Last week I discussed the lack of effectiveness of the most reported recruiting metrics. Today I present metrics that are more effective and strategic.
But to begin, let’s establish the five requirements that make a metric valid and effective.
Five Requirements for All Metrics
#1. Truly meaningful metrics must be generated from data that cannot easily be manipulated and are not merely people’s opinions. They need to be as objective as possible. It is easy to pick only the numbers that support the arguments you want to make or to omit the annoying data points that disrupt what you wish to report.
#2. A good metric must tell us something useful about things that can be improved to increase performance or output. Just because a set of numbers is available does not mean it should be reported. They are of little use if they simply report on things that we cannot impact or provide nonactionable factual data.
#3. Metrics must be presented as trend data showing how we are doing over time. A single data point says nothing, but showing data about how we are doing over weeks or months can be helpful.
#4. Recruiters frequently report metrics, such as time to fill, that are mainly in the candidate’s or hiring manager’s control. They must be measures we can control and significantly or totally influence.
#5. Whatever metrics are reported must be meaningful to those who ask for them. They must tell leaders something vital to their success and the organization.
Three Powerful Metrics
#1: Overall Recruiter/Recruiting Effectiveness
There is one powerful metric that is useful to gauge how well a recruiter and, ultimately, the entire talent function is performing. This metric is the time it takes to present a qualified and hirable candidate to the hiring manager, leading to an interview. This starts when the requisition is received and ends when an interview is granted.
Focusing on this metric decreases the time to hire and increases hiring manager and candidate satisfaction. And it meets all five of the requirements listed above.
An Ideal Example, including offer and acceptance:
Time to Present 1-3 days
Number Presented Min 2
Number who Interview Min 1
Number Offered Min 1
Number Accepted Min 1
Each organization can establish its own ideal goal for each recruiter if desired, depending on the talent market and the scarcity of the roles they fill. In a perfect world, the time to present would always be one or two days.
This would indicate that the recruiter fully understood and anticipated the hiring manager’s needs. It would also indicate that the TA function had developed effective talent branding and marketing, a successful career site and sourcing system, a talent community of prescreened and qualified candidates, and the trust of the hiring manager and candidate.
These are some of the individual components that might lead to this success. These include supply chain, marketing effectiveness, and diversity measures.
• Number of active, qualified applicants: ranked candidates by role importance & potential impact
• Number and diversity of people with relevant skills & capabilities in the talent pool
• Number of connections and relationships with external people who can link to critical talent
• Breadth and depth of competitive talent map
• Number of qualified candidates that attracted to and who engage in the career site
• Number who apply directly from the career site
• Job posting effectiveness (# of qualified vs. unqualified candidates who apply)
#2. Hiring Manager Effectiveness
The hiring manager is an integral part of every hiring process, and getting them to feel ownership and become a partner in the process requires a way to measure their contribution and provide them feedback.
• Hours/days to provide feedback to recruiters on candidates presented
• How many job criteria did the new hire actually meet as indicated in the the job description?[Criteria asked for/Criteria hired]
• Number of diverse candidates interviewed/offers (Internal & external)
#3. Candidate Satisfaction & Success Metrics
Candidate satisfaction is important, but even more important is whether or not they were successful in navigating the process and whether they received appropriate feedback. A candidate can be satisfied that they were treated well but dissatisfied with the process and feedback.
• Time spent matching to/searching for a position
• Time (seconds/minutes) needed to apply for a position
• Number who do not complete the application process & why
• Candidate rating/feedback on ease of applying
• Candidate rating/feedback on overall recruiting experience
• Hours/days/weeks for the recruiter/hiring manager to provide feedback?
Using Predictive Analytics
Going beyond these metrics, Predictive analytics provides forward-looking guidance for strategic planning. Predictive analytics uses data to identify patterns and understand trends that can be used to make critical decisions. Including data to improve marketing, identify skills most indicative of performance, and determine the best sources of talent.
Some key metrics that could be determined by using predictive analytics:
#1. Where will it be the most successful to post your critical roles
#2. Which core skills and traits are predictive of the most productive performers in a specific role in your organization?
#3. What marketing messages will result in the most qualified candidates applying?
#4. What is the difference in traits between candidates who accept offers versus ones who don’t?
While it may seem daunting to get started with these and perhaps frightening to see where you are today, these will make a massive difference to your career and success. If you want to be one step ahead of the emerging AI tools, now is the time. Open Ai tools such as ChatGPT will undoubtedly be able to track and use metrics like these.
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Could You Use A Trusted Advisor?
If you are looking for guidance or help in becoming a more strategic leader, we may be able to help. For the past twenty-five years, I have been helping recruitment leaders in major corporations, non-profits, and NGOs to redesign, improve, or transform their talent acquisition functions. I work with you as a partner to assess and improve your processes, find and remove constraints, create more engaging career sites, and choose the most useful and relevant technology. I will work with you as a coach, mentor, or consultant – whichever meets your needs. I have only one goal – to make recruiting strategic and pertinent to your organization. Let me know if I can help. Send me an email at kwheeler@futureoftalent.org.
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