What if the metrics we held near and dear to our Talent Acquisition hearts weren’t the best ways to measure the health and wellness of our hiring initiatives?
What if, as a Talent Advisor, you’ve been tasked with identifying new metrics to offer better insights into your workflows and performances?
Not metrics rolled up into a big mass that is devoid of true actionable insight but metrics that candidate experience, recruiter effectiveness, hiring manager partnership, and executive expectations.
Legend:
🟠 Candidate-Centric Metrics
🟡 Recruiter-Centric Metrics
🔴 Hiring Manager-Centric Metrics
🔵 C-Level / Strategic Metrics
The Metrics…
Time in Status Variance (TISV) 🟠 🟡 🔴
Measures how long people stay in each stage of the hiring process (e.g., sourcing, engagement/application review, interview scheduling), and highlights outliers.
+ People: Reduces ghosting and bottlenecks.
+ Recruiter: Helps identify where they’re slowed down.
+ Hiring Manager: Pinpoints where feedback or decisions lag.
+ C-Level: Reveals process inefficiency and its downstream impact on time to hire.
Net Hiring Experience Score (NHX) 🟠 🟡 🔴 🔵
NPS-style score that blends person, recruiter, and hiring manager feedback after each hiring cycle.
+ All: Holistically reflects satisfaction across all user groups.
+ All: Helps build a culture of accountability and partnership in hiring.
Feedback Loop Closure Rate 🟠 🟡 🔴
Measures the percentage of people (especially post-interview) who receive meaningful feedback, and how fast it’s delivered.
+ People: Directly improves experience and employer brand.
+ Recruiter: Encourages ownership of people journey.
+ Hiring Manager: Reflects commitment to communication.
+ C-Level: Brand equity and values
Interview-to-Decision Velocity 🔴
Tracks time from final interview to offer decision.
+ People: Reduces anxiety, keeps engagement high.
+ Recruiter: Identifies slowdowns in decision-making.
+ Hiring Manager: Encourages prompt evaluation.
+ C-Level: Prevents offer declines due to delays.
Internal Mobility Friction Index 🔴
Measures how often internal employees apply, progress, and are selected versus dropping out early.
+ People: Encourages growth within.
+ Recruiter: Promotes fair, internal-first hiring.
+ Hiring Manager: Highlights openness to internal talent.
+ C-Level: Signals talent retention and cost avoidance.
Recruiter Role Complexity Load (RRCL) 🟡
Weights recruiter requisitions not by volume but by complexity (seniority, scarcity, location, niche skill).
+ People: Reduces burnout, improves communication.
+ Recruiter: Encourages equitable req distribution.
+ Hiring Manager: Helps manage expectations on timelines.
+ C-Level: Aligns headcount strategy with capacity.
Hiring Forecast Accuracy (HFA) 🔵
Compares predicted versus actual hiring outcomes (timing, volume, quality).
+ People: Reduces last-minute changes and cancellations.
+ Recruiter: Promotes proactive planning.
+ Hiring Manager: Builds trust in TA predictability.
+ C-Level: Links hiring plans to business planning reliability.
Requisition Approval to Launch Lag 🟡
Measures time between when a req is approved and when it’s posted.
+ People: Shortens access to opportunities.
+ Recruiter: Highlights systemic delays or bottlenecks.
+ Hiring Manager: Drives urgency and alignment.
+ C-Level: Impacts “revenue or science”-critical headcount plans.
Candidate Sentiment Delta (CSD) 🟠
Compares people sentiment before and after interviews (via short pulse surveys).
+ People: Ensures the process improves perception.
+ Recruiter: Reveals breakdowns in communication or tone.
+ Hiring Manager: Correlates interview quality with engagement.
+ C-Level: Leading indicator of reputation and employer brand.
Offer Drop-Off Signal Index 🟠
Uses signals (delays, counteroffers, communication gaps) to predict risk of offer rejection or ghosting.
+ People: Enables preemptive re-engagement.
+ Recruiter: Improves offer-to-accept ratio.
+ Hiring Manager: Protects time investment.
+ C-Level: Reduces recruiting efficiency ratio and churn.
Hiring Manager Touchpoint Index 🔴
Measures how often and how meaningfully hiring managers engage in the hiring process (intake/discovery, engagement strategy, screening, feedback, interview participation).
+ People: Improves perception of manager involvement.
+ Recruiter: Reduces process drag.
+ Hiring Manager: Encourages ownership of talent outcomes.
+ C-Level: Culture of accountability and leadership quality.
AI Augmentation Ratio 🟡 🔵
Proportion of sourcing, screening, and scheduling tasks automated or AI-assisted versus human effort.
+ People: Faster responses, less delay.
+ Recruiter: Improves strategic focus.
+ Hiring Manager: Shorter time to slate.
+ C-Level: Talent cost efficiency and innovation maturity.
Talent Scarcity Exposure Score 🔵
An index that combines role criticality, geographic constraints, compensation competitiveness, and talent market saturation.
+ People: Better-informed expectations.
+ Recruiter: Supports smarter sourcing prioritization.
+ Hiring Manager: Sets realistic expectations.
+ C-Level: Talent planning for business risk mitigation.
First-Year Success Alignment 🔵
Tracks if new hires meet performance goals aligned to hiring criteria within their first year (no, this is not QoH; it’s objective rather than subjective).
+ People: Encourages onboarding and integration.
+ Recruiter: Links selection quality to outcome.
+ Hiring Manager: Measures hiring fit beyond “time to fill.”
+ C-Level: Business impact of hiring decisions.
Experience Consistency Index 🟠 🔵
Measures variation in experience scores across different locations, functions, and demographic groups.
+ People: Ensures equitable process design.
+ Recruiter: Standardizes best practices.
+ Hiring Manager: Flags inconsistent behavior or support.
+ C-Level: Equity, inclusion, and brand consistency.
Are any of these good? Bad? Meh?
I’m really interested in what you think.
~Steve
The Recruiting Inferno 