Transforming Recruitment Data into Strategic Talent Insights
Client Context
A growing recruitment agency was managing thousands of applicant records across spreadsheets and manual processes. While they collected information like contact details, CVs, job titles, locations, and salary expectations, leadership struggled to extract meaningful insights. Reports were inconsistent, incomplete, and time-consuming to compile.
Key data sources included:
- Applicant Records (Excel data extract) with demographics, job titles, availability, and salary expectations.
- Recruitment Funnel Metrics (Power BI dashboard) visualizing candidate submissions, drop-offs, and profile completeness.
- Advisory Audit Report highlighting gaps in data quality and KPI tracking.
The Problem
- High Drop-Off Rates — many applicants abandoned the process before submitting CVs or full details.
- Incomplete Profiles — missing contact info, availability, or salary expectations made it difficult for recruiters to act quickly.
- Limited Visibility — no standardized metrics for funnel efficiency, skill coverage, or time-to-fill roles.
- Data Quality Issues — inconsistent salary formats prevented benchmarking.
Key Findings
- Contact Info Gaps — 30% of applicants had missing phone/email details.
- CV Submission Bottleneck — only ~65% completed CV uploads.
- Geographic Imbalance — most applicants came from urban centers, leaving rural gaps.
- Salary Standardization Needed — wide variance in input formats made comparisons unreliable.
- Immediate Availability Pool — subset of candidates was 'ready now' but hidden without dashboards.
ROPA’s Solution
- Recruitment Funnel View: highlighting where candidates drop off from application start to CV submission.
- Profile Completeness Tracking: % of applicants with all critical fields (email, phone, CV, availability).
- Location Heatmaps: distribution of applicants across regions to guide marketing spend.
- Salary Expectation Analysis: standardized salary inputs for benchmarking vs. market rates.
- Pipeline Readiness: dashboards showing candidates who can start immediately vs. 2+ weeks.
Business Impact & Actionable Steps
- Mandatory Fields Enforced — applicant forms updated to require email, phone, CV, and availability.
- Automated Follow-Ups — reminders triggered for incomplete CV submissions.
- Targeted Recruitment Campaigns — marketing shifted to underrepresented regions.
- Salary Band Adjustments — cleaned salary inputs and aligned with market benchmarks.
- Talent Bench Creation — recruiters prioritized 'ready-now' candidates, cutting time-to-fill by weeks.
Why This Matters
This project shows how ROPA Advisory helps recruitment firms unlock the hidden value in their applicant data. By combining data cleaning, dashboard automation, and strategic advisory, we transformed disconnected spreadsheets into an intelligent hiring funnel. The result: faster placements, reduced costs, and stronger candidate quality.
At ROPA Advisory, we turn applicant data into a competitive edge — helping recruitment agencies hire smarter, faster, and fairer.
