Hiring Velocity - The Super Metric That Can Boost Your Recruitment

What is hiring velocity?

Hiring velocity is a metric that measures the speed and efficiency of a company's hiring process. It is calculated by dividing the number of hires made in a given period by the total time it takes to fill those positions. The result is a measurement of how quickly a company is able to hire new employees.

For example, if a company hires 5 new employees over a period of 2 months, and the average time to hire for those was 40 days, the hiring velocity would be:

Hiring Velocity = 5 / 40 = 0.125

The goal of hiring velocity is to minimise the time it takes to fill a position, which can help companies achieve better results, faster. By monitoring hiring velocity, companies can identify areas for improvement in their hiring process and make adjustments to increase efficiency and effectiveness. In this article, we will outline why hiring velocity is important, and what organisations can do to maximise it.

Why is hiring velocity important?

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• 1) Improved Time-to-Fill: A low hiring velocity can indicate that it is taking too long to fill positions, which can have a negative impact on the company's bottom line. By tracking and improving hiring velocity, companies can reduce the time it takes to fill a position, which can help increase productivity and reduce costs.
• 2) Better Quality of Hire: A fast hiring velocity can also indicate that the company is attracting and hiring the right candidates quickly, which can lead to better quality of hire. By reducing the time it takes to fill a position, companies can make sure they are hiring the best candidates before they are scooped up by competitors.
• 3) Increased Candidate Engagement: Candidates who are kept waiting for too long are more likely to become disengaged and lose interest in the position. By reducing the time it takes to fill a position, companies can increase candidate engagement and make sure that the best candidates remain interested in the role.
• 4) Better Talent Management: Hiring velocity can also be used as a tool for talent management. By tracking the speed at which different positions are filled, companies can identify areas where they need to improve their recruitment processes in order to fill positions more quickly.

How can companies improve their hiring velocity?

• 1) Streamlining the Recruitment Process: The recruitment process can be a time-consuming and complicated process, but it doesn't have to be. By streamlining the recruitment process and removing unnecessary steps, companies can reduce the time it takes to fill a position.
• 2) Using Technology: There are many recruitment technologies available that can help companies improve their hiring velocity, including applicant tracking systems (ATS), candidate sourcing tools, and psychometric assessments. These tools can help companies automate many of the tasks associated with the recruitment process, making it faster and more efficient.
• 3) Improving Candidate Experience: A positive candidate experience is key to attracting and retaining top talent. By improving the candidate experience, companies can increase candidate engagement and reduce the time it takes to fill a position.
• 4) Building a Strong Employer Brand: A strong employer brand can help companies attract and retain top talent, which can improve their hiring velocity. Companies can build a strong employer brand by creating a positive company culture, offering competitive benefits and salaries, and promoting the company's values and mission.
• 5) Working with Recruitment Agencies: Working with a recruitment agency can also help companies improve their hiring velocity. Recruitment agencies have access to a large pool of candidates and can often fill positions quickly and efficiently.

Summary

Put simply, hiring velocity is essential in recruitment as time is of the essence for job candidates. Candidates are looking for a new job right now, and if a decision can't be made quickly enough, they will likely look elsewhere. This results in a leaky recruitment funnel, causing the organization to miss out on high-potential applicants unnecessarily. Increasing hiring velocity shows proper respect for the candidate's time, either offering them a position quickly or reducing the time required to deselect them, allowing them to look elsewhere for work.