Stop Using Recruitment Data Wrong...

Insight from a Recruiting Tech CEO

Author

Joe Atkinson
January 17, 2025

Hey everyone! Today we’re sharing some insights from a conversation with Tom Hacquoil. 

Tom brings directly data from processing over 1 million applications monthly to give insights on best practices. He also has some interesting thoughts on the future of recruiting tech (including where AI is going).

If you’d like to hear a full interview, check it out on on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Any subscribers on these channels would be a huge help!

Before we dive in, we’re giving a Purpl course away for free!

Available to everyone, for free, HERE.

Onto the wisdom…

1. Using Data to Drive Business Decisions

"When we speak to recruiters, they tend to use data to try and show how good they are doing their jobs. My observation is that the leadership team don't really care about those things. They want the data that helps them make strategic decisions."

Breakdown: Most recruiters use metrics like time-to-hire to showcase their performance. Instead, Tom suggests going one level deeper, using data to shape business strategy and influence hiring manager behaviour.

Key Takeaway: We could also look to focus on metrics that drive behaviour change, like candidate wait time between interactions, which directly correlates with offer acceptance rates.

Related Resource: Check out Pinpoint's free Recruitment Trends dashboard for industry benchmarking data.

2. The Reality of AI in Recruitment

"Often when people ask me about AI and they say 'I wish I could do this', what they're asking for is automation, not artificial intelligence."

Breakdown: Most companies are rushing to add AI features without understanding what they actually need. Tom suggests focusing on practical automation first, while exploring AI for more sophisticated use cases like talent intelligence, turning interview data into competitive insights about market trends and competitor initiatives.

Key Takeaway: Look beyond basic AI features (like job description writers) and consider how AI could help you extract strategic value from your recruitment data.

Related Resource: Tom mentions MetaView as an example of using interview transcripts for competitive intelligence rather than just note-taking.

3. US vs UK Recruitment Approaches

"The US market is a bit more aggressive. They're much more interested in innovative solutions and new ways of doing things. They're more likely to use an all-in-one solution than to have lots of disparate point solutions."

Breakdown: No big takeaway here but certainly interesting for anyone recruiting across the ponds. Tom also notes while differences are narrowing, US companies tend to be earlier adopters and think candidate-first rather than job-first.

4. The Future of Recruiting Tech

"My blunt and honest view is that a lot of the companies that exist with these point solutions, with some exceptions, are features, not businesses. The future is two systems."

Breakdown: Again some interesting insight that we might see some consolidation of point solutions into all-in-one type offerings. Tom predicts 2 main systems: pre-hire (ATS) and post-hire (HRIS) that cover most features.

Wrapping Up

What do you think of Tom’s predictions? Let us know if you disagree.

Looking to improve your own or your recruitment teams skills in 2025? check out PURPL.

✅ That's it for this week! We hope these practical tips help, please reply to this email with any feedback - we'd love to hear it.