End of financial year - 10 measures of recruitment success

April is fast approaching and for numerous organisations it’s the ending of one financial year and the beginning of the next. This might signal end of year appraisals and budget reviews, ready for the coming financial year’s recruitment strategy.

At this time of year, we often see a steep rise in enquiries from people looking for guidance around the ideal measures of recruitment success

We’ve outlined our 10 Measures of recruiting success that should be used by any organisation - and why they matter!

Candidate attraction and sourcing

1. Number of applications to a vacancy

Measuring periodically, the average number of applications received indicates the success of candidate attraction and engagement, as well as the success of sources where they came from.

But it isn’t just about high numbers. Too high and it might suggest the adverts contain not enough descriptive information or sufficiently stiff essential criteria to meet the requirements of the role.

Check the success by calibrating your understanding these figures. Compare the number of applications alongside the rejection rates further down the funnel as well as with external sector/market data.

2. How many applications are completed

Yes, job boards will say your adverts had thousands of views, but those numbers are never reflected in the number of applications. That’s not unusual.

What can be focussed on is the number of applicants that drop-out after starting the application process. A rate of over 30% and the application form/process is probably too difficult, and a streamlining exercise should be looked at.

3. Vacancies filled

It’s simplistic, but ultimately, this is the end goal. How did you do? We’re all well aware filling vacancies became a lot tougher from 2021 onwards.

Recruitment efficiency

4. Time to hire

Filling vacancies might be a roaring success, but is it taking a long time to attract volume and quality applicants? Or you’ve shortened time to hire because of streamlining initiatives.

There’s plenty of research about how costly an empty seat is, so how quick you fill it should be one the most important measures to scrutinise.

5. Cost per hire

If finding candidates is difficult, and short lead times for hiring people is seen as critical – does cost per hire matter? Isn’t quality more important? We know quality applicants cost more, but realistically; you will be held to a budget.

Record what’s spent on sourcing channels and methods so you can hone in on the most effective and cost efficient, whilst culling the least.

6. Throughputs and ratios, aka the recruitment funnel

The recruitment funnel is something most of us are aware of - the chart, divided into segments representing the key stages of the recruitment journey.

Throughput is the % of applications that make it through from one stage to the next. Ratio is another way of expressing it, although it’s usually used for end-to-end analysis such as application to hire or to offer.

Linking to Measure 1 can indicate if your selection processes are too strict or lenient, or if application quality is good or poor. By cross referencing with other data points, it will allow you to understand this.

7. Offer acceptance rates

Losing people at offer can be devastating. It’s also the most expensive point in the funnel in terms of cost and time spent. Surprisingly though, it commonly receives the least focus and measurement.

The offer acceptance rate (and any other data that sits behind it) will indicate if your organisation is matching the best offers to the best candidates. Whether that’s salary, benefits, delivery / experience of receiving the offer or being onboarded into the business, or how you compare to your competitors.

Quality candidates

8. Customer (candidate) satisfaction

As recruiters, hiring managers are your customers who come to you with their vacancies – and candidates should be thought of in a similar way. They need to buy into your organisation as much as you are buying into them.

Surveys to candidates and hiring managers will help you understand how you are doing. An example of Measure 2, is where our client, Isle of Man Government, streamlined their application process by activating our two-stage application functionality. The following month they hit 100% satisfied or very satisfied on their candidate satisfaction survey score.

9. Are new hires successful? First-year turnover rate

If you’re already hiring fast and cost effectively, you could be onto a winner. But it could be in vain if new hires flop or leave. Performance in role data can be hard to come by, and often too nuanced for meaningful conclusions. But first year turnover is a simple marker of hires not being a suitable fit for the role/organisation, or the role/organisation not being suitable for them.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

10. ED&I at key stages of the process

ED&I is high on the list of most organisations’ priorities, and in turn the priority to measure progress. It’s not a nice to have, but critical to sourcing (alienating sections of society shrinks your potential candidate pool) and business performance (studies have shown companies with strong ED&I out-perform those without).

It’s not unusual for organisations to report percentages of sex, gender, or ethnicity at key stages of the process. The problem though, particularly with ethnicity, is your data might simply reflect your demographic. Some ethnicities may be a high percentage at interview or hire, and others low.

Create a funnel for each then assess how each group progressed through the key stages. This will more likely give insights into not only how well you attract different groups, but how they fair through your selection process.

How do you fair?

These 10 Measures are invaluable indicators of performance as well as signposts on where to improve. They apply to recruitment in all types of organisations, sectors, or territories.

If you don’t have the resource or know-how to report on these measures, our Talent Intelligence Unit is available to provide consultancy, outsourcing, and benchmarking services. Get in touch for a free, no-obligation consultation.