Understanding Recruitment Marketing KPIs
Only 56% of companies use data to drive decisions in recruitment marketing. This is a huge missed opportunity by almost half of the recruitment leaders.
Data from key performance indicators (KPIs) plays a crucial role in recruitment marketing as it helps recruiters and hiring managers measure the effectiveness of their recruitment efforts and make data-driven decisions. From the speed of filling open positions to the cost of recruitment advertising and the acceptance rates of job offers, every recruitment marketing KPI metric is important in evaluating recruitment strategies.
Marketing KPIs provide valuable insights into candidate behavior, the effectiveness of job advertisements, and the overall recruitment process. Recruitment marketing KPI metrics also allow recruiters to quantify the return on investment (ROI) of their recruitment advertising efforts. Using the cost-per-hire KPI, for example, recruiters can evaluate the effectiveness of different advertising channels and determine where to allocate their recruitment budget.
In this article, we’ll describe the top recruitment marketing KPI metrics that every talent acquisition manager, RPO, or talent agency should be tracking to ensure the success of their hiring campaigns.
11 Key KPIs for Recruiters to Track
By tracking the recruiting KPIs outlined in this article, recruitment leaders can identify areas for improvement and optimise recruitment strategies to attract and retain top talent and reduce the cost of recruitment.
1. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR is a recruitment marketing KPI metric used in digital advertising and marketing to measure the effectiveness of an advertisement or marketing message. It represents the percentage of people who click on a specific link or call-to-action (CTA) after being presented with the opportunity to do so. Therefore, in recruitment marketing, CTR is the percentage of job seekers who click on your job ad after seeing it.
A high CTR indicates that your job ad is appealing and relevant to your target audience, while a low CTR suggests that your ad may not be resonating with job seekers.
To calculate CTR, you can divide the number of clicks on your job ad by the number of impressions (i.e., the number of times your ad was displayed). By using a programmatic job ad platform like Hirematic, CTR can be calculated accurately and efficiently.
2. Cost-per-Click (CPC)
CPC measures the cost you pay each time a job seeker clicks on your job ad.
CPC is important because it helps you understand the return on investment (ROI) of your job advertising spend. For example, a low CPC indicates that your ad is effective at targeting the right audience and encouraging clicks. On the other hand, a high CPC indicates that your ad is not resonating with job seekers or that you need to adjust your targeting to reach a more relevant audience or that your competitors are doing a better job at delivering a highly relevant ad campaign to your target audience.
To calculate your CPC for a specific ad, 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. To take the manual work out of tracking CPC, you can use a platform like Hirematic that also helps optimise your CPC.
3. Cost-per-Application (CPA)
CPA is a recruitment marketing KPI metric that measures the aggregate cost to acquire one applicant on a campaign or channel level. This metric helps you understand the cost-effectiveness of your recruitment efforts.
A low CPA indicates that your job ad is effectively attracting qualified candidates at a reasonable cost, while a high CPA may suggest that you need to adjust your ad targeting or make changes to your application process to encourage more submissions.
You can track CPA through a variety of methods, including:
- Using UTM parameters to generate link codes for social or affiliate marketing
- Exporting PPC campaign data from Google AdWords
- Using promotional codes and building custom links for internal campaigns
- Implementing a CRM or ATS system
- Including a form field on application forms that asks candidates how they found out about a job
- Using a programmatic ads platform
A programmatic ads platform is hands down the best way to track CPA. If you use a solution like Hirematic, the best part is you only pay per application — so it’s a win-win.
4. Conversion or Apply Rate
The conversion or apply rate measures the percentage of job seekers who take action after clicking on your job ad, such as submitting an application or contacting you for more information. A high conversion or apply rate means that your job ad is effectively driving job seekers to take action, while a low conversion rate indicates that there may be obstacles or barriers preventing job seekers from applying. By optimising your job ad and application process, you can improve your conversion rate and attract more qualified candidates.
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%.
5. Application-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, 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.
Application-to-hire rate is a little more granular than the conversion rate as it measures the percentage of job applicants who ultimately get hired.
This recruitment marketing KPI helps you understand the effectiveness of your recruiting process and the quality of your candidate pool.
A high application-to-hire rate indicates that your recruiting process is efficient and effective at identifying qualified candidates, while a low application-to-hire rate may suggest that you need to improve your screening process or adjust your job ad to attract more qualified candidates.
6. Time on Page
Measuring the time job seekers spend viewing your job ad is crucial in identifying which parts of your job ad are most effective in keeping job seekers engaged.
A longer time on the page suggests that your job ad is engaging and relevant, while a shorter time on page may indicate that your ad is not capturing job seekers’ attention.
The time on page KPI metric helps you understand job seekers’ behavior on your job ad and improve its content and design to increase engagement and conversions.
7. Applicant Quality
Applicant quality is a recruitment marketing KPI that measures the quality of candidates who apply for your job opening. A high-quality applicant pool means that your job ad is effectively targeting and attracting qualified candidates who are a good fit for the position and your company culture. On the other hand, a low-quality applicant pool may indicate that your job ad is not effectively targeted or that the job requirements are not clear or relevant.
Applicant quality can be measured using various criteria such as education, experience, skills, and qualifications. These can be measured by:
- Resume screening: Look for relevant experience, skills, and qualifications that match the job requirements. You can also look for achievements, awards, or recognition that demonstrate the candidate's potential.
- Pre-employment assessments: Evaluate candidates' skills, cognitive abilities, and personality traits. You can use different types of assessments, such as behavioral assessments, cognitive tests, or skills tests, depending on the job requirements.
- Interviews: You can ask behavioral-based questions to evaluate how candidates would handle situations relevant to the job. You can also ask technical questions to evaluate their knowledge and experience.
By tracking applicant quality, you can improve your job ad and hiring process to attract more qualified candidates and improve your hiring outcomes.
8. Social Engagement
With the rise of social media, measuring social engagement is becoming increasingly important in understanding how your job ad resonates with job seekers.
Social engagement measures the number of likes, comments, and shares that your job ad receives on social media platforms. A high level of social engagement indicates that your job ad is generating interest and has the potential to go viral, while a low level of social engagement may suggest that your ad is not effectively targeting your audience or that it is not shareable or appealing.
Measuring social engagement allows you to identify which social media platforms are the most effective in promoting your job ad and make necessary changes to increase engagement.
9. Time to Fill
Time to fill is a critical recruitment marketing KPI that measures the amount of time it takes to fill a job opening. A shorter time to fill means that you are able to attract and hire qualified candidates quickly, which can save you time and money. On the other hand, a longer time to fill may indicate that you are not effectively targeting your job ad or that your hiring process is too complex or lengthy.
By streamlining your hiring process and optimising your job ads across multiple channels, you can reduce your time to fill and attract more qualified candidates. This may sound like a complex endeavor but new tools like Hirematic make it incredibly easy.
10. Diversity Metrics
As companies strive to promote diversity and inclusivity, measuring diversity KPIs is essential in ensuring that your job ads are reaching a diverse pool of candidates and that your hiring practices are inclusive and equitable.
Diversity metrics measure the diversity of your applicant pool and workforce, such as gender, race, and ethnicity.
By tracking diversity metrics, you can identify any gaps in your hiring practices and make necessary changes to ensure that you are attracting and hiring diverse candidates.
11. Retention Rate
Measuring the retention rate helps you understand how effective your job ad is in attracting candidates who are a good fit for the company culture and job requirements. This is particularly helpful in recruiting strategies where there may be a high turnover of staff.
Retention rate measures the percentage of new hires who remain with the company for a specified period of time, such as 6 months or 1 year. A higher retention rate indicates that your job ad is effectively attracting candidates who are a good fit for the company, while a lower retention rate may suggest that your job ad is not accurately representing the job or the company culture.
Measuring retention rate helps you identify any issues with your job ad or hiring process that may be contributing to a low retention rate and make necessary changes to improve it.
Getting Smart with KPI Metrics
Overall, recruitment marketing KPIs help recruiters and hiring managers to make data-driven decisions, optimise their recruitment strategies, and improve the overall candidate experience, leading to more successful hiring outcomes. Perhaps most importantly, recruitment marketing KPIs provide insight into candidate experience and help recruiters improve the candidate journey.
This all sounds great, but how can anyone possibly track all these KPIs when we are so busy with our day-to-day tasks?
Integrating HR technologies can significantly improve the quality of KPIs used in recruitment marketing. Technology can automate and streamline data collection processes, reducing manual errors and increasing the accuracy of the data.
For example, applicant tracking systems can capture data on the recruitment process and the candidate experience, allowing recruiters to analyse trends, identify bottlenecks, and improve the overall hiring process. Additionally, using programmatic job ad platforms can help target the right candidates, track the performance of job ads, and increase the reach and visibility of job postings.
The Hirematic platform helps you to keep track of all your recruiting KPIs, across multiple job advertising boards, all on one dashboard. This means you can more effectively spend your time on other parts of the hiring process and leave the mundane tasks to us. Learn more about our AI-powered recruitment platform today.
