Satya D Sinha, a leading Executive Search and Recruit- ment firm, Satya is responsible for the overall business strategy, branding, client partnerships, and incubation of new businesses. Trusted by the C-suite, his team pro- vides consultative Talent Acquisition solutions for clients which include Global Capability Centres ( GCC /GIC/BPM ), Fortune 500 firms, Startups, Large Indian Conglo- merates across domains.

With data-based recruitment strategy going main- stream, firms across industries are benefitting from the recruitment of talented, skilled, and self-driven leaders at top positions

From sourcing supplies to manufacturing products and delivering values, the benefits of data-driven decisions are evident for every stakeholder in the business ecosystem. Taking its utility one step further, firms are now using data to hire the best talent for leadership positions. Data-driven leadership search offers multiple benefits including objective decisions, quick turn around, and saving resources among others. Here’s a complete lowdown on how data-infused leadership can help firms make effective decisions related to their talent acquisition needs and requirements:

Data-driven recruitment processes can significantly enhance diversity by revealing demographic insights of the people currently occupying leadership positions

a) Enhance Diversity: Data-driven recruitment processes can significantly enhance diversity by revealing demographic insights of the people currently occupying leadership positions. The information can be thus used to undertake targeted recruitment drives, train people on unconscious bias, and develop holistic policies to offer a diversified work environment to employees. This aspect is especially relevant in positions of strategic interest as diversity here will significantly increase the effectiveness of the decision-making which, in turn, will ensure the business sustainability of firms in the long run.

b) Pre-screening Applications: The evaluation of prospective candidates for leadership positions is a long and comprehensive process. As C-Suite people are responsible for driving the growth and profitability of the organisation, it mandates companies to conduct a thorough assessment before finalizing a candidate for any of these positions. Data-driven search can help talent acquisition teams in pre-screening candidates and only calling the most deserving ones for the interview process. The data-based decisions also improve the retention rate of employees at CXO levels, a factor which is critically important for the growth and profitability of the organization.

c) Reducing Bias: Subjectivity can critically damage the performance of firms and hence, it must be eliminated from every facet including recruitment practices of the companies. Hiring decisions that are purely based on the data are free from any kind of bias and prejudice, thereby allowing only the most qualified candidate to make their way to the top. Firms can also develop screening algorithms to select people who align with their vision, values, and work culture. This alignment not only helps in finding a perfect fit but also encourages the smooth onboarding and acclimatisation of fresh talent in the organisational setup.

d) Analyzing Internal Records: Among others, job acceptance rate is important criterions that can help organisations understand the appeal they enjoy among prospective candidates. The database of past hiring can help firms analyse job acceptance patterns and deliberate the improvement to improve the onboarding of selected employees. These evaluations are particularly significant for leadership positions as the non-joining of selected candidates will render months of recruitment efforts useless and futile. The analysis of the past will also help firms stay put with best practices while improving on parameters which need course corrections and improvements.

"Data analytics can help in deciding in advance the manpower requirements at different levels of organizations including the top level"

e) Accurate Forecasting: Data analytics can help in deciding in advance the manpower requirements at different levels of organizations including the top level. This is specifically relevant for MNCs and corporate houses which actively pursue global expansion and need the best talent to drive their strategic initiatives. Data-based recruitment decision offers HR teams sufficient time to prepare for the hiring process and conclude these drives successfully with the desired efficiency. The analysis of past patterns, industry turnover, and available talent pool are some of the significant factors that help talent teams hire the best candidates and increase retention at top-level executive positions in the long term.

f) Employee Lifetime Value: Just like customer lifetime value, data-infused search can help organisations calculate the employee lifetime value (ELV) for potential hires. The score can be calculated by combining the a) performance of hirees in their roles, and b) the period they stay with the organization. In other words, the ELV represents the total value that employees bring to the table and its estimation allows companies to hire performance-oriented leaders who are likely to stick with the organization for long while delivering superior value to target audiences. The calculation is also important from the future perspective as its value will offer further insights into performance parameters, employee turnover rate, and factors that influence both the performance and stay of the leaders with organizations. All these indicators when combined turn into a treasure trove of important parameters that have the potential to catapult the performance of organizations to a different level altogether.

Data-based decisions hold special relevance for recruitment in leadership positions. As decisions taken at the strategy level have critical implications for the entire organization, talent acquisition teams need to put extra effort into selecting the best candidate for the CXO roles. The use of data analytics can be of significant help to HR teams and by offering useful insights, accurate analysis, and unbiased recommendations, data-based talent acquisition can prove instrumental in powering the growth of the organization to the next level.