The Sourcing KPIs and Metrics Recruitment Leaders Should Track in 2023

Written by Fmr. Manager, Global Sourcing and Training @ Manpower Group, Shannon Pritchett

Alignment and KPIs.

Unfortunately, these two words are rarely in sync.

From leaders that set KPIs to ones that don't measure their teams at all, metric measurement is generally inconsistent across the board.

My approach to KPIs is slightly different than most. I'll set one team goal and three key focus areas. The team goal is something that everyone should strive to achieve. The focus area allows the team to stay on track and not derail by distractions that might arise.

Next, I'll set goals for each team, or individual goals for each sourcer, that reflect the overall team goal and our company's main KPI.

Usually, this mirrors my KPIs.

Many sourcing leaders fail to align their team's goal with the company's goal or the department's goal. You will never be able to show the value of your team if you aren't working to achieve a much larger mission.

Here are some of my recommendations.

Hires

This is the most controversial KPI for a sourcer. However, isn't the primary goal of sourcing to produce hires?

You won't impact the business much if you aren't producing candidates that don't result in a hires. It's like an SDR or BDR being measured solely on pipeline generation.

Often, you'll hear many notable sourcing leaders dispute this. When you don't measure hires, you only consider your department and not the business. This is why many sourcing departments fail. You have to show their impact.

Response Rate

The role of a sourcer looks much different than it did five years ago.

Sourcing is no longer about identifying and finding the candidate the fastest. Sourcing is now about getting the candidate to respond the quickest. Today the most essential skill of sourcing is nurturing.

Anyone can use a platform, like hireEZ, to quickly identify talent. AI easily does that for you. But the real value of sourcer is engagement and nurturing. This KPI will have a significant impact on the recruitment teams they support. Let the recruiters concentrate on the interview process and candidate experience. The sourcer needs to make that pivotal first impression. Again, it's about impact.

Ratio Metrics

These can be identified as screened, screened to interview, interview to final slate, final slate to the final interview, final interview to offer, etc…

If you haven't, create a stage for each part of the lifecycle. S0 (responded), S1 (first interview), S2 (second interview), etc…

This not only shows impact, but also will help you plan an ideal workflow that needs to happen in order to achieve the hires needed to support the business.

Diversity

This is critical and likely the biggest impact of a sourcer.

I recommend scheduling time with your Head of Talent and CHRO and learn more about their DE&I goals and then see how your team can help achieve those.

At the end of each year, I meet with every executive and department head. I use the time to learn about their goals, challenges and opportunities for the upcoming year. I also use the time to explain my team's goals and how we can help their teams achieve their goals. This is a true partnership.

Inbound vs. Outbound

This is big. You should already have that benchmark. What percentage of hires were yielded from inbound tactics? A larger portion of outbound recruiting is sourcing. Your team should be able to bring that number down. This will be major cost savings to the organization.

I live breathe and die in my dashboards and I measure EVERYTHING.

In fact, if I can't measure it, I won't do it. Believe it or not, less is more.

I might be measuring thirty different things at once, but my team members are only accountable for 1-3 main KPIs annually.

Hopefully, this list helps you narrow down the KPIs and metrics critical for your sourcing team.