Data & AnalyticsTalent Acquisition

Data Making a Difference

Pitney Bowes leverages several metrics to get ahead in today’s challenging market.

By Debbie Bolla

As HR and TA leaders are faced daily with the obstacles of a historically tight labor market, working smarter has never been more important. For Pitney Bowes, people data is key to empowering their talent decisions. In fact, in many aspects, it’s transformed the way they work.

“Understanding workforce data is critical because if you move the needle even in a small way, there can be huge impact on the business from an operations perspective and a profitability perspective,” explains Mike Salva, People Analytics and Reporting Manager for Pitney Bowes. “Our talent acquisition team has become more data savvy and more confident in understanding and using their numbers to their advantage.”

That’s become crucial in today’s uber competitive market with more jobs than people to fill them. Salva says one of the most effective ways to leverage data is by analyzing the numbers in order to understand the behaviors of those involved in the ecosystem of hiring: applicants, candidates, recruiters, hiring managers, and more.

“There’s a lot to learn based on how data moves through the applicant tracking system, the career website, and through the CRM,” he explains. “We can learn a lot about the behavior of those parties and make decisions accordingly.”

Salva recalls a success story within their transportation division. One hub was having difficulty staffing drivers in comparison to other markets. So, they looked to the data to uncover the issue. Salva said they started with applicant volume and analyzed the number of applicants, their movement through the CRM, and the hiring process.

“When you start to look at how the top of your funnel translates to the bottom,” he explains, “you either need to put more applicants in the top of the funnel or you need to be more effective with the applicants that you have.”

Salva discovered that the applicant volume was not the issue, rather the buck stopped with the hiring manager. “They were interviewing a ton of applicants and only progressing about 10% of them,” he explains. With this information in hand, TA team members could readdress hiring criteria with recruiters and hiring managers in order to hit staffing goals.

Digging into applicant data helps reveal many keys to behaviors, successes, and opportunities. Salva says an organization can glean such insight including but not limited to:

  • how applicants are interacting with the organization from a recruiting process perspective;
  • if applicants are withdrawing from the process because they’re spending too much time in the interview phase;
  • if CRM campaigns are increasing applicant interest;
  • if the organization is attracting diverse talent; and
  • if applicants are progressing in a timely manner.

“These are the types of metrics that support TA leaders and that will give you insight into where you may be falling short,” says Salva. “If you’re not keeping up with what they tell you, you’re going to be perpetually losing talent and falling behind.”

Tags: Data & Analytics, Talent Acquisition

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