Employers are also increasingly turning to analytics in order to judge the success of a recruitment campaign. Information is needed both ways, in terms of advert response rate and in understanding the needs, interests and activities of candidates.
The need for metrics is accentuated by the multiple ways that a company can advertise, including its own career orientated website. Many companies have their core “.com” site and additional “jobs” site.
Online ‘real estate’
According to Jessica Miller-Merrell, writing for Workology, the importance of the jobs orientated site cannot be understated: “It’s the one piece of online real estate your company owns and controls. You are in charge of the experience and not just renting space. Because that’s exactly what is happening with employer review sites, social networks and job boards.”
To help the employer, free tools like Google Analytics allow businesses monitor online web activity and visitor reporting. In addition to Google there are ‘pay for’ services that offer additional features.
The advantage of using analytics for human resources is the reporting tools that enable firms to evaluate online job seeker behaviors and habits. One such function is in understanding where job seeker traffic comes from, such as the types of social media, job boards and employee reviews sites driving talent towards the company’s listings. This could lead to a change to the recruitment strategy, calculating how to address more traffic to the company’s website.
Time and location data
Things that can be learned from the analysis include the browser used to access the company’s web pages and the medium for dong so. If mobile devices are used most often, then adverts should be designed to be mobile-centric.
Analytics can also provide information about ‘time on site’. Understanding which pages have the most activity can also reveal data about the most interesting jobs or advert design.
Other factors, mentioned by Smart Jobs, include traffic sources: where are the candidates coming from? This can also indicate if paid for advertising campaigns are being successful. In addition analytics can also be used to assess the standing of the company or brand.
This trend is also reflected in a PwC review. The larger companies employ data scientists to evaluate hiring data. Smaller companies and start-ups will not have the resources for this, but meaningful insights can still be gained by accessing free web tools like Google Analytics.
