A recruitment campaign is nothing without the amazing candidates out there looking for work – that is, sourcing and/or attracting them well enough to have them apply to your open vacancy. Whether you’re looking to fill temporary labour or permanent positions, it comes down to a strong solid sourcing strategy.

What is sourcing?

Sourcing is ultimately the actions you take to both seek and attract applicants. It’s the way you engage with the talent marketplace; your methods of outreach. It’s just one part of the extensive recruitment process, but it’s not a small one – it encompasses not just how you find them, but how you then capture their attention and create a channel of communication.

Needless to say, it’s an important piece of the puzzle. Which makes the metrics which surround it both fascinating and extremely useful for executing an effective campaign.

Key candidate sourcing metrics you should be tracking

The sourcing metrics you should be tracking will help you streamline your recruitment process and ultimately hire better, faster. Here are some items to think about:

Your most effective sourcing channels

Sourcing channels are – well, exactly that: the places you find your candidates. This might include online job boards, social media, word of mouth, employee referrals and more. You should be monitoring and collating data around where applicants come from in general, moreover where your most relevant, experienced and successful hires are found.

By analyzing and picking out the ways which work best, you’ll be able to improve conversion rates – and ultimately, put your recruitment budget in the right places.

Sourcing productivity

A great sourcing strategy on paper doesn’t mean an effective one in practice. You’ll need to measure how much effort is undertaken on your team’s part to actually get hold of the applicant once they’ve put their name in the hat – how many times they try to reach out before communication is initiated, how many emails are sent, how much time spent chasing down candidates, etc etc. The activities which go into the process itself will point out areas which need revising and/or improving.

The speed of the candidate journey

Leading on from the previous metric, which covers the activities which denote how long the process actually takes. When did this candidate apply for the job, and how much time has passed between then and their job offer being made? Our next of the key sourcing metrics is knowing how long it takes you to hire.

Track the speed at which you’re able to bring talent through the process, taking particular note of any blockers and barriers which are slowing things down. The faster you can process talent, the more likely you are to secure them.

Finally, those all-important conversion rates

Of course, the final but arguably most important sourcing metric you should be tracking: conversion rates! How many of the applications received for your job are actually relevant? Of those, how many do you manage to move to interview stage? From there, how many make it to the second round? How many offers are made (if filling multiple positions, as so many of our clients in the manufacturing space are) and, of the offers made, what percentage are accepted?

It’s important to know if your recruitment campaign is efficient and works well, but it’s also crucial to understand whether you’re making competitive job offers and finding the right level of talent.

Understanding your key candidate sourcing metrics

It’s part and parcel of what we do here at NLG. As a dedicated staffing solutions partner, whether you’re looking to fill one role or a hundred, we’re well versed in understanding what makes a campaign work.

To learn more about how, get in touch today.