The whole point of having robust analytics is to gain insight into data to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your recruitment marketing strategy - and ultimately get the best candidates for the job. So, where do TA teams go wrong?
It's easy to get caught up in the sea of numbers and percentages and not know how to formulate the equation, let alone derive an answer.
It boils down to your data needs to tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning tells you the source of your job seekers, the middle shows you their journey, and the end details their conversion.
Look at data as a whole
A common mistake that TA teams make is having too narrow of a view. You can have all the data, it can be clean, it can be timely, but if you only zero in on limited data, you'll fail to see the correlation and valuable insight between other metrics.
By sorting, arranging, and visualizing your data, you can see if you're meeting your KPI's and bringing your data to life.
Think of the story your data tells as a "choose your adventure" where you can optimize your recruitment marketing strategy as needed.
Know your influencers and drivers
When you look at your story, it's essential to define the key players. Most will focus on last clicks Ñ the point where the job seeker converted to an applicant. But that's like reading a book and skipping over chapters to get to the end. You miss the whole picture story and, most likely, all the juicy details.
Think of it like this: In the example below, an "Indeed Paid search link" shows up as the "Last Click" before that hired candidate completes their application, but does that tell you the whole story?
Influencers consider the "full path" of a candidate and count all clicks and impressions, regardless of where on the candidate journey. The average candidate will touch 12-18 forms of recruitment media from an organization before becoming an applicant.
That means knowing the impact of digital banners, SMS campaigns (both paid and organic Google traffic), sponsored jobs on job aggregators, promoted social content, talent network emails, and even the impact of the Careers Website in short, everything.
That's not to say that last clicks aren't necessary. Drivers analyze the impact of last clicks and track what is "driving" candidates to apply and ultimately move to hire.
The moral of the story is that you want to track everything because data powers decisions, both automated decisions and people-powered, strategic ones.
Have a tech stack that works in harmony
Working in disparate systems is like reading Moby Dick and Jane Eyre simultaneously and expecting them to have the same ending. They're both classic novels held in high regard, but they will never tell the same story.
It isn't easy to consolidate the KPI analysis when you're getting metrics from different platforms and job board partners because they all have their way of sharing data. It will never be apples to apples.
Your tech stack needs to work together to tell your story.
SIDE NOTE: SFX is the only platform that executes every type of recruitment marketing campaign in one place from text and email to automated drip, to job and video advertising, to social media. The combination empowers teams to look at their entire scope of data in one place.
Put the story to work
With the "choose your adventure" option, you have the opportunity to update your recruitment marketing strategy the next time around. What job boards drive the most applications? What social platforms influence your top talent?
Find these themes within your story and optimize accordingly. This might mean adjusting your high-level strategy, making manual campaign tweaks, or, with the right platform, letting the tech automate these updates for you.
