As a sports fan I find it fascinating when a sportscaster discusses the metrics underneath the headlines of winning and losing. With only a minor change or adjustment the impact on scoring or productivity can be the difference between average and great. For example, if former Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose connected on one more basket per game with the same attempts, he would statistically be one of the greatest shooters in the modern era. One of the most recognized examples of statistics backed strategy is Billy Beane‘s Oakland A’s story. The book Moneyball, and movie starring Brad Pitt, documents how Bean strategically manages the Oakland A’s through an evidence based, analytical approach..
Statistics can be used to get the most possible efficiency from players/employees, build the right team, assign the right batting order, gauge player’s contributions, and improve productivity to pick up a few more wins per season. Productivity is a huge issue because the absence of it costs money. Whether you manage a staffing firm, lead an HR department, or manage a business, similar metrics can be applied to your staffing process in order to substantially improvement decision making.
Most staffing firms apply delivery metrics, such as fill rate and time-to-fill. These are basic and a good starting point. To take a deeper look, managers must recognize strengths and weaknesses of the recruiter and understand if problems arise due to insufficient information. However, with sufficient information at hand, going beyond these basic ratios to understand activity ratios is imperative. Take a deeper look at the quantity of candidates screened and sourced as compared to the number presented, interviewed and ultimately hired. This along with your fundamental time to fill ratio will provide managers the intelligence needed to coach, direct and set expectations for future staffing projects.
Over time metrics will mitigate risk by streamlining future search projects, catch wasteful mistakes, improve understanding of client processes, and provide a snapshot on the health of a business. HR departments and staffing firms that apply analytics will improve productivity and recruiting processes, improve the quality of candidates, and allocate the proper resources for each assignment.