Most, if not all, major companies nowadays post their vacancies online. Anyone can, at any time, visit websites to check how many open positions a business has, but this number may hold little to no significance. However, knowing if the number of job positions has recently increased or decreased comes with many uses for businesses and individual investors alike. Let’s see the top uses for job postings data.
What is job postings data?
Job postings data refers to information that can track the growth of teams and employees within selected companies. These alternative data on hiring do not only reveal the company’s strategic moves but also identify when a company plans to expand, goes through downsizing, and other factors that forecast market trends.
In short, job postings data refers to collected and structured information on any number of companies. Generally, this information includes the number of job postings in a given time period, highlighting a decrease or increase in the number of vacancies, how many are closed, post duration, and more. Click here to learn more about job postings data.
Market predictions
Nowadays, human capital has turned into a source of competitive advantage and value creation for any given business. As a result, job postings data shows a company’s historical hiring information, indicating business performance.
Companies with increasing hiring activities are also associated with growth, especially if the teams grow as a result of hiring, not replacing the current workforce. This insight can be used for different purposes, including the competitive edge. Companies can use job postings data related to their competitors in order to analyze or predict their rival’s strategic moves.
Competitive intelligence
Competitive intelligence is defined as the ability to collect, analyze, and then act on information regarding market factors, such as competitors or customers, to strengthen competitive advantage. Businesses use job postings data to have a better insight into their rivals and be able to anticipate and respond to business situations before they occur.
For example, knowing that a competitor has been increasing its number of vacancies over the last six months shows that it is expanding and possibly achieving more market share. In some cases, job postings data also include the actual job description, so businesses can identify what types of human capital their rivals require. This can be further used for internal decision-making, expansion, and more.
HR intelligence
Measurements and statistics have long been used in HR. Usual metrics often include cost per hire, issues and accidents, training costs, and others. However, more and more businesses nowadays combine business analytics with job postings data to create a clearer picture.
This is important because HR intelligence leads to deeper insights when it comes to managing employees, turnover, and hiring, so business objectives can be achieved quicker.
Investment decision-making
It is not news that employment is one of the main economic factors to watch when it comes to investment. This macroeconomic determinant shows the general direction of the economy and its strength. Information such as the jobs report can indicate a bullish or bearish market.
The next step in the analysis is job postings data: this offers investors a closer look at a certain company’s hiring pattern. Similar to the general employment information, decreasing job positions can indicate a conservative strategy, while increasing job postings show that the company is currently growing. In this case, investors can act on this information to increase their portfolio returns.
Lead generation and B2B sales
Another major use for job postings data is lead generation. It is a source of information for companies seeking B2B clients. For example, a recruitment company can use job postings to identify which businesses require new employees, so it can approach the prospective client and offer its recruitment services. Alternatively, recruitment companies can match candidates with the best positions by using job postings data and ensuring they are a perfect fit.
Businesses from any industry can benefit from job postings data. Regardless of the activity field, businesses can use this source of alternative data to identify when their potential clients are expanding and ensure that they are approached at the right time, maximizing sales opportunities. Although initially used in the investment industry, alternative data is increasingly being adopted by B2B and B2C companies across all sectors, including retail, transportation, logistics, and more.
Summary
Alternative data, including job postings data, have become more and more popular due to the myriad of applications. In short, the most important benefit of using job postings data is obtaining a competitive advantage. Whether you are a business manager, an investor, or anything else in between, job postings data can be useful regardless of your industry. You can identify business performance and growth, general market direction, recognize potential clients for B2B activities, pinpoint buying signals for profitable companies, and many more.
