Why your data matters more than ever in NHS recruitment

If you've read our earlier blogs in this series, you'll know we've already looked at how improving the candidate experience and streamlining onboarding can revolutionise recruitment across the NHS. But there's another key ingredient that underpins true transformation - and that's data.

I know what you might be thinking – "data" can often feel like the most technical and least inspiring part of any recruitment conversation. But hear me out. When used properly, recruitment data has the power to unlock improvements not just in hiring, but across your entire workforce strategy. It's the fuel that powers transformation.

Our latest whitepaper, Transforming Recruitment in the NHS, delves into this in more detail. But let's take a quick look at what's possible when data stops being a burden and starts becoming a driver of transformation.

👉 Curious already? Download the whitepaper below to explore this topic and much more.

The silent problem: a lack of accessible data

One of the most common frustrations we hear from NHS recruitment teams is how difficult it can be to access basic performance metrics. Whether it's time-to-hire figures, vacancy pipelines or diversity monitoring, many trusts are still relying on heavy manual interrogation, spreadsheets and patchy reporting tools to gather insights.

In some cases, pulling together even standardised reports for national frameworks can take a week each month. That's a huge investment of time for insights that should, by now, be instantly available at the click of a button.

When recruitment functions lack real-time data, it becomes almost impossible to identify what's working – and what isn't.

From 'nice to have' to necessity

If you can measure it, you can improve it. It might sound cliché, but in the complex and busy world of NHS recruitment – where each day that a role remains unfilled increases costs and pressure on staff – it really couldn't be more relevant.

With the right tools, your recruitment data can become a real-time performance dashboard. Simple data metrics with instant access including:

• Application volumes and drop-off points

• Time-to-hire, broken down by department

• DBS and onboarding timelines

• Cost-per-hire trends over time

• Equality and diversity analytics throughout each hiring stage

As well as being the kind of insight that can clearly help you fill vacancies faster, it also helps you prove the effectiveness of strategies, secure budget for improvements and build trust with internal stakeholders. Not to mention reducing reliance on agency and bank staff, as well as time-consuming, manual admin.

📥 Want to see what's possible? Download this whitepaper and find out how other NHS organisations are already turning their data into action.

Data that drives meaningful change

The real beauty of having trustworthy, timely data is more than just about reporting - it's about learning from it.

For example, some of the organisations we've supported have used data to understand why candidates are dropping off mid-application. They've then been able to go away and rethink / redesign application forms to reduce potential friction points. Others have tracked which roles consistently take the longest to fill and tweaked their advertising strategies to get better results.

The whitepaper touches on just a few of these examples, but the potential is vast. If you've ever wondered why a particular vacancy always takes three times as long to fill, or whether all that time building out a new ED&I policy was the right thing to do - your data holds the answers.

When you have a system that lets you customise reports or feed them into your own data lake, your recruitment team will move from reactive admin to truly proactive decision-making.

This is just the beginning

Data is just one step on the transformation journey – and our whitepaper explores how it fits alongside five other critical areas, including:

• The role of modern recruitment technology

• Enhancing the candidate experience

• Streamlining onboarding (and why it's often the biggest delay)

• Collaborating across trusts to maximise resources

• Perhaps most importantly – building true recruitment efficiency

Each of these areas can stand on their own, but put them together and they form a really powerful roadmap for change and transformation. While every trust is different, there's one consistent takeaway: with the right support and tools in place, transformation is truly achievable - and it's already happening.

📘 Get the full picture. Download Transforming Recruitment in the NHS today and see what's possible for your trust.

A final word

If there's one thing to take away from this blog, it's this: recruitment data isn't a tick-box exercise. It's the evidence base you need to change minds, prove ROI and build a recruitment function fit for the future.

As more NHS organisations move towards centralised recruitment, shared service centres and integrated systems, the ability to access and act on recruitment data will continue to grow in importance.

If your current approach to recruitment data feels like a slog, maybe it's time to take a step back and ask - "what could we do if we had better tools?"

That's exactly the question our whitepaper aims to help answer.

🔍 Download your copy now 👇 - just add your details below to download for free.