How We Enhanced Recruiting Outcomes Using The KPI For Qualified Candidates

Gaining proficiency in computing recruitment Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is essential for enhancing your recruitment strategies. These encompass crucial metrics such as qualified candidates per opening, candidate survey outcomes, days to offer, offer acceptance rate, and hires to goal. This comprehensive guide from Aniday provides an overview of how we used the qualified candidates KPI to improve recruiting results. 

What is Qualified Candidates KPI? 

In recruiting, a "Qualified Candidate (QC)" is our counterpart to Marketing Qualified Leads or Sales Qualified Leads. These candidates have cleared the first interview milestone, usually a recruiter phone screen, during the application review. The number of candidates  is tracked when moving from application review to the second milestone: a recruiter phone call, signaling a filling interview funnel with potential hires.

The Steps to Evaluate QC KPI

If you choose to employ KPIs, it's crucial to consider how you'll leverage the gathered information. We advocate following these steps:

• Identify an issue: Recognize if there is a problem or challenge within the data.

• Pull supporting reports: Analyze whether the numbers are trending upward or downward and identify any anomalies or outliers.

• Identify a process change to impact the data going forward: Determine areas where changes can be implemented to positively influence future data outcomes.

• Loop in stakeholders for buy-in and execution: Engage relevant stakeholders to ensure their support and active participation in implementing changes, ensuring that the proposed adjustments to the process are effectively put into action.

Specifically to QC KPI, we would look at some basic analysis as follow 

• Source Analysis: Slice data by source to identify the most effective channels for qualified candidates.

• Basic QC Analysis: Conduct basic analysis to determine the average number of Qualified Candidates (QCs) needed per hire.

• Setting QC Goals: Establish QC goals for your team based on the analysis, providing a target for recruitment efforts.

• Performance Tracking:Monitor progress towards QC goals as a leading indicator for timely hiring success.

• Resource Allocation: Use QC goal tracking to make informed decisions on reallocating resources for active candidate sourcing when necessary.

A Case Study on Qualified Candidates KPI 

As mentioned above, Qualified candidates (QCs) are individuals progressing beyond the application review to the initial interview, typically a recruiter phone screen. This KPI holds significance for us, surpassing mere application volume, as it serves as a crucial top-of-funnel metric reflecting the health of our overall pipeline.

The Problem: Inadequate QCs per Role

In Q2 of 2022, during our KPI brainstorming session, we initiated a QC report across all roles for the first time. The revelation was surprising, with QCs per role averaging between 2 to 5 over a 4-month period.

Analysis 

Issue Identification:

• QC numbers fell below expectations.

Supporting Reports:

• Conducted in-depth analysis to gain a comprehensive perspective.

Dual Challenge Unveiled:

• Short-term Concern:

  • Recruiting team stretched too thin.

  • Investigated if process adjustments could enhance productivity.

  • Findings revealed a fourfold increase in recruiter output would be needed to meet demands.

• Long-term Issue:

  • Lack of clarity on the optimal number of QCs per role.

  • Hindered objective assessment of QC per role KPI success.

The Solution

Immediate Challenge:

• Recognized the need for a fourfold increase in recruiting team output.

• Acknowledged this as a collective problem beyond the recruiting team's capacity.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Solution involved looping in stakeholders for assistance.

• Shared workload details with hiring managers and interview teams.

• Set QC goals for hiring teams, fostering their involvement in sourcing and initial phone screens.

Long-term Strategy:

• Addressed the issue of unknown QC targets per role.

• Analyzed successful past recruiting pipelines as a benchmark.

• Established initial QC goals against this model, with plans for adjustments.

• Emphasized early outbound sourcing to meet QC goals and streamline the interview process.

The Results

Impactful Changes:

• Implemented process changes based on our findings.

• Remarkable Outcome: Quadrupled QCs per role from 2–5 in Q2 to 15–20 over the next two quarters.

How to Adopt This Practice in Your Company?

If you're eager to optimize your recruiting process, here are some tips to guide you. 

Begin by regularly pulling Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and experiment with different review intervals until you find a suitable cadence. If you lack established KPIs, consider adopting ours as a starting point. 

Once you've initiated KPI tracking, delve deeper by pulling supporting results to pinpoint specific issues. Subsequently, devise a process change to positively influence future data outcomes. For instance, involving personnel from other departments in phone screens and dedicating more sourcing time when a role is announced worked effectively for us. 

Lastly, ensure buy-in and execution by looping in stakeholders. A valuable tip is to focus on addressing one KPI at a time to avoid feeling overwhelmed; our team found success in fixing one problem thoroughly instead of attempting to tackle all issues simultaneously.

In Summary

Mastering the calculation of recruitment KPIs is vital for refining your recruitment strategies. These metrics include qualified candidates per opening, candidate survey outcomes, days to offer, offer acceptance rate, and hires to goal. The Aniday guide offered valuable insights into How we used the qualified candidates KPI to improve recruiting results.