8 Key Metrics You Need to Measure the Recruitment Process

Using key metrics to measure the recruitment process can give you and your organization an overview of both what you do good and what you need to improve in your candidate experience.

The concept is about creating a positive candidate experience, which makes your employer brand able to attract the best candidates.

The measurement can be done by using several different key metrics depending on how and what you would like to measure. For someone who is new to key metrics and HR analytics, it can be difficult to keep track and understand what the different metrics are.

This article will provide you with a summary of 8 useful key metrics that can be used for a successful and good recruitment process. The summary will specify what the key metrics mean, why they are useful and most importantly, how you calculate them in order to be able to work with them today and take your candidate experience to a new level.

1. Application Completion Rate

What: Measures how many started applications that have been completed

Why: It is important to secure the quality of the application process and make sure that you do not lose candidates even before the applications. A low result can be an indication of a too complicated application process.

Calculate: Number of started applications / Number of completed applications

2. Fill Rate

What: Measures what percentage of the vacant positions that you actually assign

Why: A high number can give an indication of a good and simple recruitment process while a lower number can be a result of problems that might make candidates choose another employer.

Calculate: Number of assigned positions / Number of job ads

3. Time to Hire

What: Measure the length of the recruitment process

Why: A too long time on Time to Hire will contribute to a worse candidate experience which means that you risk losing candidates to other processes.

Calculate: Average time for the number of days it took from the first contact with a candidate until the candidate leave the process.

4. Time in Workflow Step

What: Measure the length of the recruitment process and each individual step of it.

Why: A high result on Time in Workflow Steps will cause a worse candidate experience and make you lose candidates. The key metric can help identify what parts of the recruitment process take a too long time.

Calculate: Average amount of days from a candidate enter a step of the recruitment process until they move on to the next step.

5. Yield Ratio

What: The percentage of relevant candidates acquired from each individual source.

Why: Help to ensure that advertising channels deliver high-quality candidates and not just a high quantity.

Calculate: Amount of interviewed candidates from a specific channel / Amount of applications from the same channel

6. Sourcing-Channel Cost

What: Calculate how much it cost to source each candidate from each channel.

Why: Evaluate advertising channels to ensure your invest money right.

Calculate: Sum of costs from each channel / Number of candidates per channel

7. Candidate Net Promoter Score (CNPS)

What: Measure candidate experience during the recruitment process

Why: A good candidate experience increase the chance for candidates to apply again and recommend you to other people in their network.

Ask candidates How likely is it that you would recomment Brand X to a friend or colleague?. If the candidate answer 0-6 they are a Detractor, 7-8 are Neutral, 9-10 är Promoters. The CNPS results are shown on the range -100 to +100.

Calculate: Percentage of Promoters – Percentage of Detractors

Read more about CNPS

8. First-Year Churn

What: Measure how many new-hires quit within the first year.

Why: Quality ensures how effective your recruitment is. Important to maintain competency within the organization.

Calculate: Amount of new-hires who quit within the first year / Amount of new-hires

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