No matter how seasoned you are as a recruiter, you can’t rely solely only on your intuition or experience to optimize hiring success. The playing field is leveled when data is leveraged as a basis for effective planning and decision making.
While specific hiring KPIs may vary from company to company, there are some metrics that every recruiter should be tracking to gauge how things are going accurately. They include:
1. Time to Hire
This metric shows the number of days between the start of a recruitment process and the point at which a candidate is hired. Calculate it by tracking the speed with which an applicant moves within a hiring process. By breaking down the hiring process and measuring how long it takes to move candidates from one stage to another, you can identify and correct any bottlenecks more accurately.
2. Cost Per Hire
Cost per hire is essential to managing both recruitment workflow and budget, as it lets a recruiter know the average amount spent on each new hire. This figure includes all costs related to recruiting, including onboarding, administrative expenses, and benefits.
- Calculate cost per hire by totaling all internal and external recruiting expenses and then dividing that figure by the total number of hires. Internal costs include everything related to your talent acquisition department, such as recruiter salaries, interviews, and employee referral programs. Expenses related to outside vendors and candidates, including agency fees, advertising, technology, job fairs, travel, relocation, and signing bonuses, go into the external cost bucket.
3. Qualified Candidates Per Opening
A qualified candidate is anyone who passes an application screening process and moves to the next recruitment step. This KPI is more meaningful than the number of applicants because it shows what a good fit a candidate would actually be. It is calculated by dividing the number of candidates selected for an interview by the number presented to a hiring manager.
- To increase the total number of qualified candidates, review sourcing and advertising materials. Make sure you fully understand the roles being filled, and define the right job requirements. Write strong job descriptions, expand your search for passive talent, and invest in the proper sourcing channels.
4. Sourcing Channel Effectiveness
This metric helps a recruiter determine which sourcing channels are working and which may need to be reconsidered. Tagging candidates can calculate it according to the source used to attract them; for example, LinkedIn, Facebook, an employee referral, or Indeed or another job board. Surveys can be used to glean this data. Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are also helpful.
5. Quality of Hire
This is the piece de resistance of candidate sourcing KPIs because it measures the value a new hire brings to a company. While quality can be hard to assess numerically, there are some proper quantifiable measurements; namely, are new hires meeting their own performance metrics, such as sales quotas or customer service ratings? Turnover and retention numbers, hiring manager satisfaction ratings, and/or the percentage of new hires promoted within a certain time period, can also be used.
Further Your Career with Search Wizards
Do you need help further understanding hiring KPIs as you build your career as a talent acquisition pro? Whether you’re looking to grow in your current role or find an awesome new opportunity, consider connecting with Search Wizards today to find a solution.
