Most organisations measure their recruitment activity – but very few measure it in a way that tells them whether their recruitment marketing is actually working. There is a meaningful difference between activity metrics and outcome metrics, and focusing on the wrong ones leads to investment decisions that feel justified but don’t improve results.
The Metrics Most Employers Track (But Shouldn’t Rely On)
Application volume, cost-per-application and time-to-fill are the most commonly tracked recruitment metrics. All three are useful but none of them, on its own, tells you whether your recruitment marketing is performing well.
High application volume with low quality wastes recruiter time and drives up cost-per-hire. Low CPA achieved by advertising in the cheapest channels is meaningless if those channels do not produce candidates who get through to interview. Fast time-to-fill achieved by lowering the quality bar creates downstream people management problems.
The Metrics That Actually Drive Decision-Making
The metrics that genuinely indicate recruitment marketing performance are:
Quality of hire at source level. Which channels produce candidates who receive offers – not just applications? Channel-by-channel quality analysis often reveals that the most expensive sources (executive search, specialist agencies) have higher cost-per-hire but similar or better quality outcomes than apparently cheaper alternatives. It also often reveals significant underperformance from channels receiving significant budget.
Funnel conversion rates by stage. Where in the process is the biggest drop-off? If the largest gap is between application and phone screen, the advertising is generating unqualified applicants. If it is between offer and acceptance, there may be an employer brand or compensation issue. Each stage drop-off has a different cause and a different fix.
Offer acceptance rate. This is the most direct measure of employer brand effectiveness at the moment of decision. A low acceptance rate, particularly on competitive roles, is a signal that your proposition – salary, flexibility, opportunity – is not landing as well as you think it is.
First-year retention by hire source. The ultimate downstream quality measure. Do hires from specific sources stay and perform? This is rarely tracked but consistently reveals which recruitment channels are producing genuine quality versus those producing candidates who look good on paper.
Building a Simple Measurement Framework
You do not need a complex technology stack to track these metrics. A well-designed spreadsheet updated monthly by a single person can capture the data needed to identify the most significant performance gaps and investment priorities. The key is consistency – tracking the same metrics in the same way every month, so that trends become visible.
RMG helps employers build recruitment marketing measurement frameworks that are practical, actionable and genuinely linked to business outcomes. Get in touch to discuss how we can help you measure and improve your recruitment marketing performance, or visit our services page for more detail.