Data-Driven

Talent Acquisition

METRICS, TOOLS
& MORE

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THE DATA-DRIVEN
TALENT ACQUISITION PROCESS

● 1. Organizational needs analysis ● 6. Selection process

Tool: Skills matrix Metric: Yield ratio
Page 4 Page 12

● 2. Job requisition approval ● 7.Making the decision

Page 7 Metric: Offer acceptance rate
Page 13
● 3. Vacancy intake
Tool: Job analysis ● 8. Onboarding
Page 8
Metrics: Time to productivity, cost of
getting to Optimum Productivity Level
Page 14
● 4. Selection criteria & methods
Data: Selection method effectiveness ● 9. Evaluation
Page 10 Metrics: First month turnover rate, first
year turnover rate, first year resignation
● 5. Searching & attracting rate, hiring manager satisfaction
Metrics: Application completion rate, Page 16
sourcing channel effectiveness, sourcing
channel cost
Page 11

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INTRODUCTION

Bad hires are always costly. And with organizations

facing unprecedented challenges, there is no room for
errors.

So how do you win the war for talent and find the
right people to help your organization hit its
strategic goals?

In this guide, we'll share the 9-step talent acquisition

Replacing a bad hire
process, including the tools, data and metrics you
need to optimize it for your organization.
costs 33%
Because talent acquisition is an art and a (data)
of their annual salary.
science.
And that's not even touching on
Let's get started!
the indirect costs, such as lost
opportunities and productivity.

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STEP 1

ORGANIZATIONAL
NEEDS ANALYSIS
The organizational needs analysis is the foundation of Map existing skills with a skills matrix
your recruitment strategy. During the needs analysis,
you combine your organization's mission, vision, goals With a strong employer brand, you probably already

and values, as well as the (new) skills you want to add have a good idea of what is needed for a good culture

to a team. fit. However, if you're not 100% sure which skills should
be included in the job requisition, creating a skills
Unless there is a good fit both in terms of culture and
matrix can help.
skills, your new hire could end up adding to your
1-year turnover rate (find more information about A skills matrix lets you visualize the skills required,

this metric on page 16). available, and missing in a team. Turn to the next page to
find out how to create a skills matrix in 4 steps.

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TOOL

SKILLS MATRIX

1: Define the relevant skills 2: Assess team members on current

Analyze the team you're hiring for. Make a list of the skill levels
skills and competencies needed for the team to
The key is to do this on a numerical scale so that the
achieve its goals.
results are easy to understand and compare. For
example, you could use this four-point scale:

● No capability

● Basic level of capability

● Intermediate level of capability

● Advanced level of capability

You can ask members of the team you're hiring for to

assess their own skills, but this isn't always reliable: a
360-degree feedback tool will provide better insight.

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TOOL

SKILLS MATRIX

3: Determine team members' 4: Incorporate this information into

interest in tasks the skills matrix

If one of the team members is not interested in the You now have all the information you need to create a
work they're good at, your skill matrix may show that skills matrix visualizing skills gaps within the team.
a competency is present in the team. For skills matrix templates and more information
about the process, visit the Analytics in HR blog.
However, if the person is unwilling to perform the
task, you will still hit a dead end. This is why it is
important to include interest, which you can measure
as interested (1) or not interested (0).

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STEP 2

GET SIGN-OFF ON
THE JOB REQUISITION
This is the starting point of the recruitment process. Use the requisition as a data source
The job requisition often takes the form of a
document containing essential information about the The job requisition form is often built into your

job. This is then presented for approval to the direct Applicant Tracking System (ATS) or Human Resource

manager and relevant director or VP. Information System (HRIS). An important benefit of
digitized job requisition forms is that they can be
It usually covers (among other things):
excellent input for data-driven decision making using
● Why the position is needed metrics and analytics.

● Whether it is a new or existing position

● Hiring manager

● Job duties

● Pay and budget

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STEP 3

THE
VACANCY INTAKE
This is the most important step in the entire talent
acquisition process. Here you conduct a job analysis
to collect all the information you need to make a good
hire.

Unfortunately, a thorough analysis takes time and

may delay the recruiting timeline. But is making such
a potentially expensive decision without the right
information worth the time you save by skipping it?

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TOOL

THE JOB ANALYSIS

"Without data, you're just another person with an ● The job description including all required skills
opinion." This W. Edwards Deming quote is a favorite (see the skills matrix), competencies, and daily
at AIHR. But it's not just a case of having enough activities for the job.
information. You need the right information. So what
● The person specification describing the
should a job analysis include?
qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge,
and any other selection criteria that are
relevant to your organization. Make sure to
differentiate between must-haves and
nice-to-haves. Using this information, you can
create a candidate persona.

● The competency framework listing the

required competencies for the job. This helps
create the person specification, and forms the
basis for the new hire's performance appraisal.
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STEP 4

SELECTION CRITERIA
AND METHODS How effective are selection methods?

This has long been a subject of study. Here are the top
There are several factors that play a role in
10 methods that are best able to predict good overall
determining the selection criteria and methods. The
job performance, based on 85 years of research.
vacancy intake plays a large role in determining the
selection method. The function is also a key factor: a 1. Work sample tests

general mental ability (GMA) test, structured 2. GMA tests

interviews and work sample tests will probably be 3. Employment interviews (structured)

enough to select a junior accountant, but a 4. Peer ratings

completely different approach is needed to select a 5. Job knowledge tests

CFO. 6. Job tryout procedures

7. Integrity tests
8. Employment interviews (unstructured)
9. Assessment centers
10. Biographical data measures

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STEP 5

SEARCHING & ATTRACTING

You now have all the information you need, and you
know which methods you're going to use. That means Application Completion Rate
it's time for the most visible and recognized part of
Number of completed applications
the talent acquisition process: searching for
Total number of applications started
candidates. Use the information gathered during the
previous steps (and if present, your own historical
Sourcing Channel Effectiveness
data) to determine which mix of channels is the best
fit for the vacancy. Total number of impressions of the channel
Number of applications of the channel

Measuring channel effectiveness

Sourcing Channel Cost
What worked last year might prove ineffective in the
Advertisement spending per channel
current, completely different job market. Avoid
Number of successful applicants per platform
investing resources in an approach that doesn't work
(anymore) with these metrics.

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STEP 6

THE
SELECTION PROCESS
Once candidates start applying, it's time to start using
your chosen selection methods. This part of the talent
acquisition process includes pre-selection and
traditional interviews, but also background checks,
credit checks, and more.

Yield Ratio

Are the right candidates entering the selection

process? Calculating the yield ratio is a simple
way to find out.

Number of hirable candidates resulting from stage N

Total number of candidates who entered stage N

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STEP 7

MAKING THE DECISION

If all has gone according to plan, you are now ready to

select an excellent candidate and make them an offer.
Offer Acceptance Rate
Consider the talent acquired! But this isn't where the
Number of offers accepted
talent acquisition process ends.
Number of offers made

For example: if 72 offers are accepted out of a

Offer acceptance rate
total of 278, the Offer Acceptance Rate would
Unfortunately, not all offers will be accepted, even be 72/278 = 0.26 (26%).
after negotiations. You can keep track of your
performance in this area with the offer acceptance
rate metric. A low acceptance rate often indicates
compensation problems, which can be avoided by
discussing pay earlier in the recruitment process.

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STEP 8

ONBOARDING

The next step is onboarding the new hire. Plenty has

been written about why this is so important, so we won't
Time to Productivity
dive into that. What we will say is that a 30-60-90 day
Time to productivity is how long it takes to get
plan is a great tool for this. You can create it based on
new hires up to speed and productive. It is the
the vacancy intake, and it helps in two ways. Firstly, it
time between the first day of hiring and the
lets the manager clearly express their expectations.
point where the employee fully contributes to
Secondly, it lets the candidate know what is expected of
the organization.
them, creating a structured onboarding process.

Continue reading on the next page >

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Cost of Getting to Optimum
Productivity Level (OPL)

This measures the costs of getting the

employee fully up to speed. The metric
combines onboarding costs, training costs, the
costs of supervisors and co-workers involved in
on-the-job training, and anything else arranged
to get the new hire up to speed. Usually, a
percentage of the employee's salary is also
included in this calculation, until they hit 100%
OPL.

This, combined with the 33% annual salary cost

mentioned earlier, emphasizes why a sound
talent acquisition process is essential.

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STEP 9 First Month Turnover Rate

EVALUATION Employees who left the organization within 1 month

Total number of hires

First Year Turnover Rate

This is a great opportunity to check back in with
the candidate. Ask if the job and organization Employees who left the organization within 1 year
Total number of hires
match expectations. If a mismatch happens
structurally, it can indicate a problem with
communication, or that managers aren't fully First Year Resignation Rate
aware of what recruiters are promising. Employees who left the organization within 1 year
Headcount

More Talent Acquisition Metrics

Hiring Manager Satisfaction
The Talent Acquisition process is complete, but
Number of hires who perform well
that doesn't mean you should stop tracking data.
Total number of hires
Even after your new hire is at Optimum
Productivity Level, there are insights that can help Please note: the turnover rates listed here should
be 0. Any higher percentage indicates a bad fit
you improve your recruiting.
between the hire and the organization.
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TALENT ACQUISITION
CERTIFICATE
Succeed as a recruiter in the digital era
Become a Talent Acquisition specialist

The Talent Acquisition Certificate Program helps you develop

the comprehensive skills set you need to create end-to-end
candidate-centric recruitment funnels.

Learn more

Type Online self-paced learning

Duration 40 hours

Structure 6 courses + capstone project

Digital certificate upon completion (including LI token)

Eligible for HRCI, SHRM & HRPA credits

 AIHR | Academy to Innovate HR
At the Academy to Innovate HR (AIHR), it is our mission to make HR
future-proof by offering world-class, online education programs available
anywhere, anytime.

Any HR professional who is committed to lifelong learning can expand their

skill set with relevant and in-demand skills. AIHR is the place to learn the skills
you need to advance your career and secure a job at the forefront of HR.

Browse our programs at AIHR.com

Sources:
https://www.hrdive.com/news/study-turnover-costs-employers-15000-per-worker/44914
2/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232564809_The_Validity_and_Utility_of_Selecti
on_Methods_in_Personnel_Psychology
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