Finding ways to grow your staffing business can be scary. This Halloween season though it’s nothing to be spooked about! By taking advantage of the data in your ATS, you can establish your secret potion for filling job orders successfully and growing your business. In this article, we will look at 7 spell binding metrics that can help you establish goals for your team to be successful in filling open job orders with a higher retention rate.  In doing so, it will help foster business growth for your staffing firm. 

Metrics in Your Secret Potion for Filling Job Orders

1 Cup of New Applicants 

The first metric to track in your secret potion is how many new applicants are coming into your database on a daily and/or weekly basis. You can even take it a step further and track how the applicants are coming into your system. Are they finding you through your website, through social media, a posting on a job board, etc.? Keeping track of new applicants coming into your system will help you determine if you are getting enough new applicants or if you need to do more to get new applicants in the door. By tracking the referral source, you can further see what source is doing the best in attracting new candidates. Later, you can also begin to see what sources are the most successful in bringing in quality candidates with a low turnover rate. 

1 Cup of Applicants Being Contacted by Recruiters

Next, once you determine the number of applicants coming into your system you will want to track the number of applicants being contacted by recruiters on a daily and/or weekly basis. It’s fantastic to have new applicants coming into your system, but if they aren’t being contacted then it is all for naught. See the percentage of applicants being contacted and if it’s not close to 100%, see what might be happening. Does a new process need to be put into place for contacting new applicants? How are new applicants being assigned by recruiters? These are a couple of questions to ask if this metric needs to be improved. 

A Dash of a Conditional Job Offer

After you determine the number of applicants that have been contacted, see how many are being issued a conditional job offer on a daily and/or weekly basis. This will help you determine the quality of the candidates coming into the system and if they are a fit for your open positions.  If not many are receiving job offers, you can see why this may be. Is their skill set not aligned with the positions you are recruiting for? You can also refer back to the referral source. Is one source bringing in candidates that aren’t a fit? If applicants are coming in that aren’t the right fit for an opening, perhaps the job description has to be modified or the platform you are promoting the job on isn’t the right fit for the job.

A Spoon Full of Placements on an Assignment

Once you determine the number of applicants receiving a conditional job offer, see how many applicants are being placed on an assignment. Of the job offers you are giving out; how many are being accepted? If a low percentage is being accepted, why might this be? Was the offer not competitive with the industry? Was the recruiting process too long and they already accepted another job offer? These are all avenues to investigate if a low percentage of job offers are being accepted. 

A Sprinkle of “Show Rate”

Next, after you determine the number of applicants that accepted the job offer, what is your “show rate”? How many applicants are showing up to work on their first day of employment? If your show rate is low, you can determine why this may be. Did you send out reminder texts to the applicants for their first day? Did they accept another job offer? Or did they decide just not to show up to work? Determining why applicants didn’t show can help set quality candidates apart. If someone didn’t have an excuse not to show, then maybe you would put them on a do not place list. If someone was a good candidate, but landed up accepting another job offer then perhaps you would still keep them in mind for future positions with caution. It can also help you determine if any internal processes could be improved. Do you need to be in touch with the applicant more leading up to their first day? Would reminder texts help ensure they show? These are all aspects to think about when evaluating your show rate.

A Teaspoon of Your Turnover Rate

For the applicants that do show up to their assignment, what is the turnover rate? How many applicants finish the assignment compared to leaving mid-way through? This can also help you set 

apart quality candidates. From the candidates that didn’t finish the assignment, why might that be? Did they not like the job? Did they receive another offer? Did they decide just not to show up? You can also see if check-in texts were sent throughout the assignment. If not, perhaps this is something that can be implemented into your process to check in on candidates throughout their assignment.  In doing so, the applicant will know you care and are looking out for them. They may also tell you if they aren’t happy and you can begin to find someone to replace them and find another position for them. 

A Tablespoon of Retention Rate

In addition to tracking your turnover rate, you will also want to track your retention rate. Of the applicants that you placed on an assignment, how many finished the assignment? This is an important metric because it determines the success of your placements and the quality of the candidates being placed. If you have a low retention rate, then you know something has to change in your process. 

As you evaluate your retention rate, you will want to look at the 6 metrics we discussed prior and go all the way back to the number of applicants coming into the system. What is the ideal number for each of these metrics that will help get you to the retention rate you are seeking?

Your Secret Potion Revealed

Once you determine the ideal metrics for your staffing organization, you can establish goals for your team to be successful each step of the way in the recruiting process. Ultimately, it will help you fill more job orders successfully and help increase your retention rate. A win, win for your staffing agency and your customers. So, what’s your secret potion? Shhh it’s only for you to know this Halloween season!

Ready to create your secret potion? Schedule a demo of Ultra-Staff EDGE staffing software to see how you can track these metrics easily on an ATS dashboard. 

Or are you attending the 2024 Annual NAPS Conference? If so, join Automated Business Designs Chief Sales Officer, Bob Pettke, for his presentation on Data Analytics: Discover Your Secret Sauce to Recipe Growth.  

Read more from Jennifer Roeslmeier Mikels