In this episode of The Shape of Work podcast, Mike 'Batman' Cohen, the Founder of Wayne Technologies, explains his clear approach to sourcing, which focuses on deliverables, transparent data, and multiple platforms to procure diversity and quality of candidates.
He talks about the state of recruiting in 2021 and delves deeper into the data-driven approach to perform talent acquisition. He works towards increasing the efficacy and altruism of the Sourcing & Recruiting industry.
Mike has worked with a diverse group of clients and writes for SourceCon and RecruitingDaily. He is also involved with SourceHouston and is an Executive Board Member of ATAP (Association for Talent Acquisition Professionals).
Tell us something about sourcing that most people don’t know:
Most people are unaware of the fact that there is way more data involved than they are collecting. However, there is no tool to collect more data unless it is done manually. The first thing to figure out is what data is and isn’t.
Mike has done a couple of sessions on the difference between metrics and KPI. He explains how these two are very different things. KPI tells you what and where the data is. While metric tells you what exactly is happening through the data. Metrics offer the efficiency of that data. It provides a complete analysis of the input VS output.
“KPIs are numbers, metrics are percentage”
Once you understand the data, you delve deeper into the topic.
Furthermore, Mike mentions how he always looks at response rates instead of numbers. It is important to know how effective these responses are and how many will convert into phone calls.
Mike feels that recruitment is an interesting blend of art and science behind marketing and sales. The art of marketing is based on the displaying of things to interact with people. The art piece of sales functions around how to interact with humans to elicit a response. When combined, they offer the foundation for a good recruiting structure.
Do you think there is a fundamental gap in terms of how the recruiters are judged?
There is a fundamental gap in the understanding of what a recruiter does by the recruiters themselves. Mike asks plenty of people regarding the job of a recruiter in his podcast. According to him, these recruiters put themselves into a box and think they should fit in instead of performing their actual role.
Now the question is, what exactly is the role of a recruiter? It is a two-directional pipeline of data. They take data from the company and bring it to the market, and vice versa. That can be recruitment, brand marketing, or simply messaging candidates to see if they are interested. This further becomes talent mapping the market, candidate responses, and more. The only goal of the recruiter should be to help people assess their data and assist them in any other possible areas. Their job is not to weigh their opinions on another person’s decisions.
How often should recruiters be looking into AV tests:
Mike says that they look into their AV tests everyday. He encourages other companies to follow the same process as well. People are more often worried about how the product is going to position on the shelf. However, Mike feels that there is no point worrying about it if they don't have the raw materials to make the product. Furthermore, Mike gives a picture of how the stack for a recruiter looks like when they try to solve similar problems.
Follow Mike on LinkedIn
Produced by: Priya Bhatt
Podcast host: Abhash Kumar