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Establishing recruitment metrics is crucial when evaluating your recruitment team’s performance and creating effective sourcing strategies. There are countless metrics one could consider so it is important to focus on those that align with your organization, recruitment team and client needs.
The data derived from recruitment metrics provide insight into the successes and challenges of your current recruiting process. This will allow one to identify bottlenecks and efficiencies in the process and provide insight into possible solutions. There are 3 popular metrics for external recruiters working with small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs).
Time to Fill
This metric is important for all recruiters to measure, regardless of internal or external. A candidate can become disengaged when in the middle of a lengthy hiring process.
Companies also run the risk of losing the candidate to a competitor with a faster hiring process.
Statistics show that 50% of companies’ average time to hire is 1-2 months. If your process is much longer than your competitors, it may be worth examining the most time-consuming aspects of the process and finding ways to improve overall time to fill. If you’re having a hard time identifying the specific bottlenecks, consider implementing a funnel conversion rate metric.
Funnel Conversion Rate
This metric focuses on candidate workflow progression and activity. An example of a workflow could be: added to job; phone screened; HR interview; hiring manager interview; final interview; offer. To understand potential hold ups in the process, take a look at the conversion rate from phone screen to HR interview or HR Interview to hiring manager interview, etc. It will become clear which stages of the funnel are slowing down the process. For instance, if there is a low conversion rate from phone screen to HR interview, that could be an indication that the current sourcing strategy isn’t producing viable candidates, ultimately creating a longer time to hire. Another example could be a high conversion rate from HR interview to hiring manager interview followed by a low conversion rate from hiring manger interview to final interview. This could be an indicator of a disconnect between the HR and recruitment team and the hiring manager’s expectations. The data alone won’t provide the exact answer to the problems, but it will allow you insight to begin to create potential solutions.
Candidate Response Rate
This metric measures the success of the team’s sourcing and messaging to candidates. If you are finding that only 5% of candidates are responding to your emails, LinkedIn InMails, and phone calls, that should raise a red flag. An example of a potential reason behind low candidate responses could be poor messaging techniques. Candidates want to feel as though you have taken the time to understand their background and potential job fit, which translates into personalized messaging. If you are sending a generic email blast, chances are you are not seeing high response rates. A better approach is to find something in their profile that is unique to them and include that in your initial message. Knowing that you took the time to read their profile in detail will go along way with the passive candidate.
The first step is creating a candidate pool starts with a strong sourcing and messaging strategy.
If your candidate response rate is at least 30%, you’re off to a good start! Track the candidates throughout the pipeline to gain greater insight into the process with the funnel conversion rate. Both the candidate response rate and funnel conversion rate will play a big factor in your time to fill. Remember, these three recruitment metrics are just a few among countless others. If your data is lacking, consider additional metrics that align with your recruitment team’s goals and objectives.
