Statistics: the bane of all math-phobic, incredibly busy employees whose managers ask them for “concrete numbers”. Believe us: we know. We know all about the situation where your manager says, “I want to know who is getting selected, and who isn’t. How many candidates applied and went through a selection process? Where did they fall out of the process? How are candidates doing on our pre-employment selection tests? Which ones pass our selection tests, but fall out at the interview stage or background check? Are there any differences in outcomes between locations? How about between genders or ethnicity? How come so many people are passing/failing our tests? I want to know how our selection process is working.” This brings me to Renegade Psychology Mantra #2: Without human capital data that is complete, accurate, and linked effectively, accurate and timely reporting is impossible.
Managers love to ask questions without determining whether or not their organization has prepared systems that will allow for the easy delivery of the answers: “Shoot first, ask questions later” or “Ready, fire, aim.” The trouble is that solving immediate HR problems in a rush without simultaneously preparing for the future can lead to mountains to climb down the road. If you don’t have a good applicant tracking system – one that records all candidate information, all selection process outcomes, and status from start to finish in an accurate, centralized location that lends itself to easy data retrieval/data comparisons -- you won’t be able to answer the hypothetical questions posed above by upper management.
If your company has solid human capital management and tracking systems, you'll be able to provide a decent surface-level report in a matter of days. If they do not, it will take months to prepare your records for analysis. Worse, every step you have to take to prepare the data provides an additional opportunity to screw things up.
Not that the courts will care if a disgruntled candidate sues you for hiring discrimination: an ignorant response will simply leave you flat-footed and unprepared.
So if you don’t have adequate systems in place -- or if you know you'll eventually need to crunch a bunch of numbers to answer the obvious human capital questions -- it’s time to get your stuff together. Build or purchase a tracking system/database, start copying/pasting (or hire a temp to populate the new system with data), and make sure you have a system of tracking set up going forward that won’t require too much manual labor. (There are far too many solutions out there at different price points for your business not to have one. This may mean you have to work with your IT person/department...try not to cringe at the thought.)
Then buy a statistical software package, or get a Microsoft Excel add-on, and start answering questions and solving problems. When you reach the analysis point, here are some stats you should look at.