5 Recruitment Metrics You Need to Optimize for Best Results

What are Recruitment Metrics?

Let’s be real: the recruiting process is no walk in the park. Naturally, you’re bound to bump into a couple of obstacles along the way. In order to make better hiring decisions, it is crucial to carefully analyze any problems you’ve encountered and evaluate the effectiveness of the overall process. How do I do that, you ask? Say hello to recruitment metrics! 

Collected at key points in the recruiting process, recruitment metrics are measurements used to track and enhance the process of hiring candidates.

Essentially, these data points make more of a difference than you might think. The last thing we want is to waste precious time, money, and energy on talent-seeking methods that aren’t really doing the trick — which is why it is important to gain a thorough understanding of what’s working and what isn’t. By carefully analyzing recruitment metrics, you can then identify areas for improvement and streamline the recruiting process as a whole. 

Ready to get started? Here are five metrics to monitor for desirable outcomes! You don’t want to miss out on these. 

Time to Hire

57% of job seekers lose interest in the job if the hiring process is too long. 

Essentially, time to hire refers to the amount of time it takes to not only source a new candidate but also move them through the overall hiring process. The longer it takes to do so, the more trouble it’ll cause in the long run. If the candidates in your pipeline notice unnecessary complications and excessive delays along the way, it’ll cause them to lose interest in the position altogether.

Needless to say, it is then important to carefully monitor this metric and fully utilize it in order to get a better idea of your turnaround time and also make the recruiting process more efficient. Reducing the number of steps it takes to hire candidates can really benefit you in the long run. Candidates won’t be able to resist.

Here’s what you can do:

• Shorten the application form
• Perform pre-employment screenings to find suitable candidates
• Carefully structure your interviews
• Immediately offer the job to the candidate of your choice 

Quality of Hire

The success of a company has a direct correlation with its employees.

To put it simply, there is nothing more important than hiring somebody who possesses the right skills and qualities for the job position at hand. In order to determine whether or not you’ve recruited the correct candidates, it is crucial to pay close attention to the quality of the hiring metric. From performance to productivity to cultural fit, an array of factors may potentially contribute to the data. The exact formula, essentially, varies from business to business. 

One of the most crucial factors to assess is employee retention. If a solid % of your fresh hires quit before the end of their probation period, there’s a chance the problem might be in your recruiting process.

Image credits: Pixabay

9 in 10 new employees leave within a month if they feel the hiring process misled them. 

Wondering what you can do to improve the quality of your hires? Consider the following tips:

• Use artificial intelligence software to automate sections of the workflow and save time
• Identify your most successful hiring sources
• Review your screening filters
• Avoid the urge to make decisions solely based on the interview 
• Ask colleagues for input and assistance 

Source of Hire

Knowing where your best hires are coming from is essential to recruiting success. 

From employee referrals to social media, a plethora of channels contributes to the process of producing candidates in your recruitment funnel. By carefully identifying the primary source, you’ll save valuable time and find quality candidates for future vacancies. Additionally, you won’t have to waste precious resources in departments where they aren’t making much of a difference. It is up to you to identify which one serves as your #1 source of talent acquisition and then make active efforts to improve marketing and make financial investments for the success of the company. 

67% of recruiters say that LinkedIn is the top social media channel offering the highest quality candidates.

In today’s modern and digitalized world, social media remains the go-to platform for candidates in need of a job opportunity, thus making it an ideal source for you to prioritize and analyze. However, the top channels naturally vary from business to business — so feel free to keep metrics on career pages and job boards alongside social media platforms to look for common patterns. 

Pay attention to:

• Web analytics 
• Applicant tracking system (ATS) reports 
• Data from your recruiting team 

Additionally, consider going directly to the candidate and asking them the following:

• How did you find this job?
• Which channel did you use to apply?

Believe it or not: this simple automated survey can go a long way. Utilize the results to determine the most effective sources and allocate a more substantial recruitment budget. 

Cost to Fill a Job Position

The cost to fill a job position can really make or break a company’s annual budget. 

The sheer significance of money is undeniable, meaning it remains important to analyze the cost per new hire. Without adequate monitoring and planning, the company could be subject to disastrous financial outcomes. Essentially, the amount of money it takes to successfully get a new employee on board might be a bit more than you think.

The median cost per hire in the United States is $1633.

That’s a lot, isn’t it? Calculating the cost per hire is essential to staying on budget and eventually attaining long-term success. 

Here’s how you do it:

Divide the total internal and external recruiting costs by the total number of new hires.  

Once you have an idea of your cost per hire, you can then take effective measures to refine the departments where you spend the vast majority of your resources and decrease your overall spending. It is important to note that the cost to fill a job position also has a direct correlation with other metrics like time to fill a position — so if it takes you less time to hire a new candidate, it’ll naturally cost you less money along the way as well.

Alarmed by your statistics and afraid of their financial impact on the company? Here are some ways to reduce your cost per hire: 

• Increase employee referrals 
• Utilize social media
• Use free job boards
• Attend virtual job fairs 

Job Acceptance Rate 

There’s really nothing more vital in the long run than having a sufficient, qualified workforce. Defined as the % of people who accept your offer, your job acceptance rate is an indicator of not only how lucrative your positions are but also what needs to be done in order to successfully meet candidates’ needs and expectations in the future. 

Image credits: Pixabay

Here’s how you calculate it:

Divide the number of offers accepted by the number of offers extended. 

In order to increase your job acceptance rate, you must first make sure you don’t take too long to decide. On top of that, you must take into account all of the metrics we just discussed and diligently review your recruiting process to see why someone might be turning you down. If the rate isn’t as high as you’d like it to be, chances are…candidates aren’t happy with one or more aspects of your offer. Needless to say, you must then leave no stone unturned in satisfying these individuals for the greater good of your company. 

As you make the onboarding process simpler and more efficient, simultaneously follow the tips below in order to attract new hires: 

• Offer a competitive salary
• Provide them with substantial benefits and long probation periods 
• Improve their interview experiences
• Simplify the onboarding process 

Though enhancing your hiring process is often time-consuming and difficult, it undoubtedly pays off in the form of long-term prosperity. And the first step is simple: monitor and optimize your recruitment metrics for ideal results. We hope this guide has helped you learn how to do so — and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors. 

Never underestimate the importance of key data. 

Are you looking for a fresh pipeline of high-quality leads every single month? Welcome to Tash Ads! Here, we devote ourselves to finding the ideal candidates for you in a timely, cost-efficient manner. And how do we do that, you ask? Our team of trained experts leverages LinkedIn marketing to help you reach new heights of success. So what are you waiting for? All of this could be yours — and more. Book an appointment with us today to dominate the industry! 

Recruiters, we know that your top goal is to fill vacant job positions and hire the correct people as employees for an organization — and we are here to help you turn this very aspiration into reality! You no longer have to search for prospective candidates. We’ll bring them to you.