Recruiting Funnel Metrics: Time-to-Hire, Conversion and What to Track

The recruiting metrics most worth tracking are time-to-hire, stage-to-stage conversion, and the quality of candidates entering the funnel. Time-to-hire is the number of days from when a candidate enters your pipeline (or applies) to when they accept an offer; define the start point once and keep it consistent.

Time-to-hire

Calculate it per hire, then average across hires. Averages hide outliers, so also look at the median. Compare like with like: senior roles will always take longer than entry-level ones.

Stage conversion

For each stage, divide the number of candidates who moved on by the number who entered it. A sharp drop between two stages tells you where to look: a weak screen, a poorly calibrated interview, or an unattractive offer.

Average match score

If you screen against a scored job description, the average score of incoming candidates shows whether the job post and sourcing channels attract suitable people. A low score points at the job post or the channel, not at your interviewers.

Read the funnel with caution

Small numbers mislead. A conversion rate from five candidates is an anecdote. Also, a fast time-to-hire is not automatically good if quality suffers, and a slow one may reflect a deliberately selective process.

Keep the data clean

Metrics are only as good as the stage updates behind them. If candidates sit in "New" for weeks because nobody moved them, time-based numbers will be wrong.

In Rezumz

Recruiting Analytics shows conversion rate, average match score and average time-to-hire across your jobs, plus a funnel chart of every candidate's current stage. It uses the stages you maintain in the pipeline, so keep them current.