A Glossary of Key Terms in Data Sources and Event Artifacts for Timeline Building

In the dynamic worlds of HR and recruiting, understanding the flow and context of information is paramount. Building accurate and comprehensive timelines for candidates, employees, and projects relies heavily on identifying and leveraging various data sources and their associated event artifacts. This glossary provides HR and recruiting professionals with essential definitions to navigate the complexities of data management, automation, and strategic decision-making, ensuring you can reconstruct and analyze critical activity sequences with precision.

Data Source

A data source refers to the original location from which data is collected. In HR and recruiting, this can include a wide array of systems and platforms, each holding unique insights. Examples include Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) for candidate application details, Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) for employee records, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems like Keap for client or candidate interactions, and even spreadsheets, email platforms, or social media profiles. Identifying and properly integrating these diverse data sources is the first critical step in building a complete and accurate activity timeline, providing the raw material for understanding historical events and predicting future trends.

Event Artifact

An event artifact is a piece of data that records a specific action or occurrence at a particular point in time. These artifacts are the building blocks of any timeline, marking key moments in a process. For HR, an event artifact might be a candidate submitting an application, an interview being scheduled, a background check being initiated, an offer letter being sent, or an employee completing a training module. Each artifact provides tangible evidence of an event, complete with a timestamp and associated details, allowing professionals to reconstruct complex sequences of activities and understand the journey of a candidate or employee through their lifecycle within an organization.

Timeline Building

Timeline building is the process of collecting, organizing, and visualizing event artifacts in chronological order to represent a sequence of activities or a journey. In HR and recruiting, this typically involves mapping out the candidate journey from initial contact to hire, or tracking an employee’s progression from onboarding to exit. The goal is to create a clear, comprehensive, and verifiable record of interactions and milestones. Effective timeline building allows HR and recruiting professionals to identify bottlenecks, measure process efficiency, ensure compliance, resolve disputes, and gain insights into the effectiveness of their strategies, ultimately leading to better decision-making and operational improvements.

CRM Data (Customer Relationship Management)

CRM data, in the context of HR and recruiting, extends beyond just customer interactions to encompass all engagements with potential and current candidates, as well as clients (for staffing firms). Systems like Keap or HighLevel store contact information, communication history (emails, calls), meeting notes, and deal stages that can represent candidate progress or client engagement. This data is invaluable for building comprehensive timelines, as it often captures early-stage interactions, follow-ups, and relationship developments that precede or complement activities recorded in dedicated HR systems. Leveraging CRM data ensures a holistic view of an individual’s journey, from initial outreach to successful placement or employment.

ATS Data (Applicant Tracking System)

ATS data forms the core of recruiting timelines, documenting every stage of a candidate’s progression through the hiring process. This includes application submissions, resume details, screening results, interview schedules, feedback, offer status, and rejection reasons. An ATS acts as a central repository for candidate-specific event artifacts. Integrating ATS data with other sources allows HR and recruiting teams to construct precise timelines of recruitment activities, identify where candidates drop off, assess the efficiency of different recruitment funnels, and ensure a smooth, compliant hiring experience. It provides the granular detail needed to optimize talent acquisition strategies.

HRIS Data (Human Resources Information System)

HRIS data is central to managing the employee lifecycle, from onboarding to exit. It encompasses a vast array of information, including personal details, employment history, compensation, benefits enrollment, performance reviews, training records, and organizational structure. For timeline building, HRIS data provides critical event artifacts such as hire dates, promotion dates, salary changes, leave requests, and performance milestones. Integrating HRIS data allows HR professionals to construct comprehensive employee timelines, crucial for understanding career progression, ensuring compliance with labor laws, managing compensation, and identifying trends in employee engagement and retention.

Webhook

A webhook is an automated method of communication that allows applications to send real-time information to other applications when a specific event occurs. Unlike traditional APIs where an application has to constantly “ask” for new data, a webhook “pushes” data to a predefined URL as soon as an event happens. In automation for HR and recruiting, webhooks are incredibly powerful for creating instant timelines. For example, when a candidate submits an application in an ATS, a webhook can immediately trigger a workflow to update a CRM, send a notification, or initiate a background check, ensuring that event artifacts are captured and processed without delay, creating a robust, real-time timeline.

API (Application Programming Interface)

An API defines the methods and protocols that enable different software applications to communicate with each other. It acts as an intermediary, allowing systems to request and exchange data. In the context of HR and recruiting, APIs are fundamental for integrating disparate data sources, such as pulling candidate data from an ATS into a CRM, or synchronizing employee records from an HRIS with a payroll system. While webhooks offer real-time pushes for specific events, APIs are often used for broader data synchronization, allowing for scheduled data pulls or complex queries to gather the necessary event artifacts for constructing comprehensive and historical timelines.

Data Integration

Data integration is the process of combining data from various sources into a unified, coherent view. For HR and recruiting, this means linking information from ATS, HRIS, CRM, payroll, learning management systems, and other platforms. The goal is to eliminate data silos, create a single source of truth, and enable a holistic understanding of candidate and employee journeys. Successful data integration allows for the seamless flow of event artifacts across systems, making it possible to build accurate, end-to-end timelines that provide deeper insights into operational efficiency, candidate experience, and employee satisfaction, ultimately supporting strategic decision-making.

ETL (Extract, Transform, Load)

ETL stands for Extract, Transform, Load, a three-step process used to integrate data from multiple sources into a data warehouse or other centralized repository. In the HR and recruiting context, this means: 1. **Extracting** data from various systems (ATS, HRIS, CRM). 2. **Transforming** the data by cleaning, standardizing, and deduplicating it to ensure consistency and quality (e.g., standardizing date formats, resolving conflicting candidate records). 3. **Loading** the transformed data into a target system where it can be analyzed and used for timeline building. ETL ensures that event artifacts from different systems are harmonized and ready for accurate chronological sequencing and analysis.

Data Governance

Data governance refers to the overall management of data availability, usability, integrity, and security within an organization. It establishes the policies, procedures, and responsibilities for ensuring that data is accurate, consistent, and compliant with regulations (like GDPR or CCPA). For HR and recruiting, robust data governance is critical for timeline building because it ensures the reliability of event artifacts. It dictates how candidate and employee data is collected, stored, accessed, and archived, minimizing errors, protecting privacy, and maintaining the trustworthiness of historical records. Without good data governance, timelines can be incomplete, inaccurate, or non-compliant, leading to flawed insights and potential legal issues.

Data Integrity

Data integrity refers to the overall accuracy, completeness, and consistency of data throughout its lifecycle. In the context of HR and recruiting timelines, maintaining data integrity means ensuring that every event artifact is precise, free from errors, and consistently formatted across all systems. For example, a candidate’s application date should be the same whether viewed in the ATS, CRM, or a reporting dashboard. Poor data integrity can lead to fragmented or contradictory timelines, making it impossible to gain reliable insights or make informed decisions. Implementing strict data validation rules and regular data audits are essential practices for preserving data integrity and building trustworthy historical records.

Candidate Journey Map

A candidate journey map is a visual representation of the entire experience a candidate has with an organization, from initial awareness to hiring and potentially onboarding. It maps out all touchpoints and interactions, acting as a specialized timeline. Each stage of the journey—discovery, application, screening, interviews, offer, and acceptance—is marked by specific event artifacts. HR and recruiting professionals use these maps to identify pain points, optimize communication, improve the candidate experience, and ultimately enhance hiring efficiency. By meticulously tracking each event artifact, organizations can pinpoint areas for improvement and create a more engaging and effective recruitment process.

Employee Lifecycle

The employee lifecycle is a framework that describes the stages an employee goes through within an organization, from hire to exit. This comprehensive timeline typically includes stages such as recruitment, onboarding, development, retention, and offboarding. Each stage generates numerous event artifacts, such as performance review dates, training completions, promotion announcements, and exit interview details. By mapping these events, HR professionals can gain deep insights into employee engagement, career progression, training effectiveness, and turnover reasons. Understanding the employee lifecycle through a well-constructed timeline allows organizations to optimize HR strategies, enhance employee satisfaction, and foster a productive work environment.

Audit Trail

An audit trail is a chronological record of events that provides documentary evidence of the sequence of activities that have affected a specific operation, procedure, or event artifact. In HR and recruiting, an audit trail meticulously logs who did what, when, and where, regarding candidate or employee data. For example, it might record when a recruiter updated a candidate’s status, when an offer letter was sent, or when an employee’s salary was adjusted. Audit trails are crucial for ensuring compliance with regulations, providing transparency, resolving disputes, and verifying the accuracy and integrity of timelines, offering an irrefutable history of critical actions and data changes.

If you would like to read more, we recommend this article: Secure & Reconstruct Your HR & Recruiting Activity Timelines with CRM-Backup