How to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Your Recruiting Sources

By Chris Murdock

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Instituting new business processes can be laborious so when one is implemented, it can be easy to fall into “set it and forget it” mode. However, it is important to continuously evaluate these processes and find new products that can improve efficiency.

This idea holds just as true for your recruiting resources. While new sources can be found and implemented, it takes time for the source to prove itself. The recruiting market today is challenging, so it is essential to have a process in place to evaluate the effectiveness of a recruiting source, fast. To help, we have put together 5 steps to guide you through the source evaluation process.

1. Determine the bar for measuring source effectiveness.

What is effective for one organization may not be effective for another. Do you want your resource to:

  • Gather numerous applications?
  • Lead to many interviews?
  • Bring forth a bounty of hires?
  • Provide hires that quickly assimilate to the office environment and assigned work?
  • Include cost-per-hire?

You may want a recruiting source that checks a number of these boxes, but determining what is most important for your organization provides a fair measuring stick for any new recruiting source you try. Set a KPI that you can revisit monthly, and share this all-important metric with your recruiting team, as well as the vendors you may be evaluating as part of this process.

2. Gain the support of your management team.

If recruiters and hiring managers disagree on the effectiveness of a recruiting source, conflict is bound to ensue. A recruiter may be selective on the quality of candidates they provide a hiring manager. That hiring manager may simply want to see applications come through, providing peace of mind that there is interest in the vacant position. By setting the bar at the beginning of the process, it is easier to get management buy-in and come to an agreement if sources need to be changed if results aren’t being met. You can avoid pushback if everyone is looking at the same numbers.

3. Be clear on logistics and reporting.

Strict budget and strong-willed executives may determine that a recruiting source only has one opportunity to prove its worth. Because of this, it is vital that executive and recruiting teams are clear on the time frame that this source will be in place prior to strict review. They also must agree on the way data will be collected and the type of reporting that is expected.

Recruiting technology solutions can provide consistent, valid data that makes certain that evaluation of effectiveness is a breeze. When you initially create your KPIs, make sure you know who is pulling them and from where and when, so it’s an apples to apples comparison.

4. Establish a plan to effectively manage results.

Data collection and analysis means nothing if you don’t do anything with the results. If you take time to track the effectiveness of a source, you must have a plan in place to handle those that are not up to par. By establishing a plan, recruiters can rest easy knowing that they are armed with the ability to do something about the ineffective source rather than do nothing.

You’ve taken the time to set a KPI to evaluate effectiveness, but what you do with it next is what matters. If you have a wildly successful campaign or source, do you plan to redouble efforts in that area? If a certain source proves slow but crucial, how will you manage that piece? Coming up with solutions before you get your results will help your decision remain objective and strategic.

5. Make your plan known.

Many companies use third-party sources such as job boards, search firms and career fairs to aid their recruiting process. By being transparent with third-party sources regarding your effectiveness evaluation process, it ensures that no one is taken off-guard if partnerships are reevaluated. Sharing reports of the key metrics on which you are evaluating the source fosters mutual understanding and can even help the source improve their product or service.

Excellent recruiting sources are key to finding exceptional talent to take your business to the next level. It is crucial for recruiting teams to evaluate current sources and try new ones if they want to have a competitive edge. Use these five steps to start evaluating your sources today and get ahead of the pack.

About Chris Murdock:

Chris Murdock is the Co-Founder and Senior Partner of IQTalent Partners. Chris has over 12 years of executive recruiting experience and leads search execution and client relationships along with supporting searches across the firm. 

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