Top 11 Recruitment Metrics to Stay Ahead in 2024

As we step into 2024, recruitment metrics are crucial components of the dynamic recruitment world. It enables recruiters, HRs and hiring managers to track and analyse the success and failure of the recruitment process. 

Currently, analysing and tracking recruitment metrics is imperative for various reasons. It enables recruiters and HR professionals to make data-backed and informed decisions. By monitoring these key metrics, organisations can measure the efficiency of how they recruit and improve it to enhance the candidate experience. The metrics help in assessing and increasing the quality of the talent pool. 

But wait, which metrics are more important? To find out that, we researched and narrowed down the top 11 metrics that are essential for navigating the end-to-end recruitment process with precision and effectiveness. 

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get started.

What are Recruitment Metrics? 

Recruitment Metrics, also known as hiring metrics, are basically measurement data and key performance indicators that recruitment professionals use to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of their recruitment process. 

These recruitment metrics help HR, recruiters and hiring managers to spot the areas of improvement and optimise the end-to-end hiring process by making data-backed decisions. 

Why are Recruiting Metrics Important? 

Indeed, in the recruitment landscape, these metrics offer valuable data insights to evaluate and improve the way recruiters recruit talent. In fact, these hiring metrics also help to retain top performers for a longer period of time. 

It presents the well-being and productiveness of the talent acquisition and recruitment marketing process.

In this competitive era with the digital revolution, we need a data-driven approach to recruitment in order to survive and thrive in the highly competitive talent market. 

The recruitment metrics provide you with real insight into your existing recruiting process instead of just running it through instincts. These insights take you toward the right path of decision-making via real data and reports.

Top 11 Recruitment Metrics to Stay Ahead in 2024  

Recruitment metrics differ from organisation to organisation as per their hiring goals and needs, but here are some of the key metrics one must track and analyse. 

1. Application Completion Rate  

The application completion rate metric is relatively straightforward. It is used to calculate the proportion of candidate applications that are fully completed out of the total number of candidates who started the application process. Here is the formula to calculate the Application Completion Ratio: 

Application Completion Rate = No. of submitted applications / Total no. of applications started x 100

Example 

For example, if 280 candidates started the application process and 210 of them actually completed it, then the Application Completion Rate would be calculated as (210/280) x 100 = 75%. 

Why Measuring this recruiting metric is Important? 

This recruitment metric offers important insights into the user experience of the application process. This way, it enables the recruiters to understand and identify improvement areas in their application process.

2. Time to Hire 

This vital HR and recruitment metric measures the amount of time it takes to hire talent for a particular open position. The formula for calculating Time to Hire is:

Time to Hire = The day they accept the job - the day recruiter reaches the candidate

Example

Imagine that a recruiter started a candidate search for a specific role on the first day and then made contact with the prospective candidate on the fifteenth (15) day. 

Afterwards, if the ideal candidate accepted the job offer on the twenty-ninth (29) day, then the duration of the hiring process would be calculated as 29 - 15 = 14 days. So, the time-to-hire in this scenario would be 14 days. 

Time-to-hire ratio = 15/29 x 100 = 51.72%  (on the 15th-day candidate contacted divided by the day (29th) the talent agreed the offer multiplied by 100)

Why is Time To Hire Metrics Important? 

This metric enables recruiters and hiring managers to evaluate the efficiency of the recruitment process. If the Time to Hire is reduced, then it will lead to cost savings.  

Also, candidates always appreciate a faster and more decisive recruitment process, so short hiring time will eventually enhance the candidate experience. As a result, companies can secure top talent more quickly than their competitors if the Time to Hire is lower. Simple roles with one interview typically have shorter hiring times than positions requiring phone screens, assessment days, and multiple interview rounds. Use the hiring time benchmarks below as a general guide, considering these factors.

3. Cost per Hire

Cost per Hire is a key metric for hiring managers. Basically, it calculates the total expenditure associated with the hiring of new candidates. The total figure includes all the expenses required for the hiring process, like advertising job openings, recruiting agency fees, employee referral bonuses, background checks and pre-employment assessments, recruitment staff salary, onboarding and training costs for new hires. 

Cost Per Hire = Internal recruiting costs + external recruiting costs / total number of hires

• Total Recruitment Costs: This depicts all expenses that occurred during the recruitment process within a specific time frame.

• Total Number of Hires: This component is the total number of employees successfully hired during the same time frame. 

Why is Cost-per-Hire Important? 

This important hiring metric gives an in-depth understanding to the companies to manage their recruitment budgets effectively and make sure that all the resources are used efficiently. Also, recruiters will get a clear idea of the cost-effectiveness of various recruitment channels and strategies.  

This way, resource allocation and investments in recruitment technologies and tools get easier. 

4. Quality of Hire 

A LinkedIn survey found that 40% of organisations believe that the Quality of Hire metric is their top priority. Recruiters and HRs use this crucial hiring metric to evaluate the value and contribution of new hires to an organisation. According to a LinkedIn report, 50% of Recruitment professionals measure the quality of Hire through new hire performance evaluation.  

There is no standard formula for this metric. However, it can be efficiently calculated by dividing it into two parts. 

• Pre-hire Quality   

• Post-hire Quality

The pre-hire quality metric is calculated to measure the effectiveness of the initial stages of the recruitment process, such as resume reviewing and verifying skills and qualifications. 

Pre-hire Quality = No. of workers who leave within a year of hire date / total No. of workers who leave during the same period

On the other hand, the Post-hire Quality metric assesses the effectiveness and impact created by new hires by contributing to the organisation’s goals. Also, it involves collecting recruitment data analytics about the organisation's turnover and retention rates.

Why is Quality of Hire an Important Recruiting Metric? 

This metric enhances overall recruitment performance by enabling organisations to hire top-quality candidates who perform better and contribute to achieving long-term goals and objectives that drive overall business success. Also, quality hires typically have higher employee retention, which means reduced employee turnover rates. 

5. Attrition rate

The attrition rate in recruitment refers to the percentage of new employees who leave a company within a certain period, usually within the first few months or a year of being hired. It is a measure of how many new hires leave the company soon after joining, compared to the total number of new hires.

Attrition Rate = (Total Number of Employees / Number of Employees Left​)×100

Example

If a company hires 100 new employees in a year and 20 of them leave within that year, the attrition rate would be 20%. 

Attrition Rate=(100 / 20​)×100 = 20%

This rate helps businesses understand how well they are retaining their new employees and can indicate issues with the hiring process, onboarding, company culture, or job satisfaction. 

A high attrition rate means many new employees are leaving quickly, which can be costly and disruptive for the company.

Why is the Attrition rate Metric Important? 

The attrition rate is an important metric because it helps companies understand employee retention. A high attrition rate can indicate problems with hiring, training, or workplace culture. 

By monitoring this rate, businesses can identify issues and improve their recruitment and onboarding processes. Ultimately, reducing attrition saves money and ensures a more stable workforce.

6. Sourcing Channel Efficiency 

This vital metric refers to the efficiency of different candidate sourcing channels and methods used to find candidates and how successful they are in terms of providing qualified candidates. The formula for Sourcing Channel Effectiveness is expressed as: 

Sourcing Channel Efficiency = total number of hire via the channel / total number of applications via channel x 100

This efficiency measure is calculated for various sourcing channels such as free and sponsored job boards, employee referrals, social media platforms, recruitment agencies, and more, allowing companies to figure out and invest in the most effective recruitment channels for their needs. 

Why is this Recruitment Metric Important for Organisations? 

The Sourcing Channel Effectiveness Rate enables companies to focus their time and invest their budget on the most productive sources, which leads to faster hiring and lower recruitment costs. Also, it improves the quality of hires, which is important to drive success. 

7. Offer Acceptance Rate 

This crucial hiring metric gives insights into the proportion of job offers that candidates accept. It showcases how effectively companies convince talent to join them after going through the hiring process. The formula for measuring the Offer Acceptance Ratio is:

Offer Acceptance Rate = Number of accepted job offers / Number of all offers x 100

Example

For instance, if 9 candidates agreed to the job offer out of the total number of 27 candidates who received the offer, then the offer acceptance rate would be calculated as 9/27 x 100 = 33.33 %. 

Why is Offer Acceptance a Vital Hiring Metric? 

Suppose the offer acceptance rate is higher, then it illustrates that job offers were attractive and satisfactory. If it is lower, then the company need to work on effective compensation, benefits, and other terms of employment. Also, a lower rate in acceptance rate suggests a misalignment of candidate expectations or ineffective communication. 

Finally, this metric is crucial to measure the effectiveness of your employer's branding efforts. 

8. Rejection Rate

The Rejection Rate in recruitment refers to the percentage of rejected candidates during the hiring process. It measures the proportion of applicants who, after applying or being considered for a position, are not selected for employment.

Rejection Rate = No. of rejected candidates / Number of applications received x 100

Example 

For instance, suppose a company gets 198 applications, and out of these candidates, 73 candidates are not selected. Then, in this case, the rejection rate would be calculated as 73/198 x 100 = 36.86%. 

Why Calculating the Rejection Rate is Necessary?

This metric indicates inefficiencies in the hiring process, such as a mismatch between job advertisements and actual job requirements that leads to a high volume of unqualified applicants. Also, a higher rejection rate suggests that you need to work on your sourcing strategies to attract qualified candidates.

9. Recruiting Yield Ratio 

Recruiting Yield Rate illustrates the percentage of applicants who clears one stage of the hiring process to another. To calculate this metric, the formula can be represented as: 

Recruiting Yield Ratio = Number of hirable candidates resulting from stage n / Total no. of candidates who came in stage n

Let’s understand it from an example. 

One organisation received a total of 240 candidate applications for a particular position. Of these, 120 made it through the initial phone screening to resume the reviewing stage. Subsequently, 30 candidates were asked to perform an assignment. Afterwards, only 15 advanced to the interview phase and out of them, 5 candidates progressed to an executive-level interview. Ultimately, only one got a job offer. 

Here is a visual representation of this recruitment yield journey depicting the stages of the hiring process:

Why Recruiting Yield Rate Metric Matters? 

This metric is a valuable tool for recruitment teams to work towards continuous improvement in recruitment. It is significantly important for several reasons, such as: 

• Helps in assessing recruitment process efficiency 

• Allows hiring managers for better resource allocation 

• Enables organisations to identify recruitment strategies to reduce costs

10. Candidate Net Promoter Score 

This talent hiring process metric assesses the effectiveness of a candidate's experience during the recruitment process. It calculates the likelihood of a candidate recommending a company as a good place to work based on the experience they had during the recruitment process. You can calculate the Candidate Net Promoter Score (cNPS) like this: 

Candidate NPS = % of promoters - % of detractors

Example of cNPS Score

For instance, if 68% of your applicants are promoting your company and 30% are Detractors, then your cNPS would be 68% - 30% = 38 %. 

In order to find out the percentage of promoters and detractors, companies can survey candidates to rate on a scale from 0 to 10 how likely they are to recommend your company as a place to work to a friend or colleague. 

Why is this Recruitment Metric Essential? 

This metric will provide real-time data on how positive candidates feel about their recruitment process. Also, it is an important indicator of employer branding efforts. 

In addition, recruitment professionals will get feedback from candidates that highlights the key improvement points to enhance the recruitment process. 

11. Turnover Rate  

The Turnover Rate helps companies determine their employee retention rate and the effectiveness of overall management. Basically, it measures how many hires left the firm in a specific time frame. 

Here is the formula to calculate the Monthly Turnover Rate: 

Monthly Turnover Rate = Average number of employees / No. of separations x 100

Most organisations calculate this metric on a quarterly and yearly basis because it enables them to collect enough data to provide meaningful patterns. The annual Turnover Rate can be calculated as follows: 

Annual Turnover Rate = No. of employees who left / (Beginning + ending number of employees)/2 x 100

Example

Suppose in the beginning, the company has 96 employees and 102 at the end, and 11 employees left the company. Then the Turnover Rate would be 11 / (96+102)/2 x 100 = 11.11%. 

Why is this Recruiting Metric Important for Organisations? 

The Turnover Rate is an important recruiting KPI because it offers an understanding of workforce stability and how effective an organisation's employee retention strategies really are.  

Lower Turnover Rates increase employee retention and enhance employer branding, which is essential to maintaining a stable, engaged, and productive workforce that leads to building a successful organisation.  

Leverage iSmartRecruit for Effective Recruitment Metrics Tracking

Let’s explore why our AI-powered Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is highly preferred and trusted by recruitment professionals around the world to track and analyse crucial recruitment metrics and reports. 

With iSmartRecruit, you can utilise detailed recruitment metrics and reporting features that cover a wide range of recruitment metrics. As a result, it allows organisations to gain deep insights into their hiring process.

This way, recruiters and HRs can track and examine metrics related to recruitment, monitor the performance of sourcing channels they are using, and evaluate efforts towards promoting diversity and inclusion.

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Curious to explore the power of iSmartRecruit's AI Recruitment Software in managing and optimising your recruitment metrics?

Connect with our experts to dive into the world of analytics and reports. Book your Free Demo Now to discover the future of streamlined and data-driven hiring! 

FAQs Regarding Recruitment Metrics

1. What is the difference between recruiting KPIs and metrics?

Recruiting KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are specific, measurable goals. They reflect the overall success and effectiveness of your recruiting process. It includes time-to-fill or quality of hire. Metrics, on the other hand, are the raw data points that track various aspects of recruiting activities. It includes the number of applications received or the number of interviews conducted.

2. What is one metric to measure recruitment effectiveness?

One metric to measure recruitment effectiveness is "Time to Fill" a position. Menas the number of days from when a job requisition is opened until a candidate accepts the job offer. It helps to evaluate the efficiency of the recruitment process and can indicate areas for improvement.

3. What are recruiting metrics and measurements?

Recruiting metrics and measurements are tools used to evaluate the effectiveness of hiring processes. They include data points like time to hire, cost per hire, and the quality of candidates, helping companies understand how well they're attracting and selecting the right talent.

4. What are the benefits of recruitment metrics?

Recruitment metrics help companies track and improve their hiring processes by providing clear data on how well they're doing. They make it easier to identify areas for improvement, reduce hiring costs, and ensure a better fit between candidates and job roles.