Big data is big news these days. We hear all about how it is helping companies and organizations all over the world make better decisions faster in terms of how their products and services go to market and are used by customers. It’s having an equally interesting impact on hiring and talent acquisition. Human resources departments have been relying on analytics for years, but it’s taken until now for them to really bring machine learning into the mix. Here’s how big data is going to change the field for recruiting.
Identifying the right talent for the right role
This has long been a major part of what HR teams are counted on when it comes to hiring and recruiting. Creating a reliable talent pipeline that brings in the right people at the right time is a critical part of a company’s success. Big data can bring that pipeline to the next level by leveraging professional information and databases provided online from sites like Indeed.com or LinkedIn to identify the candidates who are looking for opportunities who are also the perfect match for your job. By analyzing vast amounts of job seeker data in the most effective fashion, companies are better able to invest their time and efforts in the right people for the opportunity. With the data provided from the web, organizations are that much better prepared to find the right candidates for the right roles, and even pre-assess which applicants will experience high success within role should they by hired.
Analyzing proper compensation and benefits
Similarly, to the ability to find the right talent, HR departments were counted on to land the right candidates by making the offers that would convince the best talent to join the company. However, compensation and benefits trends are constantly evolving. And in order to stay ahead of the market, a company must stay ahead of the trends. That takes reliable forecasting and analysis of vast amounts of data over varying lengths of time. And again, the latest big data programs are substantially more capable of achieving that goal than individual employees, even the very skilled ones.
Tracking human resources growth
Machine learning is very good at collating data points within a company, and managing growth with increments, promotions, opportunities and benefits. When individual managers do this, they are prone to bias and are often limited in their scope. But big data takes all information into account and can evaluate all factors, including employee motivations, turnover rates, professional development, training, grievances, morale, even attrition rates and candidate success in role. Each data point that is selected can have an impact in your hiring and retention trends. Machine learning is better equipped to take it all into account. It offers a faster way to respond to changing workplace dynamics. It manages employees through the data, rather than through relationships. Frankly, manual management of such processes is simply overpowered by the capabilities of machine learning when applied appropriately with consistent access to and storage of large quantities of high-quality data.
