The Holy Grail of Talent Acquisition – The Quality of Hire

We’ve achieved the Talent Acquisition holy grail...

While traditional recruitment metrics such as Time to Fill and Cost of Hire remain essential, the core objective of any successful talent acquisition function is to secure the best talent available.

But how do you measure something as complex as “quality” when it comes to hiring? Inspired by insights from No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer, we’ve developed two practical and impactful measures that can help you evaluate the success of your hiring efforts:

Quality of Hire Indicator (easy): and,

New Joiner Talent Density (advanced)

Together, these metrics provide a clear snapshot of immediate performance while aligning recruitment with your organisation’s long-term goals. Let’s break down how they work and why they matter.

The Quality of Hire Indicator

This first tool is designed for simplicity and delivers valuable insights quickly. At its core is one key question, asked to hiring managers three months (or an alternative timeframe if preferable) after a new hire joins the team:

“Would you enthusiastically re-hire this person?”

The answer choices are simple: Yes, No, or Not Sure Yet. With any “Not Yet Sure” responses surveyed again at a later timeframe e.g. 6 months where only “Yes” or “No” is available.

This question can then be supplemented with additional evaluations to provide deeper insights into the new hire’s performance, such as:

• Performance ratings
• Engagement levels
• Speed to competence
• Shifts in perception since the interview
• Suggestions for improving the recruitment process

Following this, we calculate a Quality of Hire score based on the percentage of “Yes” responses at both the 3-month and 6-month marks. This provides a clear metric to track new hire performance early in their journey.

This feedback loop delivers powerful benefits:

• Proactive probation management: By gathering critical feedback before formal reviews, HR can address any concerns early, avoiding last-minute surprises.
• Valuable insights: Both qualitative and quantitative data help refine recruitment and performance management processes.

We have been challenged that this metric relies too heavily on hiring managers’ opinions, but you already trust them to make hiring decisions, so it stands to reason that you should also trust them to assess the quality of those decisions.

New Joiner Talent Density

While the Quality of Hire Indicator is easy to implement and gives an indication of whether you’re hiring the right people, New Joiner Talent Density provides a broader, more sophisticated view of how new hires influence the overall capability of your workforce.

Before being able to measure New Joiner Talent Density, you first need to capture a concise measure for Talent Density across all levels within your organisation. This will be unique for every business and will require you to delve into the exciting world of performance analytics from skills matrices to 9-Box Grids. New Joiner Talent Density can then be found using a simple formula:

(New Joiner Talent Density – Global Talent Density) / Global Talent Density

A positive figure means your new hires are elevating your Talent Density, aligning with the ultimate goal of improving talent across all levels - from junior positions to senior strategic hires.

The real strength of this metric lies in its breadth of application. You can apply it on a global level or zoom in to analyse specific teams and departments. Regular reviews, such as the biannual evaluations we conduct at Instant Impact, allow for a detailed understanding of how new hires contribute to the company’s talent growth over time.

How We Use These Metrics at Instant Impact

At Instant Impact, these two metrics form the backbone of our talent acquisition strategy, helping us continuously optimize our hiring efforts.

• The Quality of Hire Indicator gives us an immediate pulse check after each new hire, allowing us to fine-tune our processes early.
• New Joiner Talent Density offers a long-term view, helping us ensure that every hire strengthens the overall talent within the business.

By combining real-time feedback with long-term insights, we’re able to drive continuous improvement in both recruitment and talent management.

Unlocking the Power of Quality of Hire

Implementing a Quality of Hire Indicator is a straightforward yet highly effective way to improve your recruitment outcomes. Once this practice is embedded, taking the next step with New Joiner Talent Density can provide a deeper, more comprehensive look at the overall quality of talent within your organisation.

At Instant Impact, we’re committed to helping businesses optimise their talent acquisition strategies through data-driven insights. If you want to find out more, read our collab article - How to Get a Seat at the Boardroom: The Recruitment Insights & Data the Business Really Wants.

Ready to take your hiring to the next level? For more information on how we can power your talent acquisition, learn more about RPO.