Measuring the quality of hire is difficult.
It’s hard to know what you should measure. Which are the most important variables? What brings you closest to determining if you hired the right person – Performance? Retention? Does the new employee feel like the job is a good fit?
Over the past two years, efficiency has been most important to talent acquisition (TA) professionals. This isn’t surprising considering the tight labor market and volatility brought on by the pandemic. However, a 2022 study by Aptitude Research found that 70% of companies now say that quality of hire is the main driver in TA technology investments, with efficiency in second place.
While time to fill and recruiter productivity are still critical, quality will come into focus in the coming year, according to Aptitude’s study.
Why the shift? In a word, retention.
Even with a slowing economy, there are still more job openings than job seekers. Employers must hire the best candidates possible and hold onto them. Identifying quality hires also helps organizations home in on the key competencies for a successful hire.
Measuring hiring success enables you to refine the entire TA process (e.g., marketing, recruiting, assessment, interviewing and onboarding).
The Focus on Interviewing
Companies are now prioritizing how they interview candidates, partly driven by the hybrid working environment. Almost half (46%) of organizations in Aptitude’s 2022 research believe that better interviewing will help them identify quality of hire and over a third (35%) said it will help them make better decisions. Combined with data-driven assessments and other screening tools, a good interview adds more depth and quality information to the hiring process.
The good news is that new technology enables employers to collect competency-based data to ensure quality of hire. Modern Hire’s science-based Virtual Job Tryout® simulation, on-demand video interviews and text-based interview assessment tools can quickly measure key competencies and advance only the most qualified candidates for face-to-face interviews. Plus, data after hire can be used to enhance these tools so that hires become more successful over time.
The Three O’s
Just as new hire performance is not one data point, quality of hire is not a singular, standalone metric. But there is a systems approach to documenting the way new hires demonstrate their value to the organization.
Documenting quality of hire requires a measurable and meaningful methodology based upon rigor, objectivity and fairness. At Modern Hire, we use an approach that defines and documents the quality of hire by capturing data in three categories: Opinions, Observed Behaviors and Objective Metrics. Let’s explore each one in more detail.
1. Opinions
Opinions use a structured rating form to capture the hiring manager’s point of view according to several key standards, including:
- Those considered top performers
- Candidates among the best ever hired
- Those the hiring manager would rehire
- Candidates that learned faster than others
2. Observed Behaviors
Observed behaviors rely on a behavior-anchored rating scale based on the job’s competency model. Capturing a high level of detail for each competency is critical. For example, here are some observed behaviors for the competency of decision making:
- Involvement of others in making decisions
- Use of data to inform decisions
- Consideration of risk in making decisions
- Development of contingency plans when making decisions
- Ability to make timely decisions
3. Objective Metrics
Objective metrics are performance data captured as a number and common across all performers in a given job. These can be time-bound, showing progress to performance targets to document a level of achievement. For instance, for phone-based sales positions, common metrics may be calls per hour, sales, up-selling, cross-selling, and after-call work.
Modern Hire’s Data-and Research-Driven Approach
Organizations must define what success in talent acquisition looks like moving forward. To make a change in the quality of hire requires a change in the data used to make the decision. Therefore, recruiters need talent analytics that can connect candidate evaluation metrics and the Three Os. Modern Hire uses predictive modeling to document the relationship among the variables you measure in a candidate and the variables you collect about their contribution and on-the-job behaviors. When data is solid and objective, it improves successful hires, reduces bias and results in higher retention.
Want to learn how you can improve your quality of hire and be more efficient? Request a Modern Hire demo today.