A Glossary of Key Terms in Data Management & Integration
In today’s fast-paced HR and recruiting landscape, leveraging data effectively is no longer optional—it’s essential for competitive advantage. Understanding the core terminology around data management and integration empowers professionals to make informed decisions, streamline operations, and harness the full potential of automation and AI. This glossary demystifies key concepts, providing clear, actionable definitions tailored for HR and recruiting leaders looking to optimize their talent acquisition and management strategies.
Data Integration
Data integration refers to the process of combining data from various disparate sources into a unified view. For HR and recruiting professionals, this means connecting systems like your Applicant Tracking System (ATS), CRM, HRIS, payroll, and learning management platforms. Effective data integration eliminates manual data entry, reduces errors, and provides a comprehensive candidate or employee profile, enabling richer insights and more personalized experiences. It’s foundational for creating automated workflows, such as automatically moving candidate data from an ATS to a CRM after an offer is accepted, or syncing employee data with benefits providers.
API (Application Programming Interface)
An API is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate and interact with each other. Think of it as a waiter in a restaurant: you (the application) tell the waiter what you want (a request), and the waiter goes to the kitchen (another application) to get it for you. In HR tech, APIs enable seamless data exchange between your various systems – for instance, allowing a job board to automatically post open positions from your ATS, or a background check service to securely pull candidate information directly from your HRIS without manual intervention. Leveraging APIs is crucial for building robust, interconnected automation solutions.
Webhook
A webhook is an automated message sent from an application when a specific event occurs. Unlike APIs, which require you to actively “pull” data, webhooks “push” data to a specified URL in real-time. This makes them incredibly powerful for event-driven automation in HR. For example, when a candidate updates their profile in your ATS, a webhook can instantly trigger an automation that sends a notification to the recruiter, updates a spreadsheet, or initiates a follow-up email. Webhooks are the backbone of many real-time integration and automation platforms, allowing for immediate responses to critical recruiting milestones.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
While traditionally focused on sales and customer interactions, CRM systems are increasingly vital for recruiting and talent management. In this context, a CRM can become a “Candidate Relationship Management” system, used to track interactions with potential hires, manage talent pipelines, and nurture relationships with passive candidates over time. Platforms like Keap, for example, can store rich candidate profiles, automate personalized communication sequences, and track engagement, helping recruiters build stronger relationships and shorten time-to-hire, particularly for hard-to-fill roles or executive searches.
ATS (Applicant Tracking System)
An ATS is a software application designed to help recruiters and employers manage the recruitment and hiring process. It handles everything from job postings and application collection to candidate screening, interview scheduling, and offer management. While essential for managing volume, modern ATS platforms also integrate with other HR tools via APIs and webhooks to streamline workflows further. For instance, an ATS can automatically push new hire data to an HRIS or generate contracts via an e-signature tool, ensuring a smooth transition from applicant to employee and reducing administrative burden on recruiting teams.
Data Governance
Data governance refers to the overall management of the availability, usability, integrity, and security of data within an organization. For HR and recruiting, this means establishing clear policies and procedures for how candidate and employee data is collected, stored, used, and protected. Strong data governance ensures compliance with regulations like GDPR or CCPA, minimizes data risks, and maintains data quality. It’s about creating a framework that dictates who can access what data, for what purpose, and how long it should be retained, ensuring ethical and responsible data handling across all talent-related processes.
Data Silo
A data silo occurs when one department or system holds data that is isolated and not easily accessible or shareable with other parts of the organization. In HR and recruiting, this might look like candidate data trapped in an ATS, separate from interview notes in a shared drive, or employee performance reviews stored independently from their compensation data. Data silos hinder a holistic view of talent, impede cross-functional collaboration, and make it difficult to run comprehensive analytics. Breaking down data silos through integration is critical for creating a Single Source of Truth and enabling end-to-end automation.
ETL (Extract, Transform, Load)
ETL is a three-phase process used to integrate data from various sources into a data warehouse or another centralized repository. “Extract” involves gathering raw data from different systems (e.g., your ATS, HRIS, payroll). “Transform” cleans, standardizes, and consolidates the data into a usable format (e.g., removing duplicates, standardizing job titles). “Load” then moves the transformed data into the target system. While often a backend process, ETL is vital for HR analytics, enabling organizations to combine talent data from numerous sources to identify hiring trends, evaluate recruitment effectiveness, and forecast workforce needs accurately.
Workflow Automation
Workflow automation is the design and implementation of technology to automate a sequence of tasks or steps in a business process. In HR and recruiting, this can encompass everything from automatically sending an acknowledgement email to job applicants, to triggering a series of onboarding tasks when a new hire is confirmed. By automating repetitive, rule-based processes, organizations can significantly reduce manual effort, minimize human error, improve efficiency, and free up HR professionals to focus on strategic initiatives rather than administrative tasks. It’s the engine that powers seamless candidate experiences and efficient HR operations.
Single Source of Truth (SSOT)
A Single Source of Truth (SSOT) is a concept in data management where all organizational data is compiled into a master reference point. The goal is to ensure that everyone in the organization, regardless of their department, is working from the same accurate and consistent data. For HR and recruiting, an SSOT could mean having a centralized platform where all candidate, employee, and organizational data resides or is easily accessible, preventing discrepancies and improving decision-making. This eliminates confusion arising from conflicting data sets across different systems, ensuring recruitment and HR teams have the most current and reliable information at their fingertips.
Data Migration
Data migration is the process of moving data from one computer storage type or format to another, or from one application to another. This is a common requirement in HR when implementing new systems, such as upgrading an old ATS to a modern cloud-based solution or transitioning to a new HRIS. A successful data migration ensures that all historical candidate records, employee information, and other critical HR data are accurately transferred without loss or corruption. Proper planning and execution of data migration are crucial to avoid disruptions and maintain data integrity during system transitions.
Data Cleansing
Data cleansing, also known as data scrubbing, is the process of detecting and correcting (or removing) corrupt or inaccurate records from a record set, table, or database. In the context of HR and recruiting, this involves identifying and fixing errors like duplicate candidate profiles, outdated contact information, inconsistent job titles, or missing required fields. Clean data improves the accuracy of analytics, ensures compliance, and enhances the effectiveness of automated outreach campaigns. Regularly cleansing your HR and recruiting databases is vital for maintaining high data quality and operational efficiency.
Data Security
Data security encompasses the measures taken to protect data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. For HR and recruiting, this is paramount given the sensitive nature of candidate and employee information, including personal details, compensation, and performance reviews. Implementing robust data security involves encryption, access controls, regular backups, and compliance with data protection regulations. Ensuring the security of your HR data is not only a legal requirement but also critical for maintaining trust with candidates and employees, safeguarding privacy, and preventing costly breaches.
Consent Management
Consent management refers to the process of obtaining, recording, and managing individuals’ permissions for the collection, use, and processing of their personal data. In HR and recruiting, this is particularly relevant under data privacy regulations like GDPR. It means ensuring that candidates explicitly agree to how their application data is used, stored, and shared, and providing them with easy ways to withdraw that consent or request data deletion. Effective consent management demonstrates transparency, builds trust with candidates, and helps organizations remain compliant with evolving data privacy laws globally.
HRIS (Human Resources Information System)
An HRIS is a software system that helps HR departments manage, process, and automate core HR functions. It typically includes modules for employee data management, payroll, benefits administration, time and attendance, and sometimes performance management. For recruiters, integrating an ATS with an HRIS ensures a smooth transition of new hire data from the recruitment phase directly into employee records, eliminating redundant data entry. An HRIS serves as a central hub for all employee-related information, providing a consolidated view that supports strategic workforce planning and compliance.
If you would like to read more, we recommend this article: Keap CRM Data Protection: The HR & Recruiting Implementation Checklist
