9 Talent Acquisition Metrics That Matter And How to Track Them

Is your hiring process too lengthy? Do candidates get bored of your long-winded application form or feel repelled by an abrasive personality leading your interviews? 

Whether you’ve answered yes, no, or not sure to any of these questions, you can’t really know unless you’re working with hard data. We’re talking about raw, measurable facts that paint a picture of your job candidates’ experience when applying for a role in your company. And the result when you’ve picked someone to join your team. 

This guide discusses nine talent acquisition metrics that lead to a more efficient, effective, and successful recruitment strategy. We’ll cover how to track them and how to improve things if you don’t like the results. 

The importance of tracking your recruiting efforts

When your top priority is finding highly skilled people quickly to fill your open positions, adding an extra task of data collection and analysis might seem odd. But tracking valuable recruitment metrics offers multiple benefits to hiring teams, including:

Reducing bias with data-driven decisions 

Companies that rely on their interview panelists’ gut instincts are introducing a lot of bias into their hiring decisions. Instead of choosing new recruits based on affinity bias, where you select people most similar to you, or confirmation bias, where you choose people that confirm your existing beliefs, basing recruitment decisions on data can remove prejudice from the mix.

For example, skills assessment results pinpoint which candidates have the necessary skills to succeed in the role. This improves your quality of hire and DEI initiatives, ensuring you’re welcoming diverse talent that aligns with your organization’s needs. 

Optimize recruitment channels 

Recruiters typically use a range of methods to alert job seekers about their open vacancies. So, paying attention to metrics identifies which job posting sites, social media platforms, or employees are bringing in the best candidates. Understanding the data allows you to focus your efforts and resources on the most successful channels, saving time and money.

Drive organizational growth 

Companies depend on strategic workforce planning to make informed decisions about where to allocate resources for maximum impact. In recruitment, this means tracking data that tells the story of candidate quality, time to hire, cost per hire, and employee retention rates. From here, you might: 

• Invest in better recruiting processes
• Increase the number of people involved in screening
• Expand your employer brand initiatives to attract top talent 

Pay attention to these 9 talent acquisition metrics

You may be tempted to track all of the recruiting metrics below, or you could cherry-pick a handful that best corresponds to your talent acquisition goals. Consider gathering the following data: 

Time to hire 

Time to hire is the period from when a candidate applies or is sourced for a position to the date they accept the job offer. This talent acquisition metric evaluates the efficiency and effectiveness of the candidate selection processes within the recruitment cycle. It’s a good indicator of the recruitment team’s responsiveness and the overall candidate experience. For example, a longer time to hire may reflect delays in screening, interviewing, or decision-making processes, which cause friction for candidates. 

How to measure time to hire: Establish the date your successful candidate applied for the role and the date you offered them the job. Simply calculate the number of days it takes for your successful candidate to get from A to B. 

Time to fill 

Time to fill is regularly confused with time to hire, but TTF is your longer metric. It measures the total time to fill a role from when the vacancy becomes available until a candidate accepts an offer. This encompasses the entire recruitment cycle, including the time spent identifying the need for a new hire, creating a job description, approving the job posting, advertising the position, sourcing candidates, interviewing, and finally, the acceptance of the job offer by the candidate. 

Although this metric overlaps with TTH, it can assess the efficiency of the recruitment process and the effectiveness of the recruitment team in sourcing, attracting, and hiring candidates.

How to measure time to fill: Mark the date a new vacancy is created, perhaps due to an employee resignation or a new position being created, and the date when the successful candidate accepts the job offer. Calculate the number of days between these two points. 

Cost per hire 

Cost per hire evaluates the total cost incurred by an organization to fill one position. This includes any investments made in: 

• Recruitment advertising
• Recruitment software
• Career fairs
• Recruiting events
• Agency fees
• Background checks
• Travel costs for interviews

Knowing the overall cost helps organizations understand how much they are investing in their recruitment efforts and whether it’s a sustainable expense. The metric is also useful for comparing the cost of different recruitment channels and strategies, allowing organizations to optimize their recruitment budget.

How to measure cost per hire: Add up all the costs associated with filling a position, including advertising, software fees, agency fees, etc. Divide this total by the number of hires made within a specific period, such as per month, quarter, or year. 

Acceptance rate 

Your acceptance rate is the percentage of candidates who accept a job offer after being presented with one. This metric reveals how well your organization attracts and engages top talent and the effectiveness of your recruiting process to find the right fit for both parties. 

A high acceptance rate indicates that your recruitment efforts are effectively meeting the needs and expectations of both candidates and your organization. On the flip side, if you experience a high number of rejections after nurturing candidates through the recruitment process, it may be time to re-evaluate your hiring criteria and approach.

How to measure acceptance rate: Divide the number of accepted job offers by the total number of offers made, then multiply by 100 to get your percentage. Keep track of this metric over time to identify any trends or changes in candidate behavior.

Candidate experience 

Candidate experience is a candidate’s overall impression of your organization throughout the recruitment process. It includes all touchpoints, from job search and application to onboarding.

No candidate wants the application process to feel clunky or to be left out of the loop regarding next steps. Therefore, tracking candidate experience can impact an organization’s employer brand and ability to attract top talent in the future. 

How to measure candidate experience: Create a survey to fill out after each stage of the recruitment process, asking your candidates to rate their experience and provide feedback. You can also monitor online reviews and ratings on job search platforms like Glassdoor to gauge overall sentiment toward your organization’s recruitment processes.

DEI 

Tracking metrics related to DEI can help organizations identify opportunities to improve their hiring process and create a more diverse and inclusive workforce. Attracting candidates from underrepresented groups is a good start, but tracking how they move through your recruitment funnel is essential. For example, a significant drop-off of minority candidates at the interview stage may indicate biases in the selection process.

How to measure DEI metrics: Keep track of the diversity of your applicant pool and how many candidates from different minority groups make it to each stage of the recruitment process. Compare these numbers to overall hiring rates to identify potential disparities or improvement areas.

Yield ratio 

The yield ratio measures the efficiency of the hiring process at various stages. Calculate it by comparing the number of candidates at one stage of the recruitment process to the number of candidates who move on to the next stage. Essentially, it helps recruiters and hiring managers understand how many candidates, out of the total number that applied or were screened, make it through to subsequent phases of the hiring process, such as interviews, assessments, and, ultimately, the offer stage.

How to measure yield ratio: Divide the number of candidates who make it to the next stage by the total number of candidates at the previous stage, then multiply by 100 to get your percentage. Keep track of this metric at each stage of the recruitment process to identify any trends or areas for improvement. 

Offer acceptance 

Offer acceptance measures how popular your job offers are with the candidates you extend them to. By the offer stage, both recruiters and candidates have invested time and energy in the process, so it’s crunch time for both parties. 

A high offer acceptance rate indicates that your recruitment efforts have successfully identified and engaged with top talent, while a low acceptance rate may indicate issues in the offer itself or in earlier stages of the process, such as camaraderie during the interview stage. 

How to measure offer acceptance: Divide the number of accepted job offers by the total number of offers made, then multiply by 100 to get your percentage. Regularly evaluate and analyze this metric to identify any areas for improvement or patterns in candidate behavior. Additionally, seek feedback from candidates who declined your offer to gain insight into their decision-making process.

Retention rate 

Retention rates measure how long employees stay with your organization after being hired. High turnover can be costly for organizations, so longer tenure is often the goal for hiring teams. If you’re losing employees during or following onboarding, or if there is a trend of shorter tenure in certain departments or roles, this could highlight recruitment process issues, such as poor job fit or insufficient candidate screening. 

How to measure retention rate: Divide the number of employees who stayed with the organization for a specified period by the total number of employees hired during that time, then multiply by 100 to get your percentage. 

How to improve your talent acquisition rates

You’ve been tracking your talent acquisition metrics for a while, and the results aren’t what you’d hoped for. How can you boost the scores? Check out these strategies. 

Focus on your employer branding 

All companies have an employer brand, whether they actively maintain it or not. Past and current employees, previous candidates, and the public all have existing perceptions of your organization as an employer. By intentionally crafting your employer brand, you can attract top talent and improve retention rates.

Utilize social media and other online platforms to showcase your company culture, employee testimonials, and job postings. Places like Glassdoor, Blind, and your company’s LinkedIn profiles are all places that prospective employees will check out before and during the application process. 

Example: Benepass receives 4.9 out of 5.0 on Glassdoor, with 100% of employee reviews reporting they would recommend the company to a friend, and 100% approving of the CEO. 

Improve internal communication 

Miscommunication about the skills and competencies required for the open position or the type of person you’re looking for can result in a damaged recruitment cycle. Before advertising the vacancy, make sure the following people agree with the job specifications: 

• Hiring manager
• HR recruiter
• Team members who will work with the new hire

You must also clarify:

• Who will act as the main point of contact for each recruitment stage
• Who has the final say about hiring decisions 
• What the candidate evaluation criteria are 
• Your compensation budget for the role 

Collect candidate feedback 

Quantitative talent acquisition metrics are easy to track and can reveal patterns over time. However, qualitative data gives you deeper insights into the specific experiences your candidates have encountered while applying for a job at your company. 

Surveys with open text fields enable you to collect feedback from candidates who declined your job offer or withdrew their application during recruitment. Use this longer, more detailed feedback to understand why they opted out and look for patterns in their responses. You might ask questions like: 

• What attracted you to this role and company? 
• Can you share any challenges or concerns you faced during the recruitment process? 
• Do you have any suggestions for how we can improve our hiring process?
• Would you consider applying for another position in the future?

Analyzing and acting on this feedback can improve your recruitment process and ultimately increase your talent acquisition success rates. 

Adopt quality screening tools 

Streamlining your recruitment process with efficient and effective screening tools can save time, reduce bias, and attract top talent. Use tools such as applicant tracking systems, skills assessments, and video interviews to identify the candidates with the best skills for the role early on.

These tools narrow down your pool of candidates and help you make more informed hiring decisions. Better yet, they’ll also enhance the candidate experience by providing a user-friendly application process and timely updates on their status. This positive experience can leave a lasting impression on candidates, even if they’re not ultimately hired for the role. 

Offer comprehensive benefits 

The total rewards model you offer significantly influences a candidate’s acceptance of an offer. Using a platform like Benepass, it’s easy to offer competitive salaries, health benefits, paid time off, and other perks that ensure your organization is more attractive to top talent. 

• Example 1: Moira plans to adopt a child next year and wants to take leave to support her growing family. She chooses to apply for your company knowing that you offer generous family forming benefits. 
• Example 2: Joel has a rare genetic condition and requires comprehensive health coverage to cover his necessary treatments and medications. He is more likely to accept an offer from your company over another with less comprehensive benefits.
• Example 3: Gerrie is a recent college graduate with a large amount of student debt. They value companies that offer student loan repayment programs and choose to apply for positions at these types of organizations.

Attract top talent with Benepass

Benepass enables employers to deliver customizable benefits chosen by the people who need and use them—their people. Current employees and job candidates are attracted by the range of pre-tax benefits and perks programs available, which include the following: 

• Health Savings Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements 
• Lifestyle Spending Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts 
• Commuter and Remote Work Benefits 
• Wellness and Food Benefits 
• Family and Childcare Benefits 
• Professional Development Benefits 
• Employee Rewards and Recognition Programs 

Ready to learn how our flexible benefits platform could be a persuasive tool in your talent acquisition strategy? Book a free Benepass demo today, or contact sales@getbenepass.com with any questions.