Big Data in Talent Selection and Assessment

This chapter provides a discussion of the role of big data in talent selection and assessment. It begins by defining big data and highlighting how it overlaps with the principles and goals of staffing practice. This is followed by a review of how big data are used and vary across the different components of an organization’s selection and assessment processes, with an emphasis on the similarities and differences between big data in talent management and other disciplines. The chapter then presents three business case studies to illustrate the types of big data encountered in applied settings and the related challenges and benefits. Finally, future applications of big data in selection and assessment are discussed, followed by several practical considerations associated with the collection, analysis, and interpretation of big data in talent management. For the purposes of this chapter, talent selection and assessment is defined narrowly to include organizational processes for attracting, selecting, developing, and retaining human capital (Society for Human Resource Management, 2015).