What are the most important internet recruiting metrics to consider when assessing your recruiting strategy?

If you want to attract and hire the best talent online, you need to measure and optimize your internet recruiting strategy. But what are the most important internet recruiting metrics to consider? How can you use them to improve your hiring process and outcomes? In this article, we will explore six key metrics that can help you assess your internet recruiting performance and identify areas for improvement.

1 Source of hire

Source of hire is the metric that tells you where your candidates are coming from. It can help you evaluate the effectiveness of your online recruitment channels, such as job boards, social media, career sites, referrals, or direct applications. By tracking the source of hire, you can see which channels generate the most qualified candidates, the highest conversion rates, and the lowest cost per hire. You can also use this metric to allocate your recruitment budget and resources more efficiently and strategically.

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Dilara Bukellal

🚀 Senior Talent Sourcer & Podcaster in Berlin | C#, C++, React, JavaScript, Python, AI | Sourcing & Recruitment Blog
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Overall, several metrics are important to measure quality of hiring: 1. Best sources of hire in predefined time range and previous hiring campaigns 2. Active sourcing response rate 3. Quality and quantity of applications 4. Overall quality of profiles on the particular job market 5. Average time of hire 6. Cost per hire (Job boards, ATS, Hiring team and Hiring managers' salaries, Employee salaries) 7. Challenges on each market

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Meenakshi S.

Director- People & Culture
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Some important internet recruiting metrics to consider when assessing your recruiting strategy: 1. Time to hire (Time to fill a requirement) 2. Cost of hiring 3. Candidate quality based on factors like skills, experience, and cultural fit 4. Offer acceptance rate 5. Candidate experience 6. Diversity hiring

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Camila Castellani

🟡 Fractional Recruitment 👩🏻💻 Always Hiring! 🏆
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The answer is quite intricate. Instead of just choosing one, I believe the most crucial metrics are the quality of hire and Source of hire. When these two aspects come together, it not only ensures finding the right fit but also hints at where to discover more top-notch talent for your organization.

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2 Time to hire

Time to hire is the metric that measures how long it takes to fill a position, from the moment you post a job opening until the moment you hire a candidate. It can help you assess the speed and efficiency of your internet recruiting process, as well as the impact of your hiring decisions on your business goals. By reducing the time to hire, you can improve your candidate experience, reduce your hiring costs, and avoid losing talent to competitors. You can also use this metric to identify and eliminate bottlenecks and delays in your online recruitment funnel.

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3 Quality of hire

Quality of hire is the metric that evaluates the performance and fit of your new hires, based on various indicators, such as productivity, retention, engagement, feedback, or goal achievement. It can help you assess the value and impact of your internet recruiting strategy, as well as the return on investment of your hiring efforts. By improving the quality of hire, you can enhance your organizational performance, culture, and reputation. You can also use this metric to refine your online recruitment criteria, methods, and tools.

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Felix Rothas

Global Talent Acquisition @ ZURU Group | Toys | FMCG/CPG | Prefabricated Construction
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It depends... When volume recruitment and speed are required, I would focus on traditional recruitment metrics like cost per hire, time per hire ... to drive efficiency. However, when you do 'cherry-picking' recruitment (looking for only the best), quality of hire is the way to go. I recently came across the metric of 'time to alignment.' I appreciate this concept because it promotes efficiency and speed, even when quality is prioritized.

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Sunita Panghaal (Tomar)

CHRP, PMP, Multilingual, Senior Recruiter@RBC
(edited)
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I think Quality of hire is very important. And I do not mean some candidates are not good, its more about the candidate and job fit. Some are better suited for each other some are not. If the job is not a fit, the candidate would leave, creating a need for rehire again.

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4 Candidate experience

Candidate experience is the metric that measures how satisfied and engaged your candidates are with your internet recruiting process, from the moment they discover your employer brand until the moment they receive a hiring decision. It can help you assess the attractiveness and competitiveness of your online recruitment proposition, as well as the loyalty and advocacy of your candidates. By improving the candidate experience, you can increase your application rates, conversion rates, and offer acceptance rates. You can also use this metric to optimize your online recruitment communication, interaction, and feedback.

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Bettina Liporazzi

I talk about building a career you love in plain, practical terms 👩🏼💻 Tech Recruiter @Make
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One of the most important metrics to keep an eye on. Employee retention begins with their experience during our hiring process. A negative candidate experience can very easily mean a rejected offer, or an overall negative effect on our employer branding.

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Vontilla Steven

Head of Talent Acquisition
(edited)
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Our ATS includes Net Promoter Score surveys, which have been invaluable in improving our process. Candidates tell us what's working and what's not, provide suggestions, let us know if they would tell colleagues about us, and if they'll apply again. We also survey our interviewees at the beginning of interviews about their thoughts on the process. Many of the improvements come directly from them.

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Anastazja Radomska

Trying to put Poland on the HFT Map | Building Strong Candidate Relationships | Mum of Four | Co-founder @ The Hire
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You may track numerous KPIs – quality of hire, source of hire, time-to-fill – all crucial. But at the end of the day, what really matters is the candidate experience. It starts with the initial outreach and spans the entire recruitment process. Why does this matter so much? A negative experience can tarnish a company's reputation significantly. On the other side, a positive one turns candidates into genuine advocates for your brand. Every step of the process, every interaction, shapes this experience. By focusing on it, you not only improve your metrics but also build a stronger, more positive brand image.

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5 Cost per hire

Cost per hire is the metric that calculates how much money you spend on each hire, by adding up all the direct and indirect costs associated with your internet recruiting process, such as advertising, technology, staffing, screening, interviewing, or training. It can help you assess the efficiency and profitability of your online recruitment strategy, as well as the alignment of your hiring budget and goals. By reducing the cost per hire, you can optimize your online recruitment spending and resources, and increase your hiring return on investment. You can also use this metric to benchmark your online recruitment performance against industry standards and best practices.

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Nicole Griffin

Talent Strategy Expert | Driving Business Results through Innovative Recruitment and Organizational Change
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In my experience, CPH isn't calculated the same at every firm, so looking at industry benchmarks doesn't always help you understand where you fall on this cost line. You first need to understand what you want to include in your CPH metric before calculating it and deciding what your target number is. A good standard formula is CPH=(Internal+External recruiting costs)/Number of hires.

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6 Applicant tracking system (ATS) analytics

Applicant tracking system (ATS) analytics is the metric that provides you with data and insights on your internet recruiting process, by using a software tool that automates and streamlines your online recruitment activities, such as posting jobs, collecting resumes, screening candidates, scheduling interviews, or sending offers. It can help you assess the performance and effectiveness of your online recruitment system, as well as the behavior and preferences of your candidates. By using ATS analytics, you can monitor and improve your online recruitment metrics, such as source of hire, time to hire, quality of hire, candidate experience, or cost per hire. You can also use this metric to generate reports and dashboards that can help you make data-driven hiring decisions.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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What are the most important internet recruiting metrics to consider when assessing your recruiting strategy?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Source of hire

2 Time to hire

3 Quality of hire

4 Candidate experience

5 Cost per hire

6 Applicant tracking system (ATS) analytics

7 Here’s what else to consider

Recruiting

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What are the most important internet recruiting metrics to consider when assessing your recruiting strategy?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Source of hire

2 Time to hire

3 Quality of hire

4 Candidate experience

5 Cost per hire

6 Applicant tracking system (ATS) analytics

7 Here’s what else to consider

Recruiting

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