Key Performance Indicators for an Effective Talent Acquisition Dashboard

Written by Salary.com Staff
October 24, 2023
Key Performance Indicators for an Effective Talent Acquisition Dashboard

How do companies know their talent acquisition efforts are effective? Key performance indicators (KPIs) provide solid metrics to assess the efficacy and impact of their recruiting initiatives.

For talent acquisition (TA) teams, having a talent acquisition dashboard that tracks key KPIs is vital to see what is working or not. This is for finding any problem areas and making data-driven decisions.

Monitoring key metrics helps ensure a company’s recruiting process is high-powered and regulated. Relying on hard data and insights is the way to stay ahead of the game.

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What is a Talent Acquisition Dashboard?

A talent acquisition dashboard is a visual display of key metrics and data points related to a company's recruiting efforts. It provides the TA teams with a view into how well the recruiting strategies and processes are working.

An effective talent acquisition dashboard gives recruiters actionable insights into areas that need improvement. For example, a high time to fill metric may suggest issues with the interview process that need reform. A low retention rate may imply problems with the onboarding experience for new hires.

A talent acquisition dashboard helps TA teams make data-driven decisions to polish and boost their efforts. A well-designed talent acquisition dashboard is a vital tool for a company looking to improve their talent acquisition efforts.

Time to Fill

Time to fill is one of the most crucial KPIs to track on a talent acquisition dashboard. It refers to the number of days between the opening of a job requisition when a talent accepts an offer for that role.

Why Time to Fill Matters

A company must fill an open job post fast. Doing so results in less lost productivity and costs. Prolonged time to fill on the talent acquisition dashboard can lead to decreased morale. It can cause higher workloads for existing staff and the risk of losing qualified talent to competitors. A speedy hiring process is the key for roles that are critical to operations or revenue generation.

To optimize time to fill, TA teams must closely monitor and analyze the individual factors that make up the overall talent acquisition dashboard. This includes:

  • Review and approval of job requisitions.
  • Posting jobs to the company's career site and external job boards.
  • Sourcing and screening talent.
  • Schedule and conduct of interviews.
  • Checking references and extending offers.

Companies must pinpoint parts of the KPIs on the talent acquisition dashboard that are inefficient. This is vital so they can make specific upgrades. Some options to consider include:

  • Reforming the job requisition and approval of workflow.
  • Using data and AI to decide the best places to advertise roles.
  • Investing in tools to automate initial talent screening.
  • Providing interview skills training for hiring managers.
  • Giving recruiters more authority to make decisions.
  • Ensuring candidates receive offers promptly once hiring managers choose a finalist.

Companies need a mix of technology, training, and process upgrades. This helps the TA teams achieve a time to fill that satisfies hiring managers and talent alike. Continually refining and optimizing the process based on data from the talent acquisition dashboard is needed. This helps make the hiring process as efficient and painless as possible.

Quality of Hire

One of the most useful metrics to track on a talent acquisition dashboard is quality of hire. This helps decide how well the hiring process is attracting top talent that will stay with the company long-term.

Quality of hire metrics examine new hire performance and retention. Managers assess their performance reviews, productivity, and KPIs. Retention looks at how long new hires stay with the company. The longer they stay, the higher the quality of hire.

High-performing, long-retaining hires mean the hiring process is effective. Low performance and high turnover suggest issues in the hiring process that companies need to address.

Talent acquisition dashboard metrics to track for quality of hire include:

  • New hire performance ratings: Have managers assess new hires after 3, 6, and 12 months. This is to find out how they are performing relative to expectations. Look for hires rated as meeting or exceeding expectations.
  • Productivity: Measure key metrics such as sales numbers, code check-ins, or tickets resolved. Compare new hires to average team productivity to see that they are achieving target levels of output.
  • Retention rates: Calculate the percentage of new hires who stay with the company after 6, 12, and 24 months. Higher rates indicate higher quality hires.
  • Cost per hire: Divide the total cost to hire for a role by the number of high-quality, long-retaining hires. Lower costs per hire mean greater hiring efficiency and quality.
  • Time to productivity: Track how long it takes for new hires to become fully productive in their roles. Shorter ramp-up times suggest higher quality hires.

Quality of hire metrics on the talent acquisition dashboard give key insight into the efficacy of recruiting and hiring practices. Companies need to continually monitor and optimize these talent acquisition dashboard metrics. This results in higher caliber talent and a more productive, engaged workforce.

Cost Per Hire

Cost per hire is one of the most key KPIs to track on a talent acquisition dashboard. It gives insights into the efficiency and effectiveness of recruiting efforts.

Tracking and analyzing cost per hire is a vital aspect of a talent acquisition dashboard. When used properly, it helps drive data-based decisions that reduce costs and improve key recruiting outcomes.

Source of Hire

Source of hire is another key KPI for talent acquisition dashboard. It refers to how a new employee learned about and applied for a job opening. Tracking the source of hire provides key insights into the efficacy of various recruiting efforts and channels.

TA teams must monitor three main sources of hire on the talent acquisition dashboard:

  • Employee referrals: Referrals from current employees tend to yield high quality talent. Offering employee referral bonuses or a rewards scheme helps increase this channel.
  • Career sites: The company’s own career site and job board must be a primary source of hire. Optimize career sites for search, provide an easy-to-use interface, and keep job listings up to date. This produces more applications from this channel.
  • Social professional networks: Sites such as LinkedIn have become a major sourcing tool for recruiters and job seekers. TA teams can engage with potential talent on these networks. They can post jobs on LinkedIn and urge employees to share openings on their networks. This tactic increases the volume of hires from this source.

Other sources to track include university recruiting, virtual job fairs, diverse job sites, and recruiting agencies or headhunters. TA teams must record the source of each new hire using the talent acquisition dashboard. Monitoring them over time to find the optimal mix of sources for the roles and business needs is crucial.

As some sources become more or less productive, recruiting efforts and budgets must adjust accordingly.

Applicant-to-Interview Ratio

The applicant-to-interview ratio is a crucial metric for any talent acquisition dashboard. It shows how effective the recruiting process is in finding and moving promising candidates through the hiring funnel.

Running a productive, cost-efficient talent acquisition process requires tracking and improving the applicant-to-interview ratio. Companies can hire the best talent available faster and cheaper with the right KPIs on their talent acquisition dashboard and improvements in place.

Offer-to-Acceptance Ratio

A key metric for talent acquisition dashboard is the offer-to-acceptance ratio. This measures the number of job offers extended to candidates versus the number of offers accepted. A low ratio on the talent acquisition dashboard shows that many candidates are turning down offers. This signals issues with the hiring process, compensation, work setting, or other factors.

Tracking this ratio on the talent acquisition dashboard over time allows the TA teams to find trends and make corrections. For example, when the offer-to-acceptance ratio declines over several months, it suggests problems the TA teams need to address.

Common reasons for offer rejections include:

  • Uncompetitive salary or benefits: Candidates may receive a better offer from another company. Reviewing the compensation for the role and adjusting as needed help.
  • Poor candidate experience: When the interview and hiring process is chaotic or takes too long, candidates may accept other offers in the meantime. Reforming the hiring workflow and ensuring a positive experience for candidates is crucial.
  • Job/company misperception: The role and company may be misrepresented during the hiring process. This means that the actual offer did not match the candidate’s expectations. Clearly defining the role, duties, company culture, and work setting prevents this issue.
  • Lack of follow-up: Failure to follow up during the hiring process and keep them engaged leads to drop-off and offer rejections. Maintaining open communication and follow-up contact with candidates throughout hiring is the key.

The offer-to-acceptance ratio provides a high-level snapshot of the success of talent acquisition and hiring. Companies need to closely monitor this metric on the talent acquisition dashboard. This is where making upgrades to address any issues that lead to a higher quality of hire, better retention, and a more productive workforce.

A higher offer-to-acceptance ratio means the company is attracting and hiring top talent that is the right fit for open roles.

A well-designed talent acquisition dashboard displays key metrics around sources of hire, time to fill, cost per hire, quality of hire, applicant-to-interview ratio, and offer-acceptance ratio. Monitoring these KPIs helps align recruiting activities with business goals and quickly addresses any areas needing improvement. With the right data and insights, companies can enhance the effectiveness of their talent acquisition strategies.

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