You have a talent hiring strategy and a great acquisition team, right? How do you know how great they are at their jobs? The simple answer is to look at critical key performance indicators (KPIs) to provide yourself with a data-driven answer. What is your team doing well? Are there areas where they could improve?

By looking at these factors you can more accurately assess your talent acquisition team.

Cost to Hire

One of the first things every recruiting manager thinks of is the cost to hire a new employee. And it is a valid KPI. From advertising to listing on job boards to paying your recruiter’s salary, it’s important to keep these costs as low as possible.

So when you look at your talent acquisition team, make sure to account for the different costs to hire. Can they be reduced? Are you listing on platforms that give little to no return? Are you advertising in places where you are not finding qualified applicants?

This should be a key part of assessing your talent acquisitions team.

Time to Hire

How long does it take to find a qualified candidate and hire them? In part, time is related to the cost of hire, but it also can have an impact on management and employee morale, and even your company culture. Positions that are open too long create problems for your entire organization.

This makes time to hire a critical metric. Look at the application process, how applicants are screened, and what the interview process looks like. Are applicants turning down the position, and if so, why? Are there other parts of the process that could be more efficient?

Time to hire is also impacted by the quality of applicants.

Qualified Applicants who Apply

Unqualified or underqualified applicants are one source of wasting both time and money. They also add a lot of inefficiency to the overall hiring system. Your talent acquisitions team should be reaching the right candidates at the right time. And they should be reaching several of them, giving you hiring options. When you have only a few candidates, it might be that your team is looking in the wrong places.

It could also be that job descriptions and listings could be clearer and better as well. The right language in your description can make all the difference in bringing you the right candidate for the job in the first place.

Your team should be finding candidates that fit the requirements and culture of your team. But the assessment doesn’t stop there. What happens after the candidate is hired is important as well.

Quality of Hire

The next KPI to look at is the quality of the talent hired. Once they get through the hiring process, how good is that new employee really? Do they fit with your company culture and those they work with? Do they have the soft and hard skills needed to not only do the job but do it well?

It’s inevitable that some candidates will make it through the hiring process who end up not being a good fit, but they should be few and far between. Consistent talent quality is a great indicator of a solid talent acquisition team.

Employee Retention Rates

Another key factor? Employee retention rates. How long do your employees stay on the job once they are hired? How long do they stay in that position, and if they move on, why? Many of these reasons can be spotted during the interview and hiring process. Some include:

• Hiring overqualified candidates
• Hiring candidates who “settle” for a lower salary
• Hiring candidates who don’t fit your company culture
• Hiring candidates who switch jobs often (or have a “varied” job history)

It is important to note that many employees don’t stay in the same job for more than about 4.3 years according to a recent study, so understanding the transitory nature of employees is one thing. But if tenures are consistently shorter than that, there may be something off in the hiring process, compensation, or some other area.

Employee Satisfaction

Finally, it is important that you look at employee satisfaction. Are they happy to be a part of your company? Are they fitting in? How did they feel about the interview and hiring process? Did it work for them? Candidate satisfaction after hire has a huge impact on retention rates.

Why are they dissatisfied? There are many possible reasons, from the job not meeting their expectations to work-life balance and salary issues. Many of these can be prevented with clarity in the talent acquisition process, from interviews to job descriptions to salary listings.

The reality is this: your talent acquisition team is one of the most important parts of your company. The people they recruit help set company culture, determine the cost and time of hiring, and in the long run, can affect employee satisfaction overall.

So look at everything: from retention rates to the time to hire, from costs to employee satisfaction. Take these KPIs and make them the standard for assessing your talent acquisitions team. Revisit them often, and your company will be stronger and more efficient and become a better place for everyone to work.