Skip to content Skip to footer

8 recruiting metrics you need to start tracking

Did you know? Current research on best practices in recruiting finds that companies that track recruiting metrics are more likely to achieve their hiring goals compared to companies that do not. 

Here are the top 8 metrics that experts recommend you measure to help you optimize your recruiting processes.

1. Time to Fill

What it is: Time to Fill is the time it takes to find and hire a candidate. It is typically measured by the number of days between publishing a job opening and hiring a candidate.

Why you should measure it: This metric helps you create and deliver on realistic headcount goals.

2. Onsite to Offer

What it is: The Onsite to Offer ratio describes the percentage of onsite interviews that lead to an offer. It does not measure whether or not a candidate accepts an offer.

Why you should measure it: This ratio tells you about the quality of candidates making it through to the onsite. A low onsite to offer rate suggests that under-qualified candidates are not being screened out earlier in the recruiting funnel. 

3. Candidate Volume

What it is: Candidate Volume is simply the number of candidates, both inbound and outbound, who apply for a given job opening.

Why you should measure it: This number helps you understand the success of your talent marketing efforts. It’s also useful for calculating candidate volume further down the funnel: number of screening interviews, number of onsites, etc.

4. Quality of Hire

What it is: Quality of Hire is often measured by a new hire’s first year performance rating, though it may also be measured earlier.

Why you should measure it: Though it’s the hardest of these metrics to measure, quality of hire is surely one of the most important. It answers the fundamental question, “is recruiting bringing in the right talent?”

5. Candidate Drop-off

What it is: The Candidate Drop-off rate is the percentage of candidates who voluntarily drop out of the recruiting process at any stage of the process. For technical assessments, this often refers to the number of candidates who complete an assessment divided by the number who were invited to take the assessment.

Why you should measure it: This metric provides a key indicator of candidate experience during your hiring process.

6. Interviewing Time Spent on Unqualified Candidates

What it is: This metric refers to the number of hours hiring managers and interviewers spend reviewing resumes, grading coding challenges/projects (for technical hires), and/or interviewing candidates they find to be unqualified for the job.

Why you should measure it: This number is important for gaining buy-in from the hiring team for recruiting tools like screening assessments that ensure only the best candidates advance in the hiring process.

7. Cost of Hire

What it is: Cost of Hire is measured by calculating the total cost of recruiting efforts over a given period of time (a quarter, for example) divided by the number of hires during that time period.

Why you should measure it: This metric helps you calculate and forecast your recruiting budget given the number of reqs your team needs to fill.

8. Offer Acceptance

What it is: The Offer Acceptance rate is calculated by dividing how many candidates accepted a job offer by how many received a job offer. 

Why you should measure it: This metric can reveal problems in the hiring process, like low compensation or poor candidate experience. 

Conclusion

Give your team time to take a step back from the day-to-day hustle of interviewing, screening, and coordinating with candidates to reflect on your processes. What the data reveals may be just what you need to up your game.

Want to learn more about tracking and optimizing for key recruiting metrics in technical hiring? Schedule time to chat with one of the experts at CodeSignal and see how our assessment and interview tools can help you reach your goals.