"Improving human capital performance
depends on feeding back the right data”

An interview with Brent Pearson, SVP, Monster Government Solutions

Q. What is the performance challenge confronting human capital in government?

A. Good performance results when every stage of the government hiring process functions at its best. The challenge is being able to capture information about how well your activities are working and then feeding this data back into the separate processes. What we hear from our government customers is that they appreciate this more systematic approach to employment management. For instance, they know that their recruitment campaign has an impact on their staffing process and applicant tracking. But what is the precise effect of an advertising message that runs on Sunday with the batch of resumes that show up in the email box on Monday morning? How appropriate are your pre-screening questions in creating a “short list” for your interviewers?

Q. Doesn’t this kind of information usually require a research project?

A. Our customers are discovering that an automated hiring management system has built-in metrics. They can retrieve and isolate the necessary data to optimize specific processes and ultimately the entire employment management cycle. These feedback loops can make immediate use of data that they’ve already captured.

Q. Is this problem more urgent than it was a decade ago?

A. It has always been important, of course, to find the best talent as quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. But the times are changing. Ten years ago, we were talking about a “draw down.” Government had a buyer’s market. Now agencies are talking about an increasing decline in the supply of competencies essential to fulfill their mission. Over the next few years, there may be considerably fewer qualified individuals to fill key vacancies. Meanwhile, these agencies must compete with the private sector for top people. I know that OPM is very serious about taking measures to level that playing field. An immediate answer is to make sure that government has the information to recruit as efficiently as the private sector. Fortunately the Web has made data much more accessible than it was a decade ago.

Q. What data do organizations find helpful in optimizing the hiring process?

A. Let’s start with some very basic metrics. Many government agencies are beginning to track time-to-hire and cost-per-hire. If you can get a handle on these two variables, you have made a great start towards monitoring your entire process. How long does it take from posting the job vacancy announcement until you have someone reporting for duty? How much did it cost to get the person hired? Perhaps you need to pinpoint an activity, like resume processing, for automation. On another level, you may find that your diversity and inclusion program isn’t zeroing in on the right talent pool. As the adage goes, “If something can be measured, it can be changed.”

Q. Can government simply import automated systems that have been successful in the private sector?

A. That’s actually far from simple. It is true that many companies have systems that supply data to enhance their hiring process. Yet agencies usually find that these commercial systems do not integrate successfully into a government environment. That is one the reasons why we acquired QuickHire this past year. Their hiring management system was expressly designed for government agencies. About 90 of them are now using the QuickHire software, and they can mine data to improve their efforts.

Q. How do you integrate this data from your backend reports into the other functions?

A. It helps to have a holistic look at human capital management from the outset. That is why we have designed our Performance Continuum. This framework consists of five principal functions in the employment life cycle: Plan. Attract. Assess. Hire. And Perform. This latter function provides the data for the feedback loop into the other four functions. “Perform” tells you how well you are doing and what you have to do to get better candidates. It can guide your long- and short-term workforce planning. It can hone your employer branding, target audiences and recruitment campaigns. It can assist you in setting up better pre-screening as well as automated tests for hard skills and psychometric factors. It can show you where you may be spending overtime hours in processing resumes and still not ranking candidates according to your objectives.

In short, the Continuum feeds back information that can be used to fine tune or even completely overhaul your efforts in human capital management. The result is the assurance of improved performance.