Improve Your Recruitment Program With The Recruitment Scorecard

The complexity of today’s recruitment programs makes analyzing and assessing their performance challenging. "Mike [Foster] and I talk to different individuals from companies of all different shapes and sizes, and we've learned a lot about the typical issues they face,” said Justin King, Director of Solution Design at Advanced RPO, in a recent RPO Leadership webinar hosted by RPOA CEO, Lamees Abourahma. “One of the biggest things they face is analyzing their recruitment program overall. Part of why it is so difficult to do is because recruitment programs have lots of moving parts. Understanding where you should start can be one of the hardest things to do.”

Joining King on the webinar was his colleague at Advanced RPO, Account Director Mike Foster. They introduced their Recruitment Scorecard to the audience, an innovative talent acquisition performance tool that gives employers a starting point for understanding the complexity of their recruitment program.  Below is a recap of their presentation. 

King and Foster developed the Recruitment Scorecard to help talent leaders analyze the overall recruitment program to improve their talent acquisition (TA) performance. King defined the Recruitment Scorecard as a self-assessment tool that guides talent leaders through their recruitment program, assessing its current state and identifying key areas where they can make improvements, 

The Scorecard consists of the eight elements that comprise the whole recruitment program. Those elements include: 

1. Hiring Process

2. ATS Configuration

3. Job Postings

4. Sourcing Capabilities

5. Compensation

6. Branding and Employer Value Proposition

7. Job Application Design

8. Hiring Manager Training and Experience

Each element comes with a set of questions to be answered "Yes," "Somewhat," or "No." King and Foster discussed three key elements: the hiring process, ATS configuration, and job postings to give the audience an idea of how the scorecard works. 

Webinar: Learn how to use the recruitment scorecard to amp up your recruitment program.

Assessing The Hiring Process

The Recruitment Scorecard, an assessment tool, helps identify areas for improvement in the talent acquisition process. The initial step? Evaluate the hiring process. To do that, ask the following questions:

1. Is there a standard, documented procedure for all roles?

2. Do all steps serve a purpose, tied to either a decision point or compliance?

3. Are there any steps that don't significantly narrow down candidates?

4. Are there bottlenecks slowing the process or causing issues?

Emphasizing the need for a standardized and centrally documented process, Foster advised to view the hiring process from multiple perspectives - candidate, manager, HR leader, and recruiter. This approach ensures compliance and replicability across the organization.

He underlined that each step in the hiring process should have a clear purpose and adhere to compliance. Bottlenecks, like unnecessary reference checks, should be avoided. By thoroughly assessing your hiring process, you can enhance the experience for candidates, hiring managers, and recruiters. 

Here, King describes a scenario where reference checks created a bottleneck.

ATS Configuration

Foster and King stressed the need for businesses to align their Applicant Tracking System (ATS) with their hiring process. If not, they're asking for trouble.

King insisted that a well-configured ATS is at the heart of effective talent acquisition. It's where acquiring talent happens. They both agreed that a well-set-up ATS can handle the hiring process from end to end. To ensure the ATS is in sync with the hiring process, consider these questions:

1. Do HR staff have to do manual tasks outside the ATS?

2. Does your ATS offer the reports you need?

3. Are you sure your ATS promotes compliance?

4. Does your ATS support your hiring process with the proper steps and statuses?

King observed that ATSs are often set up without considering the actual process, leading to too few or too many steps. Relying on manual work like spreadsheets can cause confusion and mistakes, so keep it all in the ATS. He highlighted that not all features shown in demos make it to the final product, so know what you're getting. The goal is always to streamline processes within the ATS or bring in other tools for manual tasks.

Foster noted that recruiters often use Excel when they don't trust the ATS to track candidates accurately. So, when setting up an ATS, talent leaders should work with implementation experts to ensure they correctly configure the process and statuses. This syncing up allows for detailed reporting and lets recruiters know exactly where a candidate is in the hiring process.

Optimizing Job Postings

Foster said that to ensure companies optimize their job postings, companies should treat job posts like writing an advertisement for a product. In other words, treat them as job advertisements. Therefore, companies should ask these questions about the job advertisement before posting it: 

1. Is the job post concise and to the point?

2. Does the job post tell the candidate why they should want to work for your company?

3. When looking at the job posts of your competitors, do your job posts compare favorably?

4. Are you posting job advertisements where your best candidates search for jobs?

5. Does your job post touch on what is most important to your candidates and what motivates them?

To attract top candidates, Foster recommended that companies create straightforward and concise job posts focusing on the benefits of working for their company. A good job post, he said, should highlight "what's in it for the candidate" to work for that company. Letting the candidate know how working for this company will give applicants a clear reason to apply. Regularly reviewing competitors' postings can provide insight that ensures your company has competitive salaries and offerings.

Foster added that when reworking internal job descriptions into external advertisements, remove unnecessary details. Keep the focus on core responsibilities and qualifications to engage potential candidates. Customizing each job posting is essential. Consider your unique employee value proposition and tailor benefits messaging accordingly. He highlighted that framing the role is as crucial as the role itself.

Before they fielded questions, King concluded the presentation by encouraging the audience to ask probing questions with honesty. Answering 'yes' to everything suggests you've reached peak recruitment capabilities, which is highly unlikely, regardless of whether you're a Fortune 500 or a small family startup. Remember, 'yes' answers are the least insightful. The 'no' or 'somewhat' responses highlight areas for growth and improvement. So, be truthful and open to discovering opportunities for betterment. Ready to level up your recruitment program?

Watch our invaluable webinar at the RPO Academy for an excellent primer on analyzing and improving your recruiting efforts.