The “Digital Battle” of Talent Acquisition: Winning by Data and Analytics

Digitalisation is happening across industries, organisations and functions. Within the HR function, talent acquisition may be the area that is most required to be digitally advanced at this moment. I call it a “Digital Battle.” Why?

It’s “Digital”: According to iCIMS report, company career site is the most used resource for job candidates to find information. Furthermore, close to 80% of job seekers use social media, and about 90% of them use mobile devices – and over 50% of them would even apply for jobs via their mobile devices.

It’s a “Battle”: According to LinkedIn report (Note: Need to fill out the form), the competition for talent is the biggest challenge talent acquisition teams are facing

Considering the importance of mobile-first strategy, this battle is soon going to be “Mobile Battle” of Talent Acquisition.

Where are the battles taking place?

1. Your Employee Referral Platform (which is the top channel for quality hire according to LinkedIn Report)
2. Your company Website & Career Site
3. Your company LinkedIn Page
4. Your company Facebook Page
5. Your company Twitter Account (and other social media accounts)
6. Other sources such as Online Groups and Employer Reviews

To be effective on these platforms, talent acquisition has to be data-driven. LinkedIn published a report called Data-Driven Recruitment, which highlights the importance of understanding the market and talent pool by data. However, on top of market and talent pool, talent acquisition teams need to know their competitors. Job seekers always have more than one option – it is a competition for talent.

The social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook provide data and analytics but how about company Websites and career sites? Do you benchmark your competitors’ Websites and career sites? For example, SimilarWeb allows you to benchmark against your industry and competitors, and to gain insights into your competitors’ online strategy.

I called it “Digital Battle” of talent acquisition. However, the digital battle is only the beginning of successful talent acquisition strategy. Attracting job candidates to your platforms is one thing, but it’s another to have them accept your offer.