Dive Brief:

• If Spotify can suggest music and Netflix can offer movies to stream, it's not a stretch for human resource departments to someday use the same technology to suggest solid job candidates, according to the Denver Post.
• The article notes that referrals and recommendations have been used forever, but with today's analytics, the process is beginning to shift to useable platforms like desktop computers and mobile devices.
• HR departments will be accessing data in such a way that some say a recruiter will know as much about job candidates as "they know about themselves."  Notably, some larger employers already use these strategies.

Dive Insight:

The Denver Post says that while social media's emergence seems to give recruiters "big data," it's not quite the entire story. Using algorithms, recruiters can detect patterns that emerge from LinkedIn updates, job description searches or job website visits.

For example, a two-hour commuter can be a great "passive" candidate for a job that would cut down on commuting distance, the Post says.

On the retention front, analytics might be used to tip off management of a talented employee's apparent interest in leaving the nest. With that, the manager can make a pre-emptive counter-offer. But while it is certain that data analytics will transform HR (and that transformation has already begun in some ways), no one is quite certain exactly how it will shake out.