Currently we’re seeing the global explosion of digital information. It’s everywhere – mobile, TV, Google, Apple, all collecting data on us. Big data and predictive analytics is not only affecting the way businesses manage their customers, it is changing the way they look, find and recruit candidates. Or at least it will.
Big data always seems like a real buzzword that many people use but often don’t fully understand, but I think that will change when we start to see the benefits of this data, especially within recruitment. When you think that it was predicted that data will grow by 800 percent in the next 5 years back in 2012 (Gartner), and only 4 years later it’s predicted that global data traffic will cross 100 Zettabytes a year by 2025! (that’s 1000000000000000000000kb for those working in old money) that’s an incredible amount to of data to draw on.
From a recruitment perspective, the more information we can analyse around candidate behaviour, applications and hires, the better we can be at targeting more closely the people that we want to attract.
This seems a long way from looking at ABC circulation numbers on a BRAD (most of you will have no idea what that was – think Yellow Pages for Media). This can only be a good thing, I’ve long advocated trying to take a more analytical view of advertising.
I recall trying to provide application estimates to clients for job board advertising based on the NORAS data we had. Often it was wildly inaccurate but clients always reacted well to that type of insight. The data wasn’t really there at the time, but that’s changing now, and recruitment analytics is something I’m very invested in. For me, it’s the biggest game changer this industry will see in the coming couple of years. To be able to accurately predict the media/source that is most likely to lead to a hire for a certain type of position will increase performance, minimise waste and achieve what we’re all trying to do. Put the right person in the right job.
Those who know me, know that I don’t say these things very often either. Certainly not in light of my most recent blog around fads, and new-fangled strategies that fail to deliver. So I’m out on a limb here but I’m confident this will live up to expectations and change the way we all work.
