Hiring quality affects everything—team performance, culture, turnover, and even your company’s bottom line. Yet, despite the importance of quality hiring, only 33% of HR leaders say they feel confident in how they measure it (LinkedIn Global Recruiting Trends).
That’s a problem, because without tracking the right metrics, it’s impossible to know whether your recruitment process is truly working. A well-defined measurement system helps HR leaders identify what’s working, where to improve, and how to make better hiring decisions in the future.
This blog breaks down 5 metrics every HR should track to measure hiring quality. Each one gives you a clear, measurable way to evaluate your hiring process and turn recruitment data into meaningful insights. By the end, you’ll know exactly how to assess whether your hiring decisions are paying off, and how to make them even better.
What Are the 5 Metrics Every HR Should Track to Measure Hiring Quality?
To understand whether your hiring process is producing the right results, HR leaders should consistently monitor these five key metrics:
- Time to Productivity: How quickly new hires reach full performance.
- Quality of Hire (QoH) Score: A combined score reflecting performance, retention, and engagement.
- Retention Rate of New Hires: How many new hires stay beyond their first year.
- Hiring Manager Satisfaction: Feedback from managers on how well hires meet job expectations.
- Candidate Experience Score: Insights from candidates on how fair, smooth, and engaging the hiring process felt.
Let’s explore each of these in detail and learn how to calculate and use them to make smarter hiring decisions.
Metric 1: Time to Productivity
Time to Productivity shows how long a new hire takes to perform their job well. It starts from their first day and ends when they meet expected performance goals. According to SHRM, companies with structured onboarding see 70% higher productivity among new hires.
How to Measure
Time to Productivity = Date of Full Performance – Start Date
To keep it consistent:
- Define what “full productivity” means for each role.
- Work with managers to set measurable performance goals.
- Track average TTP across departments and identify trends.
Example Table
| Role | Start Date | Full Productivity Date | Time to Productivity |
| Sales Executive | Jan 10 | Mar 5 | 54 days |
| Developer | Feb 1 | Apr 30 | 88 days |
| HR Associate | Mar 15 | Apr 30 | 46 days |
Metric 2: Quality of Hire (QoH) Score
Quality of Hire measures the overall value a new employee brings to the organization. It combines performance, retention, and cultural fit, giving HR leaders a clear picture of how well the hiring process delivers on business goals.
Think of QoH as your recruitment ROI: it answers the question, “Are we hiring the right people who actually help our company grow?”
How to Calculate QoH
There’s no one-size formula, but a simple and effective method is:
QoH = (Performance Rating + Retention Score + Hiring Manager Satisfaction) ÷ 3
Each factor can be rated on a scale of 1–10, then averaged for an overall score.
Example:
| Factor | Score (out of 10) |
| Performance Rating | 8 |
| Retention (after 12 months) | 9 |
| Hiring Manager Satisfaction | 7 |
| Quality of Hire Score | 8.0 |
A score between 7–9 generally indicates strong hiring quality, while anything below 6 may call for a review of your sourcing or screening methods.
Metric 3: Retention Rate of New Hires
Retention rate measures the percentage of new hires who stay with your company after a set period, usually 6 months or 1 year. It helps HR leaders see whether new employees are truly satisfied, engaged, and aligned with company culture.
If your retention rate is low, it’s about the experience you’re offering after they join. Poor onboarding, unclear expectations, or lack of growth opportunities are common reasons new hires leave early.
Simple Formula
Retention Rate = (Number of new hires who stayed ÷ Total new hires) × 100
Example:
If you hired 20 employees last year and 17 are still with you today:
→ (17 ÷ 20) × 100 = 85% retention rate
What a Good Retention Rate Looks Like
- 90%+ = Excellent hiring and onboarding alignment
- 75–89% = Average, but needs improvement
- Below 75% = Indicates mismatched roles or culture fit issues
How to Improve New Hire Retention
Instead of focusing only on post-exit surveys, use a proactive approach:
- Set realistic job expectations. Avoid overselling the role during interviews.
- Design a 90-day check-in system. Ask managers to review engagement early.
- Encourage career discussions. Early growth conversations increase long-term loyalty.
Metric 4: Hiring Manager Satisfaction
Sometimes, the best way to judge hiring success is to ask the people who work most closely with new employees — the hiring managers. Their perspective often reveals whether the new hire actually fits the team, performs well under real conditions, and lives up to what was promised during recruitment.
When hiring managers are satisfied with their hires, it usually means your selection process is strong, your role descriptions are accurate, and your screening criteria align with actual job demands.
How to Measure Hiring Manager Satisfaction Metric
Send a short survey to hiring managers 60–90 days after onboarding. Ask questions such as:
- “Does the employee meet your expectations for this role?”
- “Would you rehire this candidate again?”
- “How well did the hiring process prepare the candidate for this job?”
Use a 1–5 rating scale, and calculate the average score across departments.
Example:
| Question | Avg. Rating |
| Meets role expectations | 4.4 |
| Would rehire | 4.6 |
| Prepared for role | 4.2 |
| Average Satisfaction Score | 4.4/5 |
- If satisfaction scores are high, you’re hiring candidates who align with company goals.
- If scores are low, review your job descriptions, interview questions, or training process.
- Compare results across teams — this helps spot where hiring quality varies most.
Metric 5: Candidate Experience Score
The Candidate Experience Score measures how applicants feel throughout the recruitment journey, from the first job ad they see to their final interview (or rejection).
Today’s job seekers expect clarity, respect, and timely communication. In fact, 72% of candidates share their hiring experiences online, whether good or bad (Talent Board).
A smooth process shows that your company values people, not just positions. That directly impacts offer acceptance rates, referral quality, and long-term retention.
How to Measure Candidate Experience
After each recruitment cycle, survey candidates (both hired and not hired). Keep it short and specific.
Example questions:
- “How would you rate the clarity of communication during the hiring process?”
- “Did you feel respected and informed after each interview stage?”
- “Would you recommend others to apply at our company?”
Score responses on a 1–5 scale, then calculate your Candidate Experience Score by averaging the responses.
| Feedback Area | Avg. Rating |
| Communication Clarity | 4.3 |
| Interview Fairness | 4.1 |
| Overall Experience | 4.4 |
| Candidate Experience Score | 4.26/5 |
A score above 4.0 shows a strong process; below 3.5 suggests friction points worth fixing.
How to Improve Candidate Experience
- Streamline communication: Send timely updates at every stage — even if it’s a rejection.
- Personalize interactions: Address candidates by name and mention specific feedback.
- Simplify applications: Fewer steps = higher completion rates.
How to Bring All Metrics Together
Tracking each hiring metric individually is useful, but the real results come when you combine them. When HR leaders view all five metrics together, they get a full picture of hiring quality: how efficient, consistent, and long-lasting their recruitment outcomes truly are.
Build a Simple Hiring Quality Dashboard
Create a unified dashboard that tracks the following side by side:
| Metric | Measures | Goal |
| Time to Productivity | Speed of ramp-up | Under 60 days |
| Quality of Hire | Overall performance | 8/10 or higher |
| Retention Rate | Long-term success | 85%+ |
| Hiring Manager Satisfaction | Manager approval | 4/5+ |
| Candidate Experience | Process fairness | 4/5+ |
This overview helps identify patterns quickly, for example:
- A low retention rate + low QoH may indicate weak job-role alignment.
- A high satisfaction score but long TTP could mean training needs improvement.
When viewed together, these insights move you from reactive hiring decisions to data-backed workforce planning.
Final Thoughts
By tracking metrics like Time to Productivity, Quality of Hire, Retention Rate, Hiring Manager Satisfaction, and Candidate Experience, HR leaders can see the full picture of how effective their recruitment process really is.
When you rely on these insights, hiring becomes less about guesswork and more about strategy. You’ll know which sourcing channels bring the best talent, which onboarding methods speed up productivity, and what changes can strengthen retention. Over time, these small, data-driven improvements add up to measurable business impact.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What are the metrics for tracking hiring?
The main metrics for tracking hiring include time-to-hire, quality of hire, cost-per-hire, retention rate, and candidate experience. These KPIs help HR leaders assess efficiency, hiring quality, and the long-term success of recruitment strategies.
2. What are the 5 C’s of recruitment?
The 5 C’s of recruitment stand for Capability, Compatibility, Character, Culture Fit, and Compensation. These principles help employers assess whether a candidate not only meets the job’s technical requirements but also fits the organization’s values and long-term goals.
3. What are the 5 P’s in HR?
The 5 P’s in HR represent People, Performance, Processes, Productivity, and Purpose. Together, they form the foundation of effective HR management — ensuring teams are engaged, aligned, and contributing toward company objectives.
4. How to measure Quality of Hire metrics?
You can measure Quality of Hire (QoH) by combining performance, retention, and satisfaction scores. Formula:
QoH = (Performance Rating + Retention Score + Hiring Manager Satisfaction) ÷ 3
Tracking these elements gives a clear picture of how well your hiring decisions support long-term success.
