Measuring and Evaluating Recruitment Results 

Effective measurement is vital to determining whether recruitment objectives have been achieved. Diarmuid Sexton, Global Talent Acquisition Director at Maples Group, wrote that a comprehensive evaluation of recruitment strategy allows organisations to identify internal capability and gaps, employee commitment levels and corresponding cost effectiveness of the strategy. It also provides a basis for improving the recruitment process for future use. 

However, many organisations do not formally evaluate their recruitment efforts due to some reasons. One of the reasons is because they have not gathered data on important recruitment metrics. If a formal evaluation is not conducted, then employers are not able to learn from their past efforts and design better recruitment campaigns in the future. Although many employers do not currently evaluate their recruitment practices, the growing use and availability of talent analytics is expected to change. 

How to evaluate recruitment results 

Organisations should have two goals in mind when evaluating their recruitment process. The first goal is to gather information on outcomes, such as time-to-hire, cost of filling the position, yield ratio for each recruitment method, new-employee retention rate, new-employee performance level, hiring manager’s satisfaction with recruitment process, and applicant’s perceptions of the recruitment process. 

The second goal is to demonstrate to functional managers that recruitment efforts have bottom-line implications for the organisation. For example, providing hard data to senior management on the cost savings of filling positions in a timely manner could help justify additional resources for the recruiting function. 

See also: How to Write Recruitment Message to Attract Top Candidates

To thoroughly evaluate a recruitment process, organisations should go beyond data on outcomes such as time-to-fill or first-year retention rate. Rather, they should also gather data that reflect key elements of the recruitment process itself. An employer could gather that information by asking new employees questions like below: 

• Was the company’s website simple to navigate and did it provide useful information? 

• Were inquiries responded to in a timely fashion? 

• Were you treated well during your visit to headquarters? 

Six possible changes prompted for evaluation of past recruitment 

Here is how evaluating past recruitment outcomes might lead to changes to improve the process going forward.

Variables that might affect recruitment process 

• Attracting the attention of individuals targeted for recruitment 

• Generating individual interest in a job opening, such as position attractiveness, expectation of a job offer, and alternative opportunities. 

• Accuracy of an applicant’s expectations concerning a job with an organisation. 

• The applicant decision-making process, such as decision to apply, decision to remain a candidate during the entire recruitment process, and decision to accept a job offer if one is extended. 

Thoughtful development of a recruitment strategy is critical if an employer is to derive maximum value from its recruitment activities. Having established a coherent recruitment strategy by measuring and evaluating recruitment results can help establish better strategy for future recruitment needs. 

Next read: Recruitment Method: How to Reach Targeted & Passive Candidates