By Madeline Laurano, Co-Founder and Chief Research Officer, Aptitude Research Partners

For many companies, campus recruiting occurs in the dark. Talent acquisition teams scramble their way through a busy few months of meeting and greeting with students, hoping to find the right fit. Too often, decisions are made based on time constraints and availability rather than quality. And, too often, recruiting teams have little insight into how or why decisions around campus recruiting events and investment are made.

As company leadership turns up the focus on campus recruiting programs, these departments are being held accountable not only for attracting talent on campus, but hiring the best. Talent acquisition professionals are under tremendous pressure to improve not only cost and time-to-hire, but to dedicate resources to more strategic areas of talent acquisition, such as candidate quality, recruiter performance and the candidate experience. In the past, these metrics were often overlooked or were not a high priority for campus recruiting. But now, programs are measured on much more than the number of events attended or the volume of resumes collected, and companies need real data about the impact of university relations efforts on the business.

To demonstrate results to company leadership, talent acquisition leaders are reinventing their campus recruiting programs and investing in solutions to gain efficiencies and enhance the candidate experience, while driving business outcomes. These leaders know the value of campus recruiting extends beyond talent acquisition into strategic areas of the organization and understand the role technology plays in a results-driven recruitment strategy. Research shows campus recruiting technology contributes to more than the success of college recruitment; it has a positive impact on the entire business. Aptitude Research Partners’ 2018 research found companies using campus recruiting technology were:

Three times more likely to improve retention, two times more likely to improve engagement and two times more likely to improve productivity.

Knowing that the value of campus recruiting technology solutions extends far beyond talent processes to reach every part of the business, companies that will achieve  success are those that identify their own priorities, evaluate leading technology providers and communicate their vision to key stakeholders.

By showing the lasting impact technology has on business outcomes, talent acquisition leaders will be better equipped to build a business case for investment, adopt top technologies and, ultimately, elevate the role of campus recruitment among company leadership and every business line.

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About Madeline Laurano, Co-Founder, Aptitude Research Partners

Madeline’s primary focus over the last 12+ years has been on the talent management market, specializing in talent acquisition. Her work helps companies both validate and reevaluate their strategies and understand the role technology can play in driving business outcomes. She has watched HCM transform from a back-office function to a strategic company initiative.