Multi-touch attribution (MTA) is a data-driven marketing methodology that assigns value to every interaction a candidate has with your employer brand before completing a desired action, such as applying for a job. Unlike simpler models that credit only the first or last touchpoint, MTA provides a holistic view of the recruitment marketing funnel, enabling teams to allocate budgets more effectively and personalize the candidate experience. Based on our assessment experience, companies that implement MTA can see a significant improvement in cost-per-hire and candidate quality.
How Does Multi-Touch Attribution Work for Recruitment?
Multi-touch attribution evaluates all candidate touchpoints—from clicking a social media ad to reading a blog post or attending a virtual event—and algorithmically assigns fractional credit to each one. This process moves beyond last-touch attribution, which might give all the credit to the job board where the application was submitted, ignoring the brand-building efforts that made the candidate aware in the first place. For recruitment, a conversion event could be a job application, a newsletter sign-up, or a profile creation on your career site. By analyzing the entire candidate journey, MTA reveals which channels work together to nurture prospects into applicants.
What Are the Key Multi-Touch Attribution Models?
Selecting the right model depends on your recruitment goals and sales cycle length. Here are the most common types:
- Linear Model: Values every touchpoint equally. If a candidate interacts with four channels before applying, each receives 25% of the credit. This is simple but may overvalue minor interactions.
- Time Decay Model: Assigns more credit to touchpoints closer to the conversion. This is useful for short, high-volume hiring cycles where the final push is critical.
- U-Shaped (Position-Based) Model: Attributes 40% of the credit to the first touch (e.g., seeing a LinkedIn ad) and 40% to the lead creation touch (e.g., signing up for job alerts), distributing the remaining 20% among intermediate touches. This model emphasizes top-of-funnel awareness and mid-funnel engagement, which is vital for long-term employer branding.
How to Implement Multi-Touch Attribution in Your Recruitment Strategy?
Implementing MTA requires a structured approach to data collection and analysis.
- Define Goals and KPIs: Start by identifying what you want to improve. Is it reducing cost-per-application or increasing the number of qualified leads? Your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), such as application conversion rate or source-of-hire quality, will guide your model selection.
- Foster Collaboration: This is not just an HR project. Gather your marketing team, data analysts, and hiring managers. Good communication between these stakeholders is essential for collecting clean data from all channels.
- Deploy Analytics Tools: Utilize marketing analytics software with MTA capabilities to centralize data from your career site, social media, and programmatic job ads. These platforms help sort data into digestible metrics.
- Test and Optimize: Use the insights to understand which channels are most effective. Conduct A/B testing on your career pages or ad copy. Continuous monitoring allows you to reallocate your recruitment marketing budget away from underperforming channels and toward those that genuinely drive high-quality applicants.
By understanding the contribution of each marketing touchpoint, you can move beyond guesswork and make strategic decisions that enhance your recruitment efficiency and candidate quality.
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