Today, few companies have confidence in the accuracy of their own Sources of Hire (SOH) information. Data integrity - obtaining reliable and valid information about the staffing decision process should be of paramount concern of Staffing leaders going forward.
Our survey, now in its sixth year, isn’t representative of how all companies find all employees or, even whether any one method is better, more efficient or valuable simply because it is more frequently used. We’re especially critical of studies implying that one source is inherently better than another based on a collection of flawed data.
We do however believe that SOH methodologies can be changed at the recruiter level, where it should be possible (and preferable) to establish access to SOH data for recent and similar hires in real-time. If staffing professionals have any hope of improving their investment decisions or credibility with colleagues knowledgeable in supply-chain analysis, investment in improving the collection and analysis of SOH data is a must.
Sometimes it is hard to imagine why the adoption of Applicant Tracking Systems and online application processes haven’t made the collection of SOH data any easier. Sometimes it is not. Errors in how data are recorded, confirmed, managed and reported are extensive and pervasive year after year.
And sometimes the field… in the record… in the file is just blank.
Despite these challenges: 40 firms met all our survey requirements and they have 1,281,429 employees. They also have 1,880 Recruiters and Sourcers who filled 188,062 openings for their respective companies during 2006.
Key findings for 2006 include:
- 33.9% of all open positions were filled by internal transfers and promotions.
- Referrals (25.6%) are arguably the number one external source. Employee referrals make up 95% of all the hires attributed to this category.
- The impact of the Internet is so pervasive that it is reasonable to imagine that every source of hire has an internet component. It may have been part of the research done to find candidates or the source of information candidates uncovered which caused them to apply. The internet is also increasingly the major means to apply and communicate no matter what the original source.
- Hires attributed to the “Company Website” are suspect (we maintain that the company web site is a destination not a source). Respondents still report that this SOH represents 20.7% of all external hires.
- Hires attributed to specific Job Boards (Monster.com, CareerBuilder and HotJobs) and generic Niche Boards represent 12.3% of External hires.
- There is no silver bullet for diversity hires. Affinity groups and employee referrals are still considered the most productive.
- The largest trends in 2006 were the growth of Re-hires as a SOH and the emergence of search engine advertising as a measurable SOH. Direct sourcing remains strong with tools like ZoomInfo’s PowerSearch improving the speed and accuracy of finding quality candidates.
Suggestions for changing the Source of Hire Model, One Hire at a Time
- Track and Collect SOH for Every Hire.
“Just Don’t Know” Doesn’t Cut it.
About one of every four firms can account for every hire…at least the ones they are responsible for. Unfortunately that is only half the problem since 50% of the firms do not have responsibility for at some of the hires in their company ( class, location, level, etc.). The staffing function must be disciplined enough to collect ALL the data to ensure the picture they are creating about talent acquisition is complete.
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- Assess and Analyze SOH…at least yearly.
Think Yield. Invest in it.
Just about everyone has an employee referral program. Too often it is (re)evaluated on the basis of how much money and time it takes to administer it rather than the value it delivers. Imagine if every 3rd referral in a critical, high-volume job family you uncovered a quality hire who, on average, came “up-to-speed” in their job 10 days faster and stayed 1 year longer. Wouldn’t you want to scale this source of hire from 30% to 40%? Invest the resources to find out.
- Drill Down.
All Sources are Not Equal- Nor Are All Employees.
It is a mistake to assume all sources are equal. Every channel has a target audience and it may be more productive for hiring in one location, level, skill or function and useless for another. Executives are unlikely to be found as walk-ins and it is doubtful you will hire a search firm for many of non-exempt positions. Analyze each segment independently. We believe a best practice is to “tag” each family of jobs that is core to your business and to establish if there are source differences by performance, retention, etc.
- Define SOH Carefully.
Referrals come in all flavors. So do College hires. They all do.
Are employee referrals the only kind or can you build a channel of referrals from customer, vendors, suppliers, former employees and more? Do you only count college hires as those from your target colleges, intern programs, MBAs etc.? We see many disconnects in definitions that tell only a part of the picture.
- Research How Multiple Sources Interact
Bet You Can’t Have Just One!
Just as it is unlikely that a person will use one method to find their next job, it is just as unlikely that a single source will be the tipping point to qualified candidates applying. Your branding strategy coupled with advertisements and potentially someone reaching out from a sourcing group followed by a discussion with a neighbor- your employee might just be the combination that brings them in. Which one SOH would you choose? Why limit to one? Why indeed.
Ask you ATS vendor
- Confirm Your Data Independently
Prove it to yourself
84.6% of our survey respondents used pull-down menus on their online application form to collect and report their SOH data. Several published experiments with self-report approaches have demonstrated high error rates. We believe multiple sources can and should be used to confirm data. For example, automated tracking of the IP addresses where a candidate originated from can be used to confirm self-report. We also believe that survey instruments, properly designed, can be easily deployed with new hires to map the way a company finds, targets, contacts and engages their candidates.
About CareerXroads: The Staffing Strategy Connection
Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler are committed to writing, researching and sharing their adventures, opinions and data about evolving staffing models with members of the HR profession, Colloquium members, clients and friends. Passionate about how firms design and build staffing processes, the technology to enhance them and the systems to manage them, Gerry and Mark strive to observe and influence new and evolving models that aspire to world-class, measurable standards and satisfy every stakeholder.
They want to know more about the ‘playing fields’ where candidates and employers meet and they are more than a little curious about how they treat one another: specifically how Job Seekers ‘game’ their next career move while Employers tout their latest opportunities.
They are always on the lookout for stories about staffing challenges, benchmarks, and results as well as the people who live the stories they tell.
(For more on CareerXroads and CareerXroads’ Colloquium go to www.careerxroads.com or www.careerxroads.com/colloquium/colloquium.htm)
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