2. “Metrics are the language of business,”
said Donald E. Breckenridge Jr., President
and CEO of Sendouts.
“Anything that can be measured can be
improved. Without metrics, it’s difficult to
understand exactly where to focus your efforts
for obtaining job orders, making placements and
increasing revenue.” The recruiting process may
have subtleties specific to a certain industry or
type, but there are underlying metrics and steps
needed to measure the health of your business.
The key steps in the process are:
• Marketing call effectiveness
• Job order coverage ratio
• Job order response time
• Quality of candidates submitted
• Quality of candidates interviewed
• Quality of hire
• Job order fill ratio
• Time to fill
In this book, Sendouts will identify key metrics
for each of these steps and help you understand
how to increase your recruiting efficiency and
effectiveness so you can make more placements
and more money.
1

3. Marketing Call Effectiveness
Key metric
Marketing Calls to Job Order Ratio
Definition
The number of marketing calls it takes to obtain
a job order.
What you need to know
Marketing call to job order ratio shows how
many calls you make before obtaining a job
order, contract or temp assignment. At the end
of 2008 and beginning of 2009, this metric
quickly changed and many recruiters found that
it required more than 120
marketing calls to obtain a Use this metric
job order. Recruiters needed
to increase their number of to calculate how
marketing calls in response many calls you
– in some cases tripling or need to make
quadrupling the number
of calls just to bring in the each day.
same number of job orders.
As hiring rebounds, this number is dropping
below 90 calls.
2

4. Job Order Coverage Ratio
Key metric
Open Job Orders with at least
one Submitted Résumé
Definition
This is the percentage of open job orders where
you have sent at least one résumé.
What you need to know
This metric is important for recruitment firms
managing a larger number
of job orders because it is an When you get
indicator as to how well you a job order,
are serving your clients. If
this percentage is low, it could
you need to
indicate that either the quality get a qualified
of job orders you’re taking is candidate in
low, that you need additional
horsepower in sourcing and
front of the
recruiting or that you’re client quickly.
focusing too much effort on
just a few job orders.
3

5. Job Order Response Time
Key metric
Time from New Job Order
to First Résumé Submission
Definition Get the
This metric is the average business by
time it takes to submit a getting the
résumé after obtaining a new
job order. résumé to the
hiring manager
What you need to know first.
This metric shows how quickly
you are able to respond to
your clients. In staffing and
recruiting, the business often
goes to the recruiter who
submits the best résumé or candidate to the
hiring manager first. A fast response typically
indicates that you have an excellent pool of
existing candidates and/or you are able to source
qualified candidates quickly. Remember that you
compete on speed, quality and price. This helps
to measure speed at a crucial point early in the
process. As a recruiter, you don’t want to get
beat by another recruiter submitting a qualified
candidate.
4

6. Quality of Candidates Submitted
Key metric
Résumés Submitted to Effective
Sendout Ratio recruiters
Definition provide the
This ratio is the number of hiring manager
résumés that are submitted with just the
to the client before getting
a sendout (a sendout is top candidates.
a candidate who is being
interviewed by a hiring
manager).
What you need to know
If you are submitting résumés to a hiring
manager but not getting any sendouts, it’s
probably because you are sending résumés that
don’t fit the needs for the position. Your job as
a recruiter is to identify well-qualified candidates
and send the top few résumés, usually three, to
the hiring manager. If you submit 10 résumés,
then you have not done your job to filter them
down to just the top candidates. If you send just
one, then you haven’t given your client enough
choices to really make a sound hiring decision.
5

7. Quality of Candidates Interviewed
Key metric
Sendout to Placement Ratio
Definition
The number of sendouts it takes to make a
placement
What you need to know
A good sendout-to-placement ratio is in the
area of 3 or 4 to 1. A high ratio may mean that
you’re dressing up the résumé but not thoroughly
qualifying or interviewing the candidate yourself.
During a recession, this ratio can easily increase
if the hiring managers are taking too long to
make a decision and the
candidates are moving on to To make a
other opportunities. Tracking
this metric can help you placement,
optimize your work and see you must have
clearly if two or three extra sendouts.
sendouts each month could
lead to an extra placement.
6

8. Quality of Hire
Key metric
Percentage of placed candidates still on the job
after one year
Definition Placements
How many candidates have
not quit or been terminated
remaining
after their first year. after a year is
the ultimate
What you need to know
This metric is the ultimate
indicator of
display of how well you great recruiting.
are able to place the right
candidates in the right jobs. Being able to say
that 98 percent of the candidates you place are
still on the job after the first year will tell your
clients a lot about the quality of your work and
your ability to fulfill their needs. To track this
metric year over year, build in reminders in your
CRM to ask your clients about the candidates
you placed. You should also consider tracking
the candidate source in your CRM. Are certain
companies, schools or referral sources proving to
be consistent sources of high-quality candidates?
7

9. Job Order Fill Ratio
Key metric
Job Order Fill Ratio
Definition
The ratio of job orders written to job orders you
have filled.
What you need to know
If your fill ratio is low, this suggests that
your firm has too many jobs and not enough
recruiters. It could also mean
that you are taking jobs that Don’t waste a
can’t be filled. Or it could
ton of time on
mean that you, as the account
manager, are not gathering jobs that are
the appropriate information to unfillable.
conduct an effective search.
You need to focus on getting
the right information from the hiring manager to
be able to find the right candidates.
8

10. Time to Fill
Key metric
Time-to-fill ratio
Definition
Increase
Time to fill is the length of efficiency, but
time from receiving a job not at the
order to filling it.
expense of
What you need to know quality.
This is the most basic of the
metrics, because it’s all about
quality and time. Time to fill will vary depending
on your industry, the type of position and other
variables. However, you should remember that
open positions cost clients money, and the ability
to fill positions quickly establishes your value
as a recruiter. Filling a position quickly with
an unqualified candidate can hurt your overall
recruiting quality and lead to turnover. Know the
benchmarks for your industry, but be careful to
balance speed and quality.
9

11. Conclusion
Metrics are important for any business, but in the
staffing and recruiting industry, these analytics are
crucial. Recruiting metrics that are accessible and
used appropriately can provide insight into trends and
changing market conditions in real-time.
Because of the benefits, it would seem that every
recruiting firm would use metrics, but that’s not the
case. Some recruiters believe that aggregating and
analyzing their metrics is either too difficult, takes
too much time or won’t yield a significant benefit.
Undoubtedly, those recruiters are missing out.
Metrics can vary depending on the type of recruiter you
are and your industry niche. Also, numbers can change
with the fluctuations of the economy. However, you
cannot improve what you don’t measure. As veteran
recruiting trainer Barb Bruno explains, “In any given
quarter, you can see trends and you can adjust the way
you work, based on your numbers.”
The right CRM can significantly benefit your recruiting.
To find out more about how Sendouts can help,
visit us online at www.sendouts.com or call
1 (877) 309-5222.
10

12. About Sendouts
Sendouts™ is the leading, single source provider of recruiting
software for third party recruiting and staffing firms. Sendouts
Surge Web-based recruiting software enables recruiting firms
to streamline their recruiting process, increase productivity,
and make more placements. Additionally, Sendouts provides
unparalleled training and support and is backed by an industry
leading 98% customer satisfaction rate. Sendouts clients on
average achieve an internal growth rate of 48% and increase
job order fill rates by over 20%. Sendouts helps more than
1000 firms automate and manage the entire recruiting
process, from sales to final placement. For more information,
visit www.sendouts.com or call 877-309-5222.