Recruiting Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs for short, are the tools that let hiring pros check if their recruitment engine is running smoothly or it's time for a tune-up. These metrics are a godsend for measuring just how well (or not) your hiring strategies are doing.
For those of us in the trenches of hiring - whether you're leading an HR team in a bustling corporate environment, running a recruiting agency, or anywhere in between - these KPIs are more than just numbers. They tell the story of our hiring efforts, showing us where we can improve and celebrate our wins.
You might hear these indicators called by different names, like Talent Acquisition KPIs or simply Hiring KPIs, but they all serve the same purpose. They're our roadmap to making smarter, more informed decisions in the world of recruitment.
So, let's dive into what's hot in the world of recruiting KPIs for 2024.
1. Time to Hire
Measures the days between a candidate's initial contact and their acceptance of the job offer.
Example: If a candidate is contacted on day 10 and accepts on day 29, the Time to Hire is 19 days.
SHRM reports it takes 36 days on average to hire.
2. Sourcing Efficiency
Identifies the most effective sourcing channel by comparing the number of hires to the total number of candidates sourced from each channel.
Example: 9 hires from 100 applications equals a 9% efficiency rate.
3. Application completion rate
The ratio of completed applications to initiated applications.
Example: 137 completions from 155 starts equals an 88.38% completion rate.
4. Total applications to candidates interviewed ratio
Assesses the quality of candidates passed from the initial application stage to the interview stage.
Example: An average ratio in staffing agencies is 3:1.
5. Cost Per Application Rate
The average cost associated with generating a single application.
Example: $300 spent for 37 applications equals an $8.10 cost per application.
6. Interview to hired ratio
The proportion of interviewed candidates who receive a job offer.
Example: 19 offers from 37 interviews equals a 51.35% ratio.
Statistic: NACE states an average rate of 42.1%.
7. Offer acceptance rate
The percentage of accepted job offers out of all offers made.
Example: 7 acceptances from 16 offers equals a 43.75% acceptance rate.
8. Cost per hire
Measures the average expense incurred in recruiting a new hire, encompassing both internal and external costs.
Example: If a company spends $5,000 on internal recruiting efforts and $15,000 on external efforts over a period, and hires 10 new employees, the cost per hire would be ($5,000 + $15,000) / 10 = $2,000.
9. Achieving hiring targets
Measures the recruitment team's success in meeting the set hiring targets within a specific timeframe. It’s stated as making a certain number of hires within a decided time.
Example: If a company sets a target to hire 50 employees within a quarter and successfully hires 45, the hires-to-goal ratio would be (45 / 50) * 100 = 90%.
10. Candidate Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Assesses candidate satisfaction with the recruiting process, based on their likelihood to recommend the company as an employer.
Example: If 70% of candidates are promoters (score 9-10), 20% are passives (score 7-8), and 10% are detractors (score 0-6), the NPS would be 70% - 10% = 60%.
11. Site and social analytics
Involves analyzing data from recruitment websites and social media to understand visitor behavior and preferences.
Example: A company notices that blog posts about company culture have higher engagement and shares compared to job listings, indicating a candidate preference for learning about company values.
12. Retention rate
The percentage of employees who stay at the company over a specified period is typically measured annually.
Example: If a company starts the year with 100 employees, hires 20 more during the year, and ends with 110, the retention rate would be [(110 - 20) / 100] * 100 = 90%.
13. Rejection rate
Percentage of applicants deemed unsuitable during the recruitment process.
Example: 68 rejections from 155 applications equals a 43.87% rejection rate.
14. Drop-off per stage ratio
Identifies candidate drop-off rates at each stage of the recruitment process.
Goal: Analyze and improve the hiring process to reduce candidate drop-off, enhancing the overall candidate experience.
How to recruit better, faster, easier?
With One-Way Video Interviews
- Enhance Time to Hire: Utilizing one-way video interviews significantly reduces the time to fill positions by allowing quick screening of candidates. This method streamlines the process, as recruiters can review videos at their convenience, speeding up decision-making.
- Boost Sourcing Channel Efficiency: Incorporating video interviews into your recruitment process can increase the attractiveness of your job postings. Demonstrating innovative hiring practices can draw more candidates from your sourcing channels, enhancing overall efficiency.
- Optimize Submit to Interview Ratio: By pre-screening candidates through their video submissions, you can ensure only the most suitable are moved forward to the interview stage, optimizing the ratio and saving valuable time for your hiring managers.
One-way interviews can backfire if not done the right with a platform that ensures a 5-star candidate experience. When you choose a platform to help you with ‘hiring’- the most important work in your company, you need it to deliver on all the shiny promises it makes.
Choose Vesume, get into the candidate’s shoes and experience an interview here. Loving the experience? Book a product demo to see the recruiter side of things.
Innovative Recruitment Campaigns:
- Gamified Challenges: Launch gamified elements in your recruitment process to engage potential candidates actively. This approach can increase the quality of hires by attracting individuals who are not only skilled but also enjoy problem-solving and creativity.
- Virtual Reality Experiences: Offer candidates virtual reality tours of your office or provide them with VR experiences that simulate the role they’re applying for. It’s a unique way to engage tech-savvy talent and provide a glimpse into your company culture.
Social Media Engagement:
Employee Testimonials and Day-in-the-Life Videos: Use social media platforms to share employee testimonials and day-in-the-life videos. This strategy enhances your company’s image as a desirable place to work, increasing the Offer Acceptance Rate by giving candidates a real insight into your company culture.
More on how one-way video interviews lead to KPI improvement
- Improving Quality of Hire: One-way video interviews allow recruiters to better assess a candidate's fit for the company culture and role before proceeding to more resource-intensive interview stages, potentially improving the quality of hire by ensuring only the most aligned candidates advance.
- Reducing Cost Per Hire: By streamlining the early stages of the recruitment process, one-way video interviews can reduce the need for in-person interviews, thus lowering travel and accommodation expenses associated with recruitment, directly impacting the Cost Per Hire KPI.
- Enhancing Candidate Net Promoter Score (NPS): A smooth, innovative interview process like one-way video interviewing can improve candidate experience, reflecting positively on your Candidate NPS. It shows your company is valuing candidates’ time and keeping up with modern, efficient interview practices.
- Increasing Application Completion Rate: Simplifying the application process with the integration of one-way video interviews can encourage more candidates to complete their applications. The convenience and novelty of video submissions can reduce the drop-off rate, thus enhancing the Application Completion Rate.
The quality of your hires determines the ‘work output’ and you only hire the best people with a modern hiring process. Hire better and faster with a lower recruitment budget along with improving the overall candidate experience, and your employer brand in the competitive job market with Vesume!