17th June 2022

Avoiding inaccuracies and the misuse of employment data

Recruitment

Business intelligence is only as good as the data that supports it

Having access to accurate, up-to-date Business Intelligence (BI) supported by data is a source of competitive advantage. But there is always a need to make sure that you understand exactly what the BI is telling you.

Also, the exact meaning of a statistic is critical. It is very important to clarify the definitions of what a statistic actually refers to, if we are to interpret it properly and make decisions based on it.

When we are dealing with the systems we use within a recruitment agency it is relatively easy to guarantee the integrity of the data, the definitions and the conclusions that we might draw.

However, the real problem with trusting in the integrity of statistics comes when we do not have control of, or access to, the primary sources of data.

The misrepresentation of employment data

This opens up the potential for the misuse of employment data. There is more than one way that data may be misrepresented to us.

As a broad definition the misuse of statistics can be said to be using numbers in such a manner that – either by intent or through ignorance or carelessness – the conclusions are unjustified or incorrect.

Some common ways of misrepresenting what data may actually mean include:

Repeated misuse of employment data for political purposes

One misuse of employment data has been repeatedly made by the British government over several months. The essence of the remarks that have been made is typically that: ➣ There are more people in work now than there were before the pandemic.

This has been repeated a number of times in parliament and by ministers when appearing in the media. It is used in the context of inferring that the overall number of people in work has increased.

However, it has been fact-checked to show that it actually only refers to employees on payroll and doesn’t include those in self-employment. The true figure for the overall number of people in work has actually decreased.

The Full Fact fact-checking platform investigated this in April and the Ferret Fact Service also looked into it in May.

The data gospel according to ETZ!

ETZ’s Caspian business intelligence platform plugs in and uses the data from all the software that you use in your recruitment agency to provide you with insight.

You don’t have to worry about the integrity of the data because you already control the primary sources. When you identify trends and relationships in your business data with Caspian you can take it as gospel!

This complements ETZ’s leading timesheet, invoicing and payment platform that streamlines the recruitment back office. To find out more about releasing efficiency in the back office and unleashing the potential of your agency data, call us on +61 (0) 405 458 821 or book a demo.



Download your free guide

7 smart ideas to grow your recruitment agency.

Download Now
Download your free guide

Latest Posts

Recruitment

Recruiters leading the policy conversation on assurance for AI RecTechRecruiters leading the policy conversation on assurance for AI RecTech

25th March 2023

AI racing ahead as developments just keep on coming! The development wave of the latest generation of AI technologies continues...

Read more
Timesheets

Improving agency efficiency: Integrating expense management with timesheetsImproving agency efficiency: Integrating expense management with timesheets

20th March 2023

Tracing development of admin efficiency in recruitment Before the development of the personal computer (PC), clerical admin for recruitment businesses...

Read more
Recruitment

Recruiting overseas workers for Australia’s health and aged-care sectorRecruiting overseas workers for Australia’s health and aged-care sector

10th March 2023

The challenge of closing the health and care sector talent gap  Australia’s health services are experiencing staffing problems at scale....

Read more

See what ETZ could do for your agency with an online demo

Save hassle, time and money with our powerful software.

Book a Demo

Sign Up To Our Newsletter