People analytics: How to use your data to drive better recruiting, retention and EDI

The technology industry is faced with a problem. How can businesses build recruitment strategies that not only attract high-quality candidates with the right skills, but also ensure they choose to stay within those organisations long term? Research by Fruition IT found that of the nearly 7,000 Data Science professionals surveyed for our Data Science London Talent Report 2,350 had changed jobs in the past 12 months alone. Similarly, our DevOps London Talent Report found that the median tenure for a DevOps professional is just 1.4 years. Using people analytics can help you monitor the success of your current talent strategy and encourage longer lasting placements. But what are the best recruiting metrics to track to uncover key data and ensure you get the best ROI from changes to your talent strategy? 

What are ‘People Analytics’? 

People analytics, also known as talent analytics, is the process of using key recruitment and HR metrics to gather data. You then use that data to elevate your people strategy and processes and uncover actionable insights to drive business success. 
 
Whether your business is large or small, people analytics can help you know more about your most valuable assets – your employees – and see how investments in talent acquisition and retention can not only reduce turnover, lead to longer lasting, higher-quality placements, but even improve your ED&I. 

The best recruiting and HR metrics to track 

There are hundreds of different recruitment and HR metrics available to track. But if you tracked every possible metric, you would quickly be overwhelmed by data preventing you from getting the most out of your people analytics. 

Instead, by pinpointing useful metrics that support your overarching talent acquisition strategy, you can address the challenges you are facing more precisely. Monitoring specific people analytics metrics can help you: 

• Lower turnover rates 

• Make better quality hires 

• Use best practice to create a more efficient hiring practice 

• Improve employee performance 

• Develop your employer brand 

• Create a future-proof resourcing strategy 

To help you decide which recruiting analytics would be best to address your unique organisation’s talent acquisition challenges, we’ve broken key metrics down into three categories: 

Candidate Metrics 

Application completion rates: 

By comparing the number of applications begun on your careers site to the number of applications submitted, you can measure the success of your application process. A high number of abandoned applications might mean anything from a poorly-optimised website, to irrelevant questions during your pre-screening. This metric can identify areas to improve that will boost the number of qualified applicants you receive and improve the overall candidate experience. 
 
Candidate experience score: 
How potential employees view their experience of your recruitment process can be a valuable metric for improving your overall employer brand and perception in the market. It can be measured through a candidate experience survey which will provide you with a Net Promoter Score based on candidates’ views of your recruitment and onboarding process. Survey candidates at all stages, including those who were unsuccessful, to get a well-rounded view. 
 
Offer acceptance rate: 
Offer acceptance rates are calculated by comparing the number of offers you make to candidates with the number accepted. This can be a great way of identifying whether your salary and benefits packages match up to candidate expectations. This can help you identify and combat high rejection rates for a particular role or salary band. 

Hiring Metrics 

Cost per hire:  
Measuring cost-per-hire is a crucial step in determining the overall return on investment of your recruitment strategy. Taking your total hiring costs and dividing them by the total number of hires allows you to determine the average amount spent to hire a single employee. This metric can help you with resource planning and controlling your hiring budget.  

Time to hire: 
When calculating time to hire metrics it’s important to begin from the day the job role is opened. End times can be when an offer is made, accepted, or a new starter’s first day. Lengthy time to hire can lead to increasing costs and is an indicator of ineffective sourcing channels or inefficient recruitment processes.    
 
Quality of hire: 
High-quality hires are those that bring value to your business. You can use lots of different metrics to determine hire quality. KPIs, cultural fit and the time it takes for new employees to be effective, etc. Higher quality of hire means lower turnover, higher productivity, happier teams and better overall workplace culture. To improve hire quality, you might want to focus on improving candidate experience and optimising your onboarding procedures.  

Employee Metrics 

Retention and turnover rates: 
Studies show that replacing departing staff costs significantly more than hiring for new positions. Identifying specific roles or teams that are struggling to retain employees can help you understand the reasons for departures and take steps to reduce hiring costs. Another crucial metric to consider are first-year attrition rates, the number of new hires that leave within the first 12 months. If this number is high, then your compensation or onboarding may require a second look. 

Using people analytics to drive diversity and inclusion  

93% of global leaders say that diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) are business priorities and crucial to the strategic success of their organisations. However, the technology industry is still struggling to achieve its diversity and inclusion goals. People analytics can be a fantastic way to support DE&I efforts in tech.  

By measuring the demographics of who is joining, who is leaving and who is advancing, you gain a greater understanding of your strengths and can identify any gaps or weaknesses when it comes to diversity in your recruiting strategy. Then you can put new policies and practices in place to better support those groups that need it. 
 

Uncover the hiring data and insights that will drive your recruitment forward with Fruition IT 

You need the right people performing the right roles at the right time. For this to happen seamlessly, you need dedicated support. When you work with Fruition IT you get access to a dedicated team of tech sector recruitment specialists who can innovate on your behalf in today’s continually evolving talent market. 

Our advisory services include a discovery audit, which uses data-driven insight to evaluate your current recruitment processes and costs so we can identify opportunities for you to save and innovate. 

Explore our services or contact a consultant today.