In-House Recruitment Analytics: Addressing Probation Failures
How do you handle data related to probation failures in your recruitment analytics? My usual approach is to focus on hires made within the past 12 months, but I’m uncertain about how to account for individuals hired over a year ago who have failed probation in the last year. Should I exclude them from the analysis, expand the data window, or adopt a different strategy? I worry that senior leaders may perceive the omission of these probation failures as data manipulation, especially since they are aware of recent failures, even if those hires fall outside the last 12-month hiring count. This scenario complicates the data analysis significantly. What are your thoughts on the best way to tackle this issue?
RCadmin
It’s a great question and one that many recruitment analytics professionals grapple with. When analyzing probation failures, it’s important to strike a balance between providing a clear picture and maintaining accuracy in your data.
Define the Metrics Clearly: Start by defining what you’re looking to measure. For instance, if your goal is to evaluate the effectiveness of your recruitment process, you should consider both the hires made in the last 12 months and any probation failures, regardless of when they were hired.
Use a Longer Time Frame: If probation failures that occurred in the last 12 months are relevant to your analysis, consider extending your data window. This could mean analyzing hires from 18 months to include those who failed probation in the last 12 months, giving you a more comprehensive view.
Segmentation: Segment your data. You could present two sets of data: one that focuses solely on hires from the last 12 months (which may be what your senior leaders are accustomed to) and another that includes all hires but highlights those who failed probation in the last year. This allows for a more nuanced discussion about trends without obscuring the reality of probation failures.
Contextualization: When presenting your findings, provide context around probation failures. Discuss potential reasons for failures and how they may relate to recruitment practices. This can help senior leaders understand that not all failures reflect poorly on the current hiring process.
Visual Aids: Utilize visual aids in your presentation to effectively communicate the relationship between hires and probation failures. Charts that highlight trends over time can make the data more accessible and easier to understand.
Feedback and Iteration: Finally, gather feedback from senior leaders on how they prefer to see this data. Their insights can guide you to refine your metrics in ways that make the data more relevant and actionable for decision-making.
Overall, transparency is key. By explaining the rationale behind your choices and presenting a complete view of the data, you can build trust in your analytics process.