IT recruitment success uses flawed metrics

Firms still focus too heavily on cost per hire

IT employers are using the wrong metrics in trying to gauge the success of their recruitment campaigns, according to managed recruitment services company Zebra.

Businesses still focus too heavily on cost per hire and time to hire, rather than adopting a long-term view of recruitment activity. And less tangible measures, including customer satisfaction and quality of hire, are still being ignored.

"Companies very rarely measure things like quality of hire because it's very difficult to do," said Zebra managing director David Bevan. "There's currently no way of knowing how much it costs to recruit, say, a Java programmer."

Bevan warned that companies had to look beyond pure financial measures and avoid recruiting simply on the basis of price.

"Recruiters are under pressure to show how firms can make savings," he explained. "Gathering statistics will show you where your best people are and how you got them. Use that to put together a strategy for using your best channels."