Number crunching vital for better recruitment results

© Rob hyrons - Fotolia.com

Rather than the volume of CVs, the quality of the applications received is the measure of hiring success. While one platform might produce lower traffic than another, it could account for a large number of quality hires (called conversions). The ideal is to determine which channel has the best conversion rate relative to the effort expended in the process. That's where you want to focus.

For example, if your LinkedIn traffic is low with fewer CVs received but delivering 40% of your IT staff hires, compared to double the traffic on MXit, but with only 10% in conversions, it could be worth investing more in LinkedIn.

Digital makes it much easier to monitor activity

Compared to the old days of print recruitment classifieds, career fairs and other offline campaigns, digital now makes it much easier to monitor activity. It also allows tracking to be automated and to run reports on the sources of hire - some Applicant Tracking Systems can even show sources of hire for the last six months. With more accurate input, it becomes much easier for companies to determine their recruitment ROI and where to adjust their focus.

Getting measurement on track is a three-step process:

• Firstly, determine the criteria for measurement on each channel and set realistic targets for what success will look like on each channel. For some platforms the goal will be employer brand exposure while others will be focused on attracting job applications.
  
• Next, make sure you have the measurement tools in place to monitor the outcomes and set up accurate reports for each channel to see what worked, what didn't, and what needs adjustment.
  
• Finally, compare the results to identify where the leads are coming from. Tweak campaigns to align them to your goals and, if required, adjust the goal if the initial targets were too idealistic.

Measurement isn't always about writing off activities, but also about looking at how to optimise things. If a Facebook post of the company's corporate social investment initiative attracted a lot of attention, perhaps it means looking at more of this kind of content to improve its employer brand profile.

The best way to draw source-of-hire reports is via your integrated Applicant Tracking System, although companies could also look at their statistics on Facebook, LinkedIn metrics, Google Analytics and other tools built into social media platforms.

Online reputation management tools

Some even take this a step further with online reputation management tools to monitor what candidates are saying about the company on social media. But, the ultimate decision-making factor is conversions. If your YouTube profile has 50,000 views but not many click-throughs to a job applications or profile registrations, is that good or bad?

Launching a social recruitment campaign isn't just about going live and then kicking up your feet. Once the campaign has been launched, the process of constant measurement and optimisation only begins.

Over time the data will allow you to identify the channels that are providing a good return on investment, and the ones that are not. Refocus your efforts and investment on the value-adding channels, while constantly optimising and measuring results for a long-term return on investment.