6 Indicators to Measure Recruitment Effectiveness

KPI for recruiters

There is a common misconception that it’s challenging to measure recruitment success. That misconception is the result of limited thinking, the insistence on qualifying talent acquisition as an HR function when it is really a business function. Pull the camera back and look at recruitment from a bigger perspective. In business, you’re tracking indicators that a project or initiative is (or has) been making progress. That same mindset will help you measure the efficacy of your talent acquisition team, system, and process. 

The following six indicators can help you identify areas of success or breakdowns:

1. Velocity: Average number of days in process for candidates
There are several reasons to measure “time in process” over the typical “time to hire.” As we sit near 3% unemployment, the war for talent has never been tougher. There are a couple of ways that delays in the process can negatively impact recruitment. If your team isn’t responsive in moving candidates through the process, those candidates will be hired by competitors. “Candidate fatigue” during which the constant low-grade stress of being under consideration can also sour candidates on your offer (However, don’t make the mistake of moving too quickly). A healthy process includes a candidate touchpoint every week and total time in the process (from sourced/applied to resolution) of about three weeks.

2. Success: Percentage of offers accepted v. declined
The only offers that matter are those that are accepted! At Y Scouts, we work closely with candidates in the process to ensure they are connected to our team and feel a bond with their prospective employer. We have candid conversations to understand the elements that constitute an offer the candidates will accept. Managing candidate experience is the “How” and the percentage of offers accepted is the “What.”

3. Retention: Percent of new hires in good standing with the organization at the 12-month mark
Hires who don’t stay can’t help your business. Retention issues have a significant negative impact on your culture/morale, may point to deeper issues beyond talent acquisition, and are financially costly to your organization. Is your talent acquisition team helping hiring leaders hire candidates who stick and perform well?

4. Satisfaction: Hiring Manager and Hired Candidate NPS scores
Getting feedback on both short and long term satisfaction from hiring leaders and candidates will give you valuable information on what is working well and which issues are recurrent. Conduct regular check-ins (on days 7, 30, 90, and 120) with candidates and hiring leaders tracking each segment’s satisfaction. (Sign up here to get notification about a future post on what to include in this check-in!)

5. Efficiency: Funnel “pass rate” between interview stages
Through your process, at each interview stage, are at least 50% of your candidates moving to the next round? Understanding your “pass rate” can give you insight into the strength of your sourcing, assessment capabilities, calibration to your competency model, and alignment of your hiring leader to your recruitment team. If you’re having screening conversations with tons of candidates and very few are moving to the next stage, you may need to improve your resume review abilities or fine-tune a role description to better align with hiring leader expectations. If between the onsite interview and the offer many candidates are withdrawing, you may need to review the candidate experience.

6. Efficiency: Number of candidates interviewed in final round per hire
Maintaining a high bar for excellence will help you bring only the very best candidates to the final interview stage. This measure, which takes place at the end of the recruitment process, is rooted in the launch of the search: that time spent gaining an understanding of the role requirements, capability and qualification must-haves and nice-to-haves, and the competitive market for this hire. If you are interviewing more than 5 candidates in the final round there is an opportunity to tighten up the selection process.

Approaching the evaluation of your recruitment model with a business mindset will allow you to better identify opportunities and make improvements to your talent acquisition process and drive better results through hiring.