Managing Without KPIs is Like Driving Without a Dashboard
How many candidates did you source last month? What's your interview-to-placement conversion rate? How much does a recruitment really cost?
If you can't answer these questions in 30 seconds, you're flying blind.
And flying blind in a market as competitive as IT recruitment is the best way to crash.
3 Categories of Essential KPIs
A good dashboard covers three dimensions:
- Commercial performance: Is business coming in?
- Operational efficiency: Are teams productive?
- Service quality: Are clients and candidates satisfied?
Let's look at the 12 essential KPIs.
Commercial Performance KPIs
1. Number of Placements per Month
The king indicator. How many candidates did you actually place?
2. Revenue per Consultant
Total revenue divided by the number of recruitment consultants.
3. Mandate-to-Placement Conversion Rate
Out of 10 mandates taken, how many result in a placement?
4. Gross Margin per Placement
What's left after deducting direct costs.
Operational Efficiency KPIs
5. Average Time to Fill
Number of days between taking the mandate and effective placement.
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6. Number of CVs Sent per Placement
How many candidates do you present before placing one?
7. Approach Response Rate
What percentage of contacted candidates respond to you?
8. Sourcing Productivity (Qualified CVs/Day)
How many relevant profiles can a consultant identify per day?
Quality KPIs
9. 6-Month Retention Rate
What percentage of placed candidates are still in position 6 months later?
10. Candidate NPS
Would your candidates recommend you?
11. Client NPS
Are your clients satisfied with your services?
12. Application Response Time
How quickly does a candidate receive a first response?
How to Implement This Tracking?
The most effective solution: a unified platform with integrated analytics.
This is Cobalt's approach: every action is automatically tracked and KPIs are calculated in real-time.
Conclusion
KPIs aren't an administrative burden. They're a management tool that allows you to optimize your processes based on facts.