Archive for the ‘Metrics’ Category
Exclusive 2010 Trends in Recruiting
Posted by JasonAn exclusive for The Talent Buzz community, which has not yet been published broadly. It’s the 2010 Trends in Recruiting Report from LinkedIn.
The report is free, and contains some great information on overall trends related to recruiting budgets, passive candidate recruiting and pipelining, the use of social media, and more.
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A Talent Strategy Conversation with Susan Burns - Part 2
Posted by Jason
Part one of my conversation with Susan Burns focused on opportunities and trends within talent management. Part 2, posted here focuses on social media and social networking, metrics, and the candidate experience from a recruiting perspective.
Jason:
There continues to be an emphasis and talk about the use of social media and social networking in recruitment. Keeping in mind some are leading the way, while others are skeptical, what advice do you have for those that are taking the wait-and-see approach?
Susan:
As you know I’m an advocate of social media and quite passionate about the use of it for talent attraction and engagement. In a way it’s good that some recruitment leaders are still skeptical. There are several aspects of social media that should be thoroughly considered before moving forward with a visible online network presence. Diving into social media too quickly can cause a lot of harm to a brand. Recruiting leaders can benefit by taking the time to not only understand the nuances of social media but, more importantly, frame what it means for their brand –
- What are they trying to accomplish?
- What does it take to build, nurture and engage an active community, or communities?
- How will the recruitment function manage active communities to keep content fresh and interact with talent?
- Which communities are a fit for the brand and the type of talent they want to attract?
- How will the social media presence integrate with the employment brand strategy?
Recruiting Blog Poll: Recruiting Metrics
Posted by JasonBy Jason Buss.
The weekly recruiting blog poll results are in from last week.
The question: What is the primary focus of your recruiting metrics?
The results:
- Measuring productivity (54%)
- What metrics (26%)
- Measuring value (10%)
- A combination (value and productivity 10%)
In addition to the obvious quality of hire, there were 3 top picks for recruiting metrics presented at the Spring Kennedy Information Recruiting Conference that I previously highlighted.
Check back next week or subscribe to the recruiting blog feed for a post on creating an effective metrics portfolio.
This week’s recruiting poll: How would you rate your organization’s adoption of social media in branding overall, and for recruiting?
HR Metrics and Scorecards
Posted by JasonBy Jason Buss.
After posting a few HR blog links and reporting on The HR Metrics Center, I received a confirmation e-mail (1 1/2 hours) after registering.
I logged on, and while only trying the free service, here are some observations:
- Unless you have free time to waste, there was little value in the service
- For the test I only concentrated on Recruiting metrics, which were fairly basic
- You can calculate and publish your own metrics without the use of the system
In addition to the overkill on stock photos which I hope were free, I wouldn’t recommend the time it took to register, and input the data into the system for the output received.
Who do you recommend for HR Benchmarking and Metrics?
As a follow-up to my first and second post on the Spring Kennedy Information Recruiting Conference last month, I mentioned I would be taking a look back to the first national staffing and recruiting conference I attended almost 10 years ago to see what’s new and what’s not.
Why? For starters, my wife summoned me to clean out the many totes I have filled with papers and information saved over the years which included my notes from these events. I also wanted to compare the content and messages between then and now. Since that time, I have had the opportunity to attend many events including Linkeage Inc., SHRM, NACE, SMA (formerly EMA), Kennedy Information, and ERE.
Here is a look back at some of the information from the first event I attended, the content and key messages.
Recruiting Rules:
- You must declare a talent war and act like a warrior
- The war for talent is over, and the candidates have won
- Top talent matters most
- Measure it and prove it works - or don’t do it
- Measure the performance of the hire
- Be different, create a competitive advantage
- Speed is everything
- There is not a shortage of talent. We’re experiencing bad tools with low unemployment
- Recruiting is sales and marketing
- If you are not fighting for them, they are not superstars
- Everyone in your organization must be a 24/7 talent scout
- Managers must “own” recruiting
- Pre-qualify talent
- You must “wow” the very best
- Treat candidates like customers
- Have a well defined and communicated strategy
- Assess culture fit
- Become an employer of choice
- Create an employer brand
- Retain Gen X and Gen Y employers
Things that don’t work in recruiting:
- Large job boards
- Job fairs
- Want ads
- College career offices
- Temp agencies
- Multiple interviews
- A consensus approach
- Resume’s
Great employment strategies:
- Hire the best and brightest
- Go after passive talent
- Relationship recruiting
- Prioritize jobs
- Selection based on experience
- Web focused versus traditional
- Hire boomerangs
- Focus on retention
- Recruiting leaders should run recruiting like a business
- Attract-Develop-Retain strategy
- Employee engagement impacts the bottom line
- Workforce Planning
- Diversity is a focus
- E-cruiting is the future
- Next generation networks will dominate E-cruiting
- Develop talent pipelines
Re-design your recruiting function:
- Identify how the war for talent impacts key business objectives
- Survey your stakeholders
- Benchmark your process
- Create a gap analysis
- Develop a world class model
- Achieve 40 day time to fill target
- Create an in-house sourcing center of excellence
While there was no direct mention of social media or social networks which is currently the focus for many, there was one reference to next generation networks and how they will dissolve the big job boards. Speaking of job boards, it was interesting to see references to they don’t work - keep in mind this was around their peek.
Other than a few buzz words changing slightly and the adoption of new technology, there really has not been a major shift in focus over the past ten years. Are we paying thousands to listen to recycled information? You be the judge. The real value for many people I have met and attended with is the chance to network and meet with others, share best practices, validate, meet with vendors and suppliers, and develop/grow professionally.
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This is a 3 part series, focused on deploying and managing effective corporate career sites. The 3 posts will include:
- Part 1: Effective Corporate Career Sites & Measuring Results
- Part 2: Top 5 List for Deploying an Effective Online Career Center
- Part 3: Results unveiled: Integrating SEO and PPC Tools
Part 3: Results unveiled: Integrating SEO and PPC Tools
After seeing the results of the latest recruiting blog poll - with 81% of respondents stating they do not have an overall online recruiting strategy or they need help - the timing is perfect to wrap up this series. In the first two parts I highlighted several high value metrics on measuring your overall investment with an effective corporate career site, as well as 5 ideas to integrate social media into your online recruiting strategy and candidate experience.
For this post, let’s begin with some basic grounding on job board traffic over the past 3 years - as the picture tells the story.
If you’re still relying on the big boards (which can still play a role in your overall strategy), a good place to start is taking 30-50% of your annual spend and trying something different. Sounds aggressive and possibly harsh depending on your overall reliance on the big job boards, but the results are very telling. After implementing a site overhaul in addition to a 6 month pilot with SEO career site leader jobs2web and job aggregator site leader indeed, here are the results:
- Visitor to candidate conversion ratio doubled - from 9 to 18%.
- Percentage of traffic generated from search engines from 2.2% to 11.3%
- Career site ROI tripled
- Visitor time on the site skyrocketed from 3 minutes to over 8 minutes
- Site traffic and candidate contacts increased by over 300%.
While it is to early to measure overall the impact on new hire quality, several of the metrics outlined point to an increased number and more targeted audience visiting the site, a higher conversion rate, increased time on the site, search engine traffic doubling (with no change in job board referrals to the top 5 referring URL’s), and the ROI of the site tripling.
Based on the initial success of this initiative the overall online recruiting costs were cut in half, with stronger results. If you’re still not convinced, I know the names of a few job board reps that are trying to recoup lost revenues and are playing let’s make a deal.
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This is a 2 part series on Service Level Agreements, and includes:
- Part 1: Service Level Agreements Purpose and Benefits
- Part 2: Key Steps in Establishing Service Level Agreements
Part 2:
Before establishing a service level agreement, it is important to consider the overall purpose and benefits, as well as assess the overall readiness for your organization. Overall, SLA’s can be an excellent tool in improving communications, managing expectations, clarifying responsibilities and building the foundation for a win-win relationship.
The key steps in establishing a Service Level Agreement include:
- Gathering background information
- Ensuring agreement about the agreement
- Establishing ground rules for working together
- Developing the agreement
- Generating buy-in
- Completing pre-implementation tasks
- Implementing and managing the agreement
Gathering background information. Both the customer and the internal business partner need to start by gathering information so that each has a solid basis from which to negotiate. Before eliciting commitments from their service provider, customers should carefully review and clarify their service needs and priorities. And before making any commitments to customers, service providers should examine their service history and determine the level of service they can realistically provide. In addition, service providers should assess customer satisfaction to clearly understand customer concerns and establish a baseline for assessing service improvements.
Ensuring agreement about the agreement. The two parties to an agreement often have different views about the role of the SLA and what it can realistically accomplish. Both sets of views may be valid, yet sufficiently different as to cause a breakdown in SLA negotiations. Before any SLA development work is done, it is advisable for the two parties to hold an open discussion to ensure that they have a basic level of agreement about the agreement. If they don’t -and until they do- any further SLA effort may prove futile.
Establishing ground rules for working together. In this critical, but often overlooked step the SLA developers focus not on the agreement, but on the process by which they will work together to create the agreement.
Develop the agreement. This is but one step in the process of establishing an SLA; it’s not the entire process. In this step, the two parties create a structure for the SLA document and then discuss, debate, negotiate and, over time, reach agreement about the contents of the agreement. In doing so, they may each solicit assistance, input or feedback from the others in their own organization. The duration of this step typically varies, depending on the developers’ previous experience with SLAs, their familiarity with the key elements of an SLA, the demands of their other responsibilities, and the state of the relationship between the two parties.
Generating buy-in. The result of Step 4 is a draft of an agreement, not a completed agreement. Before implementing an SLA, all members of both parties who have a stake in, or responsibility for, the success of the agreement should have an opportunity to review the draft, raise questions, and offer suggestions. Using this feedback, the developers can conduct further negotiations, gain the necessary approvals, and finalize the document. In addition to generating buy-in, this step improves the quality of the final document.
Completing pre-implementation tasks. This step entails the identification and completion of tasks that must precede SLA implementation. Such tasks might include, for example, developing tracking mechanisms, establishing reporting processes, developing procedures for carrying out stated responsibilities, communicating expectations to staff, providing pertinent training.
Implementing and managing the agreement. An agreement that is not managed dies upon implementation. Management responsibilities include providing a point of contact for problems related to the agreement, maintaining ongoing contact with the other party, conducting service reviews, coordinating and implementing modifications to the SLA, and assessing and reporting on how the two parties can further enhance their working relationship.
Establishing and implementing agreements is neither a quick or easy process. Communication and buy-in are required to implement a solid SLA. Be clear about the intent and purpose of the agreement prior to making a decision to use them. And, if you are not going to measure the results or drive accountability, save your time and don’t create or execute a SLA within your organization.
This is a 2 part series on Service Level Agreements, and includes:
- Part 1: Service Level Agreements Purpose and Benefits
- Part 2: Key Steps in Establishing Service Level Agreements
Part 1:
Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) have been around for some time, and was a hot topic within the talent acquisition space dating back 6-7 years ago. I have been asked about SLA’s twice in the past week and views on driving success when implementing them in a recruiting function.
Service Level Agreements can be created for clients both internally and externally. The 2 most common I have come across in recruiting include hiring managers and HR Business Partners. What’s the purpose of a SLA?
- Define the services to be provided
- Establish the manner in which the services will be delivered
- Set quality standards to be achieved
- Determine the measurement criteria
- Outline the reporting process
I have also had the opportunity to personally implement SLA’s and have talked with recruiting leaders about SLA’s in their organization. Some have been a critical driver to establishing two-way accountability and have been very successful, while some have failed miserably. The common denominator with the successful cases: Client confidence and recruiting professionals with influence and sales ability to set the expectations, as well as ownership in the process.
When implemented properly, SLA’s have several benefits including:
- Establishes two-way accountability for a service
- Creates levels of service that are negotiated and standardized
- Documents service levels in writing
- Provides a basis for improving service levels
- Standardized methods for communicating expectations
In the end, SLA’s are only as effective as the team designing and implementing them. The piece of paper becomes meaningless without the right training, expectations, accountability, and skills to execute with clients.
Part 2 of Service Level Agreements in Recruiting will focus on the Seven Key Steps to Establishing a SLA.
Corporate Career Site Series - Part 1: Measuring Results
Posted by JasonThis is a 3 part series, focused on deploying and managing effective corporate career sites. The 3 posts will include:
- Part 1: Effective Corporate Career Sites & Measuring Results
- Part 2: Top 5 List for Deploying an Effective Online Career Center
- Part 3: Results unveiled: Integrating SEO and PPC Tools
Part 1: Effective Corporate Career Sites & Measuring Results
About ten years ago, corporate career sites started to become more and more popular, and the emphasis on content began. Since then, hundreds of articles and white papers have been written and you wouldn’t need to look very hard to find information on the importance of a having a strong corporate career site integrated into an overall online and talent brand strategy. We know nearly 100% of all candidates visit corporate career sites at some point during the application or research process. With a strong brand and an engaging experience, it could be an organization’s top source of hire. Yet, what’s missing in many of the articles is how to measure the overall impact and business results from career sites, and what to do with the information once you have it.
For recruiting leaders it is a fairly simple process to build a business case for an online career center “makeover”. After that, a project plan is put together, internal and/or external resources are secured, the work takes place, and the new site is launched. Sounds easy!
OK, now what? It’s time to measure the impact and results. After talking with several recruiting professionals, consultants, and IT professionals, most hinted towards tracking the following metrics for their site:
- Overall traffic, and unique visitors
- Referring sites, to track where candidates are coming from
- Session length, looking at how long each visitor was on the site
There are many flaws with this basic approach to assess and measure the effectiveness of your site. For starters, these or other fundamental metrics may be impacted depending on your ATS and CRM provider(s), the integration, and where your career pages are hosted. In addition, while still important to understand, these only give you a small piece of the puzzle in looking at an overall online strategy. Did I forget to mention we’re recruiters, not web experts?
The good news is you don’t have to be a web expert, data junkie, or analyst to dive into the mountains of information that is likely already available. Here are 4 critical measures to get you started:
- Visitor-to-Candidate-to-Applicant conversion rates. If the number of applicants you receive divided by the total career site visitors is 10% or less, start working on a plan. There is a high chance your site is not attracting the right audience, or is not engaging candidates. It’s also important to understand the path of candidates that did not convert to an applicant. Where did they go, what pages did they visit, and was the exit point on the site.
- Percentage of traffic generated from search engines. With job board traffic consistently declining, and an estimated over 35+ million active and passive job related searches being conducted every month on the search engines, it is vital to understand what searches are being conducted by candidates that are directed into your site.
- Candidate quality by online source. Don’t listen to any job board vendor when they tell you “Great news, we’re averaging 22.8 quality applicants per posting”.
- Integrated path and the conversion funnel. Understanding the funnel for your career site is critical. Start with visitors, and move through the various cycles including candidates, drop offs, leads, applicants, pre-screens, interviews, and hires.
- Career Site ROI. Run your site like an e-business. You should be in a position to understand and measure the overall impact, return, and quality your site is producing.
While this is not a complete list of areas to focus on, it is a great starting point in understanding the effectiveness of your site, and visitor behaviors. When analyzed properly, it provides great information and will help build a stronger business need to make changes over time. Unless you are making a major overhaul of your career site, it is typically recommended to make changes over a period of time so you can measure patterns and modify content.
Partner with your internal IT or web strategy group to get started, and don’t underestimate the impact of your corporate career site has on candidates.
What’s the similarity between Ocean’s Eleven and the Kennedy Information Recruiting Conference & Expo from last week? Both took place in Las Vegas, and, like Recruiters, Danny Ocean (played by George Clooney) was also on a mission to attract and recruit talent to execute a business plan. OK, so the difference is that Ocean, who after just released from prison, was concocting a daring caper to rob 3 Casinos for more than $150 million in cold cash. He too, probably wasn’t too concerned with traditional recruiting metrics.
Presenters at this Spring event, just one of over 22,000 conferences to take place this year in Las Vegas, talked in great length about metrics. Some focused on the traditional metrics dating back to the days of the “Personnel Department”. Others focused on measures driving business results and a return on the recruiting investment.
My top 3 picks for metrics presented on at this year’s conference:
- Referral Rates - Not Employee Referrals
- Return on Investment
- Cost of Vacancy / Impact on Business
In addition to metrics getting a lot of air time, there were several other very strong presentations. Jason Leonard, Director of Staffing for Citi, presented on Creating a Recruiting Culture - and centralization. Jason outlined the need for change, and the monumental undertaking this would be, for the 300+ recruiting professionals responsible for 60,000 hires annually.
A few of the best practices highlighted in this session included:
- The need to foster a sense of community and commonality across extended recruiting teams
- Inconsistent experiences is a deal breaker
- The importance of HR partner’s buy-in
Click here for some pics taken at the conference, or here to see some live session updates via twitter, which was unfortunately down for 6 hours during the 2 days of the general conference. And, if you didn’t have the opportunity to attend this event, the fall conference is November 16-19, 2008, in Orlando, FL. What’s the value in attending? I’ll review and share my thoughts, as well as look at presentations and predictions over the past decade from previous recruiting events and conferences.
Although a fan, at least Danny Ocean didn’t get have to look at Barry Manilow’s picture plastered all over the Hilton.
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