill roles and close skills gaps within their companies. Among Canada’s provinces, the percentage of businesses that report struggles with talent acquisition ranges from 36% in Newfoundland and Labrador to over 55% in Quebec. You can add real value to your recruitment practices by using talent analytics, a subdivision of people analytics that gathers information on all stages of the hiring process, starting with sourcing.

source high-quality applicants

Amidst the ongoing labor shortage throughout Canada, online job boards aren’t going to be enough to attract the skilled labor your company needs, especially when managing a large-scale workforce. Instead, you need to target both active and passive candidates. Unfortunately, passive candidates aren’t always scrolling through Monster or other online job boards.

Talent analytics can help you reach these target candidates by understanding their online behaviors. For instance, do your ideal candidates spend time on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, or social newsgroups, such as Reddit or Hive? Understanding where your target candidates spend their time online can help you narrow sourcing efforts to attract your ideal applicants.

enhance candidate engagement

Knowing where to reach your ideal candidates is just the first step in sourcing. You must also entice these potential candidates to reach out and complete the application process. Talent analytics can help you better understand what motivates target candidates to seek new employment opportunities. Furthermore, you’ll be able to track their engagement throughout the recruitment process, keeping in mind that higher engagement rates equal improved job acceptance rates.

Existing employee engagement levels are also an important factor in attracting new talent. After all, the top candidates don’t want to work for companies with low employee engagement levels. You can use HR analytics to measure engagement rates in the workplace so you can identify and remove obstacles that may be hindering productivity and employee contribution. This can also help you increase retention rates in your manufacturing or logistics company.

hire for job fit

Higher turnover rates can wreak havoc on a company’s budget. According to a recent survey from Randstad, blue-collar workers in Canada are changing jobs at higher than usual rates, with 16% planning to switch employers in the next 12 months. Add in the fact that it can cost approximately 20% of a position’s salary to replace an employee, and you’ll see why hiring for ‘job fit’ and ‘boss fit’ are more important than ever.

Standard hiring practices, such as the interview process, are often biased. In addition, studies show that interviewers make decisions about a candidate in less than seven minutes. Even a skilled HR specialist or experienced operations manager can find it difficult, if not impossible, to determine job fit in such a short period of time. And, when you’re dealing with staffing for high-volume work in manufacturing or logistics, the pressure increases exponentially.

Fortunately, talent analytics can minimize the impact of bias and lack of time in the hiring process. It does this by providing impartial, real-time data to help you make sound hiring decisions. This doesn’t mean, however, that you should take the human element out of the recruitment process. In fact, it’s the combination of ‘tech and touch’ that allows you to hire for job and boss fit.

improve acceptance rates

The last thing you want is to guide a prospective candidate through the recruitment process only to have them reject the job offer. This wastes time and resources and prohibits you from obtaining the top talent your company wants.

Certainly, your company may attempt to counteroffer with a higher salary. However, today’s job seekers are looking for more than just better pay. Results from Randstad’s Workmonitor 2022 survey found that Canadian workers are looking for employers with like-minded values (78%), flexible working hours (84%) and job-improvement opportunities (70%). They also want diverse workforces and strong employer brands that are socially responsible. 

Since no two candidates are the same and all have different needs and expectations regarding work, it can be difficult to meet everyone’s preferences, especially when managing a high-volume workforce. You can, however, use HR data analytics to build a competitive compensation package that resonates with target candidates. Using in-house analytical data combined with a complete competitor analysis can help you better understand the workplace expectations of employees in specific provinces, roles and industries.

With this real-time data, you can revamp compensation packages to ensure you’re offering a competitive salary as well as the right perks. This step can help you improve your company’s job acceptance rates despite today’s tight job market.

identify target candidates

Every company has a handful of hardworking employees they wish they could clone. While cloning isn’t possible, you can use data-driven analytics to determine what traits, attributes and capabilities these prime workers have in common. Then, with this analytical data in hand, you can create the ideal candidate profile for tailoring job postings and descriptions.

For example, analytical data might show that the best performers in shift management jobs have been promoted from specific entry-level roles within the company. This data can also provide insights into what traits and qualities to look for when hiring at a high-volume for these entry-level positions.

reduce bias during talent acquisition

Studies show that many people want diversity in the workplace. In fact, the Randstad Workmonitor 2022 report found that over one-third of Canadian workers would turn down a job offer if they felt the company in question was neglecting to address diversity and inclusion. Diversity in the workplace can not only attract these job seekers but also improve performance and increase innovation within the company. After all, having too many employees who think and react similarly can lead to a lack of creativity.

Building a diverse workforce, however, isn't as easy as you might think. Unconscious bias too often impacts talent acquisition in companies that lack a strategy to combat this issue. You have to develop a sourcing approach that targets candidates from different locations, genders and backgrounds while also engaging with them in a way that entices them to apply for and accept the job.

HR data analytics can help in a variety of ways. First, you can use analytical data to secure leadership buy-in by explaining the vast benefits of building a diverse workforce. Secondly, you can identify areas where your business may struggle. For example, if your company is having trouble with the talent acquisition of diverse employees, consider whether the problem lies in hiring decisions or if diverse candidates are failing to accept your job offers.

Finally, use talent analytics to develop and implement recruitment strategies to address these issues. For instance, do you need to create alternative methods for sourcing talent, or does your company need to address ways to support a diverse workforce through specialized tools and adaptations? Then, you can analyze a snapshot of data over several periods to track improvements.

The good news is that by integrating analytical HR solutions into your recruitment process, you and your hiring managers can make data-driven decisions rather than relying solely on gut instincts.

streamline the hiring process

With Canada’s declining unemployment rate and tight job market, it’s never been more important to have an efficient hiring process for high-volume talent acquisition. Otherwise, you risk losing your top choices because you waited too long to extend job offers. Talent analytics can help you identify factors that may slow down your recruitment process. For instance, is the application process too long, preventing you from filtering through applications quickly and efficiently or is an ineffective reference-checking process reducing your time-to-hire rates?

Once you’ve identified potential problem areas within the recruitment process, look for ways to make them more efficient. For example, can you bring more automation to your recruitment process to speed things up? Automation in HR is critical for high-volume employers looking to create a pool of talent resources. If your reference checking is taking too long, our Randstad Relevate Reference can automate this process for you.

Using talent analytics to identify and fix problem areas can help your company avoid losing prime candidates during the recruitment process. Instead, you can make job offers before your competitors do and acquire your first choices rather than settle for less-qualified candidates.

forecast future talent needs

Thanks to the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning (ML) technology, you can use people analytics tools to devise workforce planning strategies. This type of approach is critical when you’re dealing with hundreds or thousands of workers. By collecting, measuring and analyzing workforce data, organizations can better predict the future needs of the company and improve recruitment outcomes.

People analytics can help you identify skills gaps within the workforce, predict skills needed for the future and stay ahead of labor shifts. For example, if your company is implementing Industry 4.0 like many Canadian manufacturers, this transition will undoubtedly bring changes to the structure of your workforce. Automation will replace some jobs and create others; new skills will need to be acquired, and upskilling may be a priority. Through HR technology and people analytics, you can identify everything from future skills gaps to which employees are ideal for upward training.

Using workforce data analytics to predict your company’s future needs can put you a step ahead of the competition and allow you to acquire and retain the skills your organization requires.

people analytics best practices

When it comes to people analytics, security and compliance are a must. Therefore, it’s advantageous if you have a manager or HR specialist who has taken an HR analytics course or received people analytics certification. Another option is to work with an in-house service provider, like Randstad Canada, which is experienced in people analytics for high-volume businesses.

As with all data your company manages, you must set clear parameters regarding workforce data collection, storage and management. After all, the last thing you want is a breach of the workers' data. Additionally, make sure all your data collection, storage and analysis methods comply with Canadian employment laws and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Download our list of ‘7 things you should know about people analytics’ to learn more about the value this methodology can bring to your company.