We enter the New Year with new goals, new perspectives, new year, new me. One thing that doesn’t need to be revamped is your top Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). You can apply new programs and you can revitalize a lot within your organization to attract new candidates in 2021, but ways in which you measure your success will just need a renewed focus so you can observe your progress.
Depending upon the goals of your organization, the KPIs selected to signal a productive hiring campaign may vary. But just like a New Year’s resolution, making sure it is a clear and concise goal now will provide your vendors with trackable and accountable progress throughout 2021. Just like when you tell all your friends at brunch, you’re going to lose 10lbs this year, it’s a good idea to tell all your vendors exactly what your KPIs are, and how they align with your goals.
Source Quality: Hopefully, prior to the New Year, you’ve made a concerted plan of what you’re going to do to trim what’s not serving you, and fill your pipeline with robust and quality candidates. Depending on the industry, the skill level, and the location, the number of applicants you see will vary a great deal. While keeping an eye on industry and job function benchmarks, also be sure to check in with your vendors to really understand what their strengths are, and allocate accordingly. Candidates are the fruit and veggies of your New Year’s resolution. That means they are coming from various sources, they are good in quality, high in fiber, and not covered in cheese—sadly.
Time to Hire: Alright, let’s get on the treadmill. The first mile you run is not going to be your fastest, but you keep plugging along. Using your applicant tracking system, tracking the days from applicant, to first phone interview, to offer extended, you’ll be able to see where the lags in your system exist. If you’re running out of breath and there are unnecessary pauses, what can you do to strengthen your hiring muscles? Reducing your time to hire is going to be noticed in percentages, and it’s a gradual process, but once you’ve gotten that sub 10-minute mile, you’re gonna be beaming with pride.
Cost per hire: You don’t have to hire a trainer, join a gym, employ a personal nutritionist, make gourmet diet food, and you don’t have to use every fancy tool in the box to find candidates. If the Peloton of recruiting is worth it to you, and you see results, then by all means. But oatmeal is $3 at the grocery store, and I love my overnight oats. Spend where you need to, save where you can, and keep an eye on the cost per hire (CPH). The industry benchmark is around $4,000 per hire. Evaluating how much you’re spending on each asset that helps you get there is worth the effort for 2021.
Offer acceptance rate: This is it—this is what you’re looking for. The effectiveness of every other metric you’ve measured so far this year comes down this. Did it work? Have you successfully filled your pipeline with healthy options for your company? Did you keep moving and get them to the finish line before abandoning the process? All our work factors into how many or our candidates are accepting our offers, and the numbers don’t lie—in your ATS, or on the scale. If you do the work, you’ll see the results.
Candidate Satisfaction: If it’s not fun, and it’s not enjoyable, then it’s not gonna work in the long run. You’ve heard this before, right? If you don’t enjoy getting up at 6 am and running 5 miles a day, it won’t work as a strategy in the long term. Apply this directly to your hiring goals too. Make sure you’re surveying applicants and taking a people centric approach—and making sure they are pleased with the process as well. If you’ve invested thought, time, and resources into all our Key Performance Indicators, you should be pleased with the results. If you’re not, you’ve got to rely on the feedback you’re getting from your metrics to make the changes you need.
Congrats on setting your goals for 2021. We’ll be with you every step along the way.
Nexxt is a recruitment media company that uses today’s most effective marketing tactics to reach the full spectrum of talent – from active to passive, and everything in between. Learn more about hiring with Nexxt.