When job vacancies are scarce, recruitment is uncomplicated. Candidates are abundant and new hires who sign contracts typically show up and remain in their role long term. But times change.
In today's labour market, where candidates have a wide range of roles to choose from and increased bargaining power, recruitment success is about more than just contracts signed. A successful recruitment process is now defined by whether or not a new hire successfully navigates probation, completes onboarding, and confirms their suitability for the role long-term.
Knowing this, it’s no surprise that traditional Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are no longer fit to gauge recruitment performance and fail to determine whether or not a new hire is a GOOD hire.
In this blog, we explore why existing recruitment KPIs are outdated, unpack new metrics that are a better fit for the current competitive hiring landscape, and give guidance on how recruitment teams can leverage integrated technology to recalibrate their success benchmarks.
Traditional recruitment success is often defined by cost-to-hire, time-to-hire and the number of job offers sent & contracts signed. These metrics, however, provide only a superficial indication of hiring activity, overlooking the quality and ‘stickiness’ of new hires.
In today's job market, where talent is in short supply and retention is paramount, traditional KPIs fall short. Sure they’re important to keep track of, but they only tell half the story. It’s like the old saying ‘Don’t count your chickens before they hatch’; it’s nice to have the potential of a chicken, but if it never comes out of its shell, all you have is a rotten egg.
Instead of focusing solely on the quantity of hires, recruiters should prioritize metrics that reflect the quality and early success of new employees.
With this in mind, we’ve put together 3 key KPIs we believe are essential indicators of recruitment success in 2024:
1. Show up's on Day One
Whether or not a new hire reports for duty on their first day of work is a crucial early indicator of their engagement and dedication. This KPI not only measures the effectiveness of the recruitment process but also highlights a recruiter's capacity to inspire commitment among candidates.
The rise of ‘ghosting,' where candidates accept job offers but fail to show up on their first day, has made this an even more important metric for recruiters to keep their eye on.
2. Passed probation period
Successfully navigating the probation period demonstrates that a new hire possesses the skills and cultural fit necessary to thrive within the organization.
It's important to note the variation in probation periods across regions; in the EU, probation typically ranges from 30-90 days, whereas in Canada and the US, it extends from 3-6 months. This variance signals the need for a tailored approach to measuring this KPI based on geographic location.
3. Completed onboarding
A 2022 survey found that 30% of workers have quit a job within their first 90 days - the recommended length of an effective onboarding process.
Good onboarding can combat this, laying the foundation for long-term success by ensuring that new employees are equipped with the knowledge and tools needed for their success. Retention throughout the initial onboarding period reflects the new employees' fit and a recruiter's ability to secure top talent.
Recent research indicates that 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they experience great onboarding, emphasizing the need for retention-conscious recruiters to take a more active role in the onboarding process.
These new KPIs shift the focus from transactional metrics to holistic measures of recruitment effectiveness and aim to consistently balance quality and quantity.
To successfully measure whether or not the people you are hiring are any good, recruiters and HR/onboarding professionals need to work together and start viewing talent acquisition as one integrated process.
Recruitment is about making promises, and onboarding is about delivering on those promises. If they don’t match up, you get a bad outcome and people leave. It’s the same with products, when you buy an item that is not what you expect, you simply return it.
Having separate systems makes it difficult for recruiters to have insight into the onboarding process and collect data to measure their KPIs.
If you want to accurately measure recruitment success and ascertain whether or not your business is investing in the right people, integrated talent acquisition software that connects the data from recruitment with that of onboarding could be the answer.
Our talent acquisition software seamlessly integrates high-performance recruitment, referrals, and analytics with unforgettable onboarding. With this integrated approach, you can:
-> Unite teams, enhance sourcing, streamline hiring, and ensure efficient evaluations.
-> Leverage your team's networks, simplify referrals, and spotlight top candidates.
-> Deliver tailored analytics, gain valuable insights, and inform future recruitment strategies.
With an integrated system in place helping you actively measure your new recruitment KPIs, you can start making data-informed decisions and answer critical questions like:
-> How is the recruitment of fully onboarded individuals evolving over time?
-> How many contracts do you need to sign to fill vacancies long-term? For instance, if we have 100 vacancies, you may need to sign 120 contracts to account for potential no-shows or failed onboarding.
-> Which recruitment sources consistently yield high-quality candidates?
With these insights at your fingertips, you'll be equipped to redefine your recruitment KPIs, optimize your hiring processes, and ultimately build a workforce that drives your organization forward.
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The takeaway |
Traditional recruitment KPIs are no longer sufficient to measure success.
It's not just about contracts signed anymore; it's about ensuring that new hires successfully integrate into your organization for the long term. By shifting the focus to metrics like show-up rates on day one and successful onboarding, recruiters can gain a more comprehensive understanding of their recruitment effectiveness.
However, to truly harness the power of these new KPIs, the right software is key. Integrated talent acquisition software seamlessly connects recruitment data with onboarding insights, empowering recruiters to make data-driven decisions and optimize their hiring processes.
Ready to take your recruitment strategy to the next level? Explore Talmundo's integrated Talent Acquisition software today!
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