HR Strategy

How to Improve HR Recruitment with Data 

September 12, 2023

When there’s a broad question, data can provide a clear answer. HR professionals can discover how to improve workplace practices and processes by tracking important metrics. According to recent insights from Statistics Canada, 36% of businesses expect recruitment to be an obstacle this year. Leaders and HR practitioners in any sized organization should harness the power of data to improve their HR recruitment practices and make more informed hiring decisions. 

Thankfully, organizations don’t have to rely on sophisticated software like an applicant tracking system (ATS), and they don’t need a data analyst. Instead, HR professionals can use a few basic formulas, helpful resources, and a spreadsheet to uncover what’s working and what isn’t in their hiring processes. 

What are hiring metrics? 

Hiring metrics show how effective an organization’s recruitment strategy and program is. You can learn what areas to improve in your HR recruitment processes with metrics like: 

  • Where top candidates come from (such as referrals or your careers webpage); 
  • Recruitment costs; 
  • Cost per hire; 
  • Efficiency of recruitment cycles; and 
  • Quality of hires. 

Use HR recruitment metrics now to support future goals 

Hiring metrics show you where to focus your efforts while finding opportunities for development. Not all avenues are worth your time and money. Thoroughly assessing recruitment metrics also helps you understand how multiple perspectives (such as hiring managers and job candidates) think about your current recruitment practices. 

Monitoring the right HR recruitment metrics can help you: 

  • Hire more effective candidates; 
  • Reduce bias in hiring; 
  • Streamline hiring processes; 
  • Increase hiring efficiency; 
  • Improve your bottom line; 
  • Compete with other companies for top talent; 
  • Improve your brand and reputation; 
  • Track the success of your referral program; and 
  • Lower the time it takes to fill vacancies. 

Over a quarter (27.3%) of Canadian businesses expect retention to be a challenge this year. Evaluating candidate and employee experiences can help reduce future turnover so that companies can keep the talent they hired and developed. The more satisfied a new hire is, the less likely they are to leave

By tracking and analysing hiring metrics, you can maximize your recruitment budget, streamline your timelines, protect your brand, and ensure top quality candidates join and stay with your organization. Know what HR recruitment metrics are most important to track, calculations to use, and how to collect information in our FREE Guide to HR Recruitment Metrics. Use this guide to improve your hiring efforts, no matter the size of your organization.