Developing a Measurable Corporate Recruiting Model

There was a time a few years back when HR – or Personnel as it was referred to then – was able to sit happily within the corporate business model as a cost center; there was little controversy and it did not need to justify it’s presence or exhibit a return on investment. But, the game has changed since then, due to increased competition on every level, which has forced businesses to become increasingly metrics driven. Today, there are new expectations placed on established cost centers like HR and particularly corporate recruiters, who must now be able to measure and quantify their success and demonstrate a tangible return on investment.

Below, I have set out the two main approaches that corporates recruiters can take to quantify their recruitment and interviewing process and show that they are undeniably key contributors to the success of the business.

1. Align your metrics with business strategy

To ensure that the recruitment team’s goals are truly business aligned, corporate recruiting goals should be developed in line with the business’s balanced score card.

For, example, it would be ill-advised for your recruiting team to place too much emphasis on internal recruitment success if the company strategy is geared towards refreshing the talent base by attracting more external talent. Equally, you might not want to focus on speed of recruitment if the company strategy is focused around quality/first year employment retention levels, Or conversely, maybe the company wants to improve its employer brand positioning which suggests an increased emphasis on candidate relationship management and a little less emphasis on speed. And so on… The point being, align corporate recruiting practices with your company strategy, not solely on your HR specific strategy. To compliment this alignment, ensure that costs and budget structure are geared toward the end business goal, such as reducing cost of hire, reducing recruitment advertising spend, generating more top salespeople hires to increase revenue, etc…

2. Choose your recruitment metrics carefully

Until now, the most commonly used metrics in the corporate recruiting world have been Time to Hire and Cost to Fill. These metrics have and continue to serve their purpose well. However, in today’s world there is a need for some additional measurements of performance –  as was underlined in a recent mini white paper in HR Management Magazine, called Recruiting Metrics – The Rules Have Changed – and I have described these below.

1. Performance/Quality of Hire: The performance (measured by appraisal scores) of employees during their first year is compared to that of their more experienced peers.

2.Manager Satisfaction: The manager’s satisfaction with the service quality of the recruitment team is assessed by a customer satisfaction survey carried out after each recruitment project and/or annually.

3. Candidate Satisfaction: Survey candidates and find out what percentage of them are satisfied with the process.

4. Pipeline development: This measures the number and quality of external and internal candidates in the pipeline and should really be supported by a CRM system.

It is clear that there are a range of recruitment metrics that can be used to help steer the activities of the recruitment department. Whichever metrics you choose, it is vital that they are developed in line with the company’s balanced score card, business strategy, and HR strategy. If developed properly, internal recruiting departments can help businesses achieve measurable, clearly defined goals, which in turn should create a clear business case for increased visibility, access, and budget for the recruitment department.