Increase the Strength of Your Numbers with These High-Volume Recruiting Metrics
High-volume recruiting metrics are key to reaching your recruitment goals. But recent studies show that only 56% of companies use data to drive decisions in recruitment marketing.
While metrics are an essential part of any data-driven strategy, it seems the number of KPIs that talent managers could use is endless. Which metrics actually matter? And what data should you focus on to help make your job easier?
We’ve broken down the best methods to measure success in high-volume recruitment campaigns, complete with benchmarks and optimisation strategies so you can get the most out of your hiring process.
High-Volume Recruiting Metrics You Need to Know
Metrics are key to your recruitment strategy, letting you know what is working, what isn’t, and how to improve the hiring process. Let’s look at the top recruiting metrics and the role they play in hiring top talent.
Cost Per Click
Before any application comes in, employers first have to compete for job seekers’ attention.
Cost per click falls under the umbrella of performance-based marketing where you pay for your ad to appear on websites and in search results. Knowing your cost per click (CPC) is key to understanding exactly what you’re paying each vendor for the results they’re producing for you.
To calculate your cost per click, divide the total advertising cost by the total number of clicks. For example, if you post a job for $2,000 and you receive 1,600 clicks on that job, your CPC would be $1.25.
Recruiting metrics benchmarks
The average CPC for recruitment ads in 2020 stood at $0.79 USD. This increased to $1.10 USD in 2021 and has now stabilised around $1.00. It’s important to remember that this cost can increase depending on the industry as some are more competitive than others.
Cost Per Application
While CPC is about ad traffic and performance, cost per application puts the focus on applicants.
Cost per application (CPA) spans the entire hiring lifecycle and should be a high-volume recruiting metric all talent managers keep tabs on. It’s a measure of how much you are paying for each application that’s submitted through your applicant tracking system.
To calculate CPA, add up your recruiting expenses, everything from advertising costs to onboarding time, and divide by the number of hires in the same period. For example, in three months you spent $30,000 and received 1,575 applications. Your cost per application in those three months was $19.05.
Recruiting metrics benchmarks
We recommend setting your own benchmark by keeping a record of your costs per application. The record serves as both a goal to stay below and a benchmark for investments in future recruitment cycles.
You can also look at the past performance of your hiring team by asking questions like:
- Did we meet our hiring goals compared to other quarters?
- Have we reduced the time and costs associated with hiring?
- How effective are our sourcing channels?
- Has our attrition rate of new hires increased or decreased?
A related high-volume recruiting metric to watch is cost per quality application (CPQA). Here you define what a quality application means, whether it’s a candidate who receives a phone screening or hiring manager interview.
Higher application quality means you’re targeting the right audience, not just a wide audience. This will enable you to accurately measure how much money is being spent to bring in qualified, hireable candidates and set benchmarks to measure against your applicant sources.
Apply Rate
Apply rate is defined by the number of people who actually submit an application after having clicked on a job ad. It’s one of the most effective conversion metrics for understanding the performance of your recruitment ads and how job seekers interact with them.
Apply rates are calculated by taking the number of applications and dividing that by the number of total ad interactions that can be tracked to an application during the same time period. For example, if you had 200 applications from 1,000 interactions, your conversion rate would be 20%.
Recruiting metrics benchmarks
Apply rates shift based on many factors, including the geographic market you’re recruiting in. Tracking your local competition along with your industry’s recruiting trends paints a more holistic picture of your hiring landscape.
Other factors that affect apply rate are:
- Job seeker preferences – Do you know what makes your candidates click?
- Ad location – Have you researched the best job posting site for your ad?
- Enough traffic – Where does your ad rank on the search results page?
- Type of job – Some skills are more in demand than others, and there are not always enough applicants in the talent pool
The best way to benchmark your apply rate performance is to test and record over defined periods of time, by campaign or quarter for example. Running audits on your application process can also help uncover opportunities to attract candidates more efficiently and improve the candidate experience.
Applicant to Hire Rate
Do you know how many applications you need to find one successful hire? If you’re receiving too many, you’re wasting time sifting through unsuitable resumes; too few, and you might not find the skills or talent you need for the role.
To determine your sweet-spot, calculate your applicant to hire rate or the percentage of applicants to hire.
Recruiting metrics benchmarks
According to global PageUp research, on average globally and across all industries, 25 applications are needed for one hire. The exact numbers vary based on the industry. Higher Education hires approximately 7% of applicants whereas retail hires approximately 3% of applicants.
Your organisation’s metrics will also differ from the benchmark so discover the volume of applications your company requires to find the right person for the role.
How to Improve the Hiring Process
High-volume recruitment is more challenging than simply filling vacancies. 62% of talent managers see their job more as marketing. These are some ways to optimise high-volume recruitment campaigns and substantially impact your success in the talent market.
Start with a clear goal in mind
Clarity of vision and message are key. This means well-defined job requirements and crafted candidate personas so you can ensure the right message gets to the right people in the right place.
Audit your previous strategy
Examine what worked and what didn’t work in your last campaign and what areas need improvement. Review key metrics like CPC, CPA, apply rate, and applicant to hire rate. If you’re getting clicks but have a low apply rate, for example, consider testing your hiring process to see how it performs in practice.
Implement high-volume recruitment solutions
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Recruitment at scale can be overwhelming, there’s no doubt. But by putting metrics at the center of your recruitment strategy and measuring success along the way, you’re prepared to understand past performance that will help you strategise for future improvement.
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