Every time you make a new hire, you’re likely challenged by someone with the question, “How will we know if it’s a successful hire?” And the answer isn’t one-size-fits-all. For someone in a commercial role, impact on sales or profitability can equal success. However, it can be harder to quantify for someone in a support role or non-sales space.
At Advantage, we like numbers. And we want proof of success. Let’s not kid ourselves that recruitment success is only about passing probation. This article explores the intricacies of defining success so you know what metrics and KPIs each hire can measure.
On-time, in-budget
Let’s start with the quantitative stats.
Firstly, there are traditional recruitment KPIs like time-to-fill and cost-per-hire. These will depend on the urgency and complexity of the role.
As your recruitment partner, we’ll take care of these values. Let us know your expectations, and we’ll exceed them.
This is also where our client often records the impact on D&I (Diversity and Inclusion) Metrics across the entire business. A successful hire should contribute positively to the diversity of your workforce.
Meeting Objectives
Do you set objectives for Day 1? Chances are we’ll have asked about them before even passing candidates to you for shortlisting. Because we’re finding people at the top of their game, we need to understand their personal and team objectives to get the right person. So, ensuring they’re aware of them at interviews and onboarding makes them more likely to succeed. It also gives you the stats to evidence their impact.
Another objective could be if you expect them to complete a project within their first 6 months? Bring in new business in the next quarter? Hire their team within a set time frame? These objectives can be tangible and drive results you can measure.
Impact on Culture and Innovation
Recruitment isn’t just transactional; it’s cultural. Consider the ripple effect of a new hire – how that person integrates and influences the team they join and the wider business community. How they represent the business externally and how they personify your brand values. This can be measured through 360 evaluations, or any ad-hoc feedback passed to their line manager.
Employee Engagement Survey Results
Depending on the size of your team and organisation, one or two new hires can impact the results of staff engagement surveys, particularly when the data is broken down to team level. When reviewing staff engagement scores, cross-check with historical data and the date of new employees to see if there’s a correlation between the two.
External Feedback
For client-facing roles, gather feedback from clients or customers interacting with the new hire. Positive feedback indicates that the new hire effectively represents the company and meets customer expectations. And consider how positive feedback influences the customer’s decision to spend or retain.
Managing Budgets
Does your new hire have budget responsibility? If so, are they operating within budget? Are there savings being made? Does more value come from that new hire’s dynamic commercial decisions about where the money is spent?
What’s Next?
In this data-driven era, you need quantitative confirmation that a hire has added value. We’ve only scratched the surface of how we can support you in ensuring your new hire is a measurable success. Curious about how we can help you measure the impact of your next role? Get in touch.