ANU(ChandigarhCityNews)
Wisdomjobs.com, one of India’s leading end to end online recruitment and career solutions portals,released a report on “How companies are striving to improve the quality of hirings.” Wisdomjobs.com surveyed 120 companies to understand their focus on improving quality of hire, and the metrics they employ to improve the quality of their hires.
Companies have different hiring methodologies. Some focus on cost-effectiveness and quick turnarounds while others prioritize long-term success of their hires within the organizational template. Whatever the methodology, the single-most effective parameter to measure the success of a company’s hiring process is ‘quality of hire’. While some companies also place emphasis on ‘time to hire’, it is the quality of their hires that impacts organizational performance over time.
Quality of Hire (QoH) helps companies measure the long-term value of a new hire. While it is a vague and often subjective measure, it offers the best indicator of an organization’s ability to on board quality talent through its hiring processes.
Companies use several metrics such as performance of new hires, turnover and retention ratios, and satisfaction ratings by hiring managers to quantify the quality of their hires. However, certain aspects like employee engagement and cultural fit are intangibles that are difficult to define and measure. Figures like cost per hire, volume of hires etc. measure the effectiveness of the recruiting process but not the quality of employees hired through that process.
Upon releasing the report, Mr. Ajay Kolla, Founder & CEO, Wisdomjobs.com said, “The single-most effective parameter to measure the success of a company’s hiring process is ‘quality of hire’. In the long run, companies need to develop an effective quality of hire measurement based on parameters defined by all organizational stakeholders.” He further added, “Standardized assessments and realistic expectations can help companies to quantify the quality of their hires to the extent possible.”
- 45% of respondents agree that Quality of Hire is the single most valuable metric to evaluate team performance.
- However, only 29% of them feel that their Quality of Hire measurement is effective, while only 10% feel that their metrics are best-in-class.
- 52% said that they use Performance Reviews as the key metric to measure Quality of Hire.
- 32% said that they use Retention Rates as a key metric to measure Quality of Hire.
- 16% use Hiring Manager Satisfaction to measure Quality of Hire.
Has measuring QoH improved hiring quality?
Measuring QoH will help companies to understand how their recruitment practices are impacting the quality of employees being hired by them. However, several companies are unable to utilize these measurements to create a significant change in the way they hire.
- Nearly 40% of companies said that measuring QoH had a significant impact on their hiring processes.
- 25% of companies said QoH measurement had only a moderate impact on the way they hire.
- 10% of companies said that QoH measurement had no impact on their hiring processes.
What channels are companies banking on to improve QoH?
Most companies are making conscious efforts to improve the quality of the candidates they hire by opening several channels of engagement with potential hires. From social media engagement to employer branding, companies plan on investing more in the following channels to improve QoH:
- Social Media -50%
- Employer Branding-46%
- Employee Referrals-41%
- Campus Recruiting-27%
- Job Boards-26%
- External Agencies -13%
Other tools used by companies to improve QoH
Assessments–Companies are increasingly using assessments conducted before interview rounds to identify quality candidates, map their competencies etc. To this end, they use offline/pen-and-paper, and online assessments, both. Almost 50% of companies surveyed use assessments to improve their QoH. Among those who use assessments:
- 86% said they use pre-hire assessments for candidate screening.
- 73% rely on assessments to determine job fit or competency gaps.
- 60% use assessments to evaluate leadership potential.
- 52% use assessments to build employee development plans.
Background Checks
Background checks have long been used by companies to weed out fraudulent candidates. But they also play an important role in helping to improve the quality of their hires.
- 54% of companies said that background checks help in improving their QoH.
- Other benefits mentioned by companies were more secure workplaces (41%) and improved regulatory compliance (30%).
- Among the checks conducted by companies are:
- Criminal Records – 80%
- Previous Employment – 62%
- Education Verification – 44%
- Credit Checks – 32%
