6 ways staffing experts are leveraging Bullhorn Analytics
Understanding your business is key to running it. Without data, analytics, and insights to guide your decisions, you run the risk of flying blind.
But leveraging analytics tools like Bullhorn Analytics is often easier said than done. Driving adoption, knowing which metrics and KPIs to track, and understanding how best to leverage your data all pose challenges to anyone looking to make the most of best-in-class reporting tools.
To swap tips and tricks, share best practices, and find new ways to best use Bullhorn Analytics, we gathered together recruitment leaders and Bullhorn customers at our very first Analytics User Group in London.
Below, check out six ways these experts have found success with Bullhorn Analytics to drive their businesses forward.
1. Ensure new tools are embraced by demonstrating their clear benefits.
“The best way to get started is to ask the consultant what they want to see,” said Andy Clarke, PRG, in our opening panel. “We track some KPIs because senior managers like to see them, and we replicate them in analytics. We evolved from there so managers can see what they want to see.”
“Keep it simple,” added Shayne Simpson, Ascent Group. “Do something small that fits your needs in your business. Look at the core things you want to look at from a business and slowly build up.”
2. Avoid unnecessary KPIs and focus on meaningful metrics.
Our panelists recommended starting off by determining what’s important to your business, and letting those priorities guide your strategy, without getting distracted by vanity metrics. “Track everything, but have certain metrics as a priority,” said Michelle Jones, RBW Consulting.
For Jones, tracking CV sends for individuals has been a useful KPI. “For example, If you take 20 CVs to fill a job, then that’s your target,” she said. “Consultants have come to us and said, ‘Analytics has made my job so much easier. Don’t ever take it away.’”
3. Tailor dashboards and insights to individual and business needs.
Bullhorn Analytics is incredibly customizable – so make sure to tailor it to your needs. “We have a cool dashboard where we can drill down but also zoom out and see what’s actually happening in the business,” said Simpson. “Are things up or down? Are people still bought in?”
Lizzi Scott, Goodman Masson, suggests using heat maps to better determine and focus on geographies that drive success: “Let’s see where we get the most placements, focus there, and build things out.”
4. Leverage leaderboards, gamification, and friendly competition.
Analytics allows your users to see what actions your best biller is taking so others can mirror their best practices; often, your best biller is the best user of the system. Leaderboards also encourage recruiters to stay “on it,” as our panelists said, and achieve more.
We have rules around engagement,” added Jones. “If someone, for example, hasn’t spoken to a candidate for 18 months, they will be automatically flagged to become lapsed, consultants will be notified and encouraged to contact them. That encourages better usage of Bullhorn Analytics to identify these candidates and get in touch.
5. Use data to enhance client interactions.
Analytics provides accurate, real-time data to help you find and build the most value for your clients. For example, Scott and her team use the slice-and-dice feature to identify promising cross-selling opportunities. “Each consultant has a slice-and-dice report for jobs and placements,” she said. ”It runs every week so we can see what activity we have with people.”
Data can also help you better position yourself with clients. For example, if a client asks you how many interviews they’ve had and you can tell them straight away, you’re proving your value.
6. Ensure they have the best data and incentivising recruiters to log everything.
Bullhorn Analytics functions its best when it’s built upon a foundation of clean, accurate data. “We use the classic ‘If it’s not in the system, it never happened,’ adage,” said Dominic Mitchell, RBW Consulting. “Analytics allows us to have conversations and build on real facts. We have gained a lot more trust in the data now.”
“Bullhorn is the single source of truth for us,” added Simon Burns, i-Pharm Consulting. “It feeds into everything. The commission calculations (via Konquest), the contractor’s pay, client invoicing. We would grind to a halt if the data wasn’t there, everybody grabs the information from Bullhorn.”
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Looking for more insights directly from Bullhorn customers? Check out these key takeaways from our Bullhorn Automation user group.