Applicant Tracking Not Being Used to Full Potential
A recent survey of applicant tracking system users showed that many aren’t using the systems to their full potential.
The survey, completed by participants at the 2008 Taleo World User’s Conference, asked respondents to explore their practices regarding the candidate experience, tracking and reporting on 120-day turnover, according to an article by Talent Management.
The results found that 72 percent of respondents don’t know the cost of on-boarding for their highest-turnover position and 86 percent of respondents aren’t asking candidates about their online employment application experience.
The survey found that:
- 43 percent of respondents aren’t tracking and reporting 120-day turnover rates
- 72 percent don’t know the cost of on-boarding for their highest-turnover position
- 86 percent of respondents stated they don’t conduct candidate satisfaction surveys
- 94 percent of respondents state they don’t include a multi-media realistic job preview as part of their candidate experience
- 43 percent of respondents stated their online candidate experience isn’t positive enough to create referrals
“Staffing waste can be quantified as the company’s investment for on-boarding a new employee who quits or is terminated in less than 120 days,” the article notes. “It is common to invest $10,000 to $15,000 on-boarding new employees into entry-level jobs, such as tellers and call center agents. A loss of 10 new hires in less than 120 days can easily waste $100,000.
“Turnover is typically reported on a company-wide, annual basis,” the article continues. “This practice obscures the impact of the worst hiring decisions — those which lead to turnover in 120 days or fewer. Candidates who quit or are terminated in fewer than 120 days are called false starts. The impact of false starts can be measured as staffing waste and the subsequent need for staffing rework.”
Companies can improve their staffing process by examining the hiring process for the jobs with the highest turnover rates and collecting data about the candidates.