It’s common for recruiting and HR professionals to think about talent acquisition metrics as they strive to measure their effectiveness. However, a bigger picture structure is needed to ensure that the entirety of your engineering talent acquisition system is continually improving. Engineering and technology organizations apply quality management systems (QMS) to product creation, and the same principles can be applied to the engineering recruiting process. A talent acquisition quality management system (TAQMS) allows organizations to identify, measure, control, and improve the processes that lead to optimized talent acquisition.
A key to establishing an effective TAQMS is identifying the metrics that will be used to determine if the talent acquisition processes are under control or not. There are many metrics to choose from, but we recommend selecting five key metrics. More than five metrics tend to overwhelm organizations and shifts too much focus to data analysis instead of fixing the root cause of talent acquisition challenges.
Metrics can and should be applied to both internal and external talent acquisition teams. Below are some examples of talent acquisition metrics that can help ensure your process is under control.
Time to Fill (TTF) Target
If your average TTF is longer than the target, the root cause of the friction and/or inefficiency within your talent acquisition process must be identified and solved. Friction and/or inefficiency can come from multiple areas, including poorly developed positions, an under-resourced talent acquisition team, ineffective talent acquisition project management, and an insufficient understanding of the market.
Submission to Hire Ratio (SHR)
Your SHR reveals how well talent acquisition teams are delivering quality candidates to hiring managers. It is measured by taking the ratio of candidates submitted to the hiring manager for consideration against the number of hires.
“On-Hold” Position Percentage
What is the level of positions that are put on hold after the recruitment process has started? A high on-hold position percentage generally reflects weaknesses within the position development process and likely points to organizational inefficiency or, perhaps, organizational collaboration issues that must be addressed.
Position Requirements Change Percentage
What percentage of positions experience requirements change after the talent acquisition process has begun? As with the on-hold position percentage, a high percentage of positions experiencing requirements change is likely pointing to weaknesses within the position development process.
Offer Acceptance Rate (OA)
If the offer acceptance rate is lower than the goal, an exploration to learn more about that weakness should be conducted. Is your recruiting process too slow or unfriendly for candidates? Are your compensation and/or benefit packages noncompetitive? Are there employer branding challenges that must be addressed? OA is simply a calculation of the number of candidates presented with a verbal or written offer versus the number of candidates who accept the offer.
As with any quality system, establishing a process for the root cause analysis (RCA) is critical. Reporting TAQS metrics to executives and other appropriate stakeholders should be an assigned part of the talent acquisition project management. If any key metrics fail to meet expectations, an RCA should be conducted to determine where the breakdown is occurring. Then, apply process adjustments, and continue monitoring to ensure that the changes repaired the problem.
If you need some advice and help to improve these metrics, or if you need help determining how to best measure them, 180 Engineering is here. Please don’t hesitate to contact us.
