Why it’s time for the recruitment industry to think big

In an era of ever more sophisticated data analysis, it’s possible to gain important insights into business performance. Tim Gibson explores the implications for the recruitment industry.

In the Steven Spielberg sci-fi movie Minority Report (2002), advertising is personalised. As characters travel from A to B, iris scanners identify them, and beam ads aimed at their particular tastes onto screens that only they can see.

When the film came out, this counted as a piece of fantasy. But we’re not a million miles away from such a world just 15 years later – and it’s all thanks to the power of big data.

Think about what happens when you surf the internet. If you pay attention to the adverts that flash up on-screen, you’ll notice that many of them have a particular allure for you. They correlate to your search habits, to the sites you’ve visited, and to the things you write about in emails.

In other words, these ads are personalised for you. Advertisers use analytics that are derived from your online activity, as well as demographic identifiers and data about the sorts of things people like you buy. By putting all that information in the mix, they can pinpoint what will have you reaching for your credit card to make a purchase.

If that illustrates the power of big data to illumine business activity, it also demonstrates the wealth of information that is available in a digital age. Even the most cautious internet user leaves a trail of breadcrumbs in their wake, with every transaction, every search and every browse of a website revealing a huge amount about them.

Whenever a wealth of information is recorded, whether online or offline by sensors, say, or surveying techniques, it can be manipulated in all sorts of ways to sharpen practice and improve performance. That’s precisely how big data is being used to improve healthcare, for example, or to help the emergency services respond to crisis situations. It’s even informing town planning.    

So it is no surprise that recruiters are coming to recognise the power of big data to improve staffing procedures and personnel management. With the right information at your fingertips, you can significantly enhance your HR activity, giving you a valuable edge over your rivals.

“One of the most obvious ways to use big data in recruitment is identifying potential candidates for a vacancy,” explains Peter Foy, a Director at Just Recruitment Group Ltd in East Anglia. “If you have a database of roles, and a database of the skills and aptitudes of people who have thrived in them, it’s easy to cross-refer them to a list of current candidates and produce a narrow field of suitable applicants for a given opportunity.”

That sort of matching process is what recruitment consultants like Mr Foy have done throughout the ages, of course. Which means a key part of their traditional work can now be undertaken by machines. 

“That’s true,” he admits. “But even the cleverest computer can’t discern if someone has the right personality to fit in with a particular team dynamic, for example, or the discipline to wear a smart suit to the office every day.”

In other words, there will always be details about a person that no amount of data analysis can spot. But the list of such details seems to shrink by the day, as algorithms grow in sophistication. So will there come a time when recruiters are replaced by computers?

“I don’t think so,” asserts Mr Foy. “This is a people-centred profession. Any agency that relies utterly on the conclusions of analytics, even highly advanced ones, will very soon lose credibility with clients and candidates alike.”

The reason is simple, he continues: “While big data – or ‘human analytics’ as it is sometimes called – makes it easier to draw up a shortlist, the final decision to appoint will always be made by a human.”

Which isn’t to say big data doesn’t have a wider application in the HR space, as Bridie James, also from Just Recruitment, explains: “With the potential to record a wealth of information about, for example, staff behaviours, productivity, profitability, working conditions, management techniques, and the use of incentives, there is the opportunity to crunch data that reveals a huge amount about the workplace.

“Such predictive analytics could help businesses plan staff cover, structure pay rises, decide which bonuses to offer and iron out deficiencies in operating practices. The opportunities to enhance business performance really do seem to be limitless.

To take full advantage of such opportunities, Ms. James says it is necessary to have the right partner to analyse and curate relevant data. And she sees this as a valuable way for recruitment specialists to enhance their offer: “We understand people management and HR. So we know the sorts of questions to ask of data, as well as having a huge amount of aggregated data of our own to draw upon. So we could partner businesses to optimise the performance of their people, as well as finding the very best candidates as vacancies arise.”

All of these signals, a brave new world for the recruitment industry, as well as the businesses it serves. As Spielberg’s dystopian vision in Minority Report illustrated with unnerving foresight, though, machines are merely the means of deriving such insight. “We need to maintain the centrality of human beings in the new order,” concludes Peter. “Sometimes, the best decisions are based on intuition alone. No amount of data analysis can compete with that.”

© 2018 Just Recruitment Group Ltd

If you liked this article you may like to read – Six of the best reasons to work in recruitment

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Digital Marketing Executive
Sector: Marketing, Advertising and PR
Location: Ipswich
Role: Full Time
Contract: Permanent
Job ref: JC17
About the role

Just Recruitment has a fantastic opportunity for a skilled Digital Marketing Executive to join an exciting company based in Ipswich.

You will be responsible for driving business growth and boosting brand visibility through digital channels.  The role involves developing digital strategies, managing SEO, SEM, email campaigns, and social media—particularly within a B2B context. Creativity and a strong grasp of digital tools are essential.

After successfully completing the probationary period, hybrid working is available — with a minimum of 3 days in the office and up to 2 days working from home each week. Hours are 9am to 5pm.

Duties include:

  • Working with the Marketing Manager to execute the marketing strategy.
  • Drive the development, evolution and progression of websites.
  • Facilitate content population and migration, defining content, meta descriptions and relevant back-end tags as appropriate, manually transferring content and assets as required.
  • Review webpages for accuracy of copy, internal links and downloads.
  • Support the image library collation and upload process, including video content.
  • Integrate SEO into content plans, create and optimise engaging content for the website and social media.
  • Create new web pages to meet the needs of the business and the marketing plan, conducting analysis through tracking tools and reporting.

Vital professional expertise required:

  • A minimum of three years' experience in a digital marketing role.
  • Website Content Management Systems.
  • Website reporting and analytics tools (e.g. GA4).
  • A/B testing and other forms of optimisation.
  • Social media platforms and scheduling tools (e.g. Hootsuite).
  • PPC & Email marketing.
  • Prepare reports on marketing and ROI metrics.
  • Working within B2B industry.

 

Just Recruitment acts as an employment agency for permanent roles.
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitable candidates.

 

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Office Support Co-ordinator
Sector: Public Service and Administration
Salary: £25,250 per annum
Location: Tiverton, Devon
Role: Full Time
Contract: Permanent
Job ref: TB05
About the role

Just Recruitment is working with an established manufacturer, based in Tiverton, Devon, to recruit an Office Support Coordinator.

Hours: 35 hours per week. Monday to Friday, 8.30am/9.00am to 4.30pm/5.00pm.

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Required key skills include:

  • Exceptional communication and customer service skills to include: interpersonal, verbal and written
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Just Recruitment acts as an employment agency for permanent roles.
The salary advertised is the bracket available for this position. 
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitable candidates.

 

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Sector: Engineering and Manufacturing
Location: Clacton-on-Sea
Role: Full Time
Contract: Permanent
Job ref: JC16
About the role

Just Recruitment is working with a growing business, based near Clacton-on-Sea, to recruit a Workshop Fitter to join their long-standing team.

Duties include:

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Please note that, due to the company’s location, you will need to drive.

 

Just Recruitment acts as an employment agency for permanent roles.
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitable candidates.

 

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Sector: Public Service and Administration
Location: Witham
Role: Full Time
Contract: Permanent
Job ref: JC15
About the role

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Just Recruitment acts as an employment agency for permanent roles.
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitable candidates.

 

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Sector: Public Service and Administration
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Role: Full Time
Contract: Permanent
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About the role

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Hours: Monday to Friday, 8.30am - 5.00pm.

 

Just Recruitment acts as an employment agency for permanent roles.
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitable candidates.

 

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