Definition

Recruitment metrics are measurements that gauge the effectiveness and value of one’s hiring process. They record the amount of time, money and other resources spent on specific steps in the recruitment life cycle as well as show the conversation rates at particular phases of the recruitment funnel.

The recruitment metrics are becoming more important in the present data-driven business culture and every professional recruiter should be able to understand and track them.

Benefits of using recruitment metrics

Not only the recruitment metrics track the hiring success but they also allow the organisation to optimise their recruitment process – since they evaluate the process and make it easier to conclude whether the employer is hiring the right people.

Fine-tuning the recruitment process after reviewing the results from applying the recruitment metrics can bring a great return on investment as it will help ensure that someone suited for the job is hired rather than someone who is not.

Types of recruitment metrics

There are many recruitment metrics already established in the HR world, and new ones are regularly emerging. Some of the most important are:

  1. Time to fill – the number of days between publishing a recruitment ad and hiring the selected candidate
  2. Source of hire – conversations per channel measuring the effectiveness of different sourcing channels
  3. Applicants per opening – number of received applications for each position measures the job’s popularity
  4. Completed applications rate / Application drop-off rate – for companies that ask applicants to complete a specific application form a low completed application rate might mean that the application form is too complex or alert to technical issues in completing the form online
  5. Cost per hire – the total cost spent on the hiring process divided by the number of hires
  6. Quality of hire – the rating of the new employee first-year performance
  7. Offer acceptance rate – comparison between the number of candidates who have been given a job offer and the ones who have accepted it
  8. Candidate satisfaction – measured by giving surveys to the applicants during the hiring process
  9. Hiring manager satisfaction – how satisfied the hiring manager is with the new employee in his/her team.