Getting the most out of Bullhorn Analytics’ new Dashboards module
When it comes to driving growth, visibility is everything—whether that means a big-picture view of placement rates over time, an up-close look at your CV-to-interview ratios, a real-time survey of who’s working where, or any of dozens of other metrics. When you can see things clearly, you can make better decisions and deliver more value for your clients.
That was the major takeaway from a recent webinar about the new Dashboards module in Bullhorn Analytics (Enterprise edition), led by Customer Success Team Lead Alex Brewer. Brewer demonstrated how recruitment agencies can get the most out of Dashboards, and the results they can achieve, including:
- Faster decision-making. Get a more accurate understanding of both immediate needs and performance over time.
- Maximum return on effort. Ensure everyone is working on the most valuable opportunities, all the time.
- Improved client value. Easily identify the best clients and cultivate long-term relationships with them.
The Dashboards module combines the reporting functionality of the existing OneView, OnPoint, and Trend modules with new functionality and enhanced visualization capabilities and brings them all together in one convenient location. This means that now you can create dashboards with multiple categories of data, in multiple formats—tiles, trend lines, pie charts, etc.—and see them in a single, scrolling view, rather than having to toggle between multiple screens and modules.
Still, Brewer advises that users not try to accomplish too much in a single dashboard, lest things get busy and overwhelming. Keeping your dashboards broad and simple is the best way to go, he says, and planning ahead is important: “Having an idea as to what you want a dashboard to cover ahead of its creation is key, not just in terms of trying to construct it but also for the desired audience to find it coherent.”
To that end, Brewer suggests thinking in terms of two different types of dashboards: persona-based and report-based.
Persona-based dashboards
A persona-based dashboard, Brewer explained, contains multiple types of information all geared toward a specific audience. That audience could be managers, recruiters, sales and business development, learning development, or back-office roles such as finance, or contracts and compliance.
A dashboard for recruiters, for example, might include:
- Metrics showing various activities within a given timeframe, such as CVs sent, first interviews, further interviews, and placements over the previous 90 days, for a quick performance snapshot.
- Lists and graphic representations of current activity, so you can see in real time how much time is being spent where, and reapportion resources and attention as needed.
- Year-to-date progress, trends, and ratios (such as the ratios of CVs sent to first interviews offered) to paint a picture of performance over time.
- An Actionable Insights section, spotlighting key actions that could be taken.
A dashboard for Operations staff, meanwhile, might be focused on data concerning recent job placements, pending job starters, and active job starters, as well as total number of contractors, overall days worked, and other fundamentals. With this information, contracts and compliance staff can see where they need to start getting contracts in order for new engagements, and the finance team can see where and when they need to be invoicing.
Report-based dashboards
Creating a report-based dashboard is useful for compiling data that will be meaningful to a wider variety of users and roles, for a broader view of performance. That data might include metrics like business activity, contracts book, business efficacy, placement and revenue, key accounts, ROI, or compliance/onboarding.
A contracts dashboard, for example, might include data such as average duration of contracts, average margins, revenue by month and year, share of contractors by client. Looking at this kind of information, business development can determine which clients are the most profitable—higher margins, longer engagements—and double down on their relationships with them.
With its in-depth metrics, the new Dashboards module is particularly useful for creating ROI reports, Brewer explained. One useful application of this might be looking at the number of candidates and placements by source: which job boards or platforms are delivering the best results? Are they trending up or down over time? Depending on the answers, you can determine which sources are most likely to yield viable candidates and, ultimately, placements, and direct recruiters’ time and effort accordingly.
Limitless possibilities
The examples Brewer provided in the webinar, summarized here, are just the beginning when it comes to Dashboards. With its intuitive and flexible interface and broad variety of metrics and data visualization types available, Dashboards can deliver visibility and insight across every area of your business.