Talent Acquisition has evolved and is continuing to evolve but many of its metrics haven’t.

The conventional metrics of TA success are no longer sufficient in a world where skills are changing, roles are becoming more complex, and candidate expectations are rising.

Think about it:

• You could fill a role in 10 days and still hire the wrong person.
• You could spend very little per hire but lose that employee within 6 months.
• You could hit every hiring target and still miss your business goals.

Although they may be simple to monitor, time-to-hire and cost-per-hire only provide a portion of the picture. They can actually create a false sense of accomplishment.  

The Problem With Legacy Metrics

Talent acquisition has long been assessed based on its operational speed and cost. However, that method puts speed ahead of strategic impact and efficiency ahead of effectiveness.

72% of CHROs say their teams are still measured primarily on time-to-hire and cost-per-hire. Meanwhile, quality, retention, and productivity, the things that really move the business forward, often go unmeasured.

This creates a dangerous cycle:

• TA teams are incentivised to move quickly. Their performance reviews, bonuses, and reputations depend on speed, not strategic outcomes. 
• Hiring managers expect roles filled fast. Because that’s how TA has been positioned—like an internal agency rather than a strategic partner.
• There’s little incentive to challenge bad briefs, reassess the role, or think beyond the short-term. As long as the position is filled, the box is ticked.
• And when the hire doesn’t work out? TA still bears the blame, even though the process rewarded fast action, not thoughtful alignment.

It is a lose-lose situation. 

The Shift to Impact-Driven Metrics

To move forward, organisations must rethink how they define and measure hiring success.

It’s time to move from activity-based metrics to impact-based outcomes.

Here’s what that shift looks like:

Outdated Metric	Future-Focused Metric
Time-to-Hire	Time-to-Productivity
Cost-per-Hire	Quality-per-Hire
Requisition Volume	Retention and Team Impact
Sourcing Speed	Skills Coverage and Agility

Let’s break this down:

• Time-to-Productivity: How long does it take a new hire to ramp up and add value? This is far more important than how quickly they were hired.
• Quality-of-Hire: Are the people you hired doing well? Will they be staying? Are they in line with the culture and goals of the team?
• Retention: You’re not only wasting time if employees are departing within the first six to twelve months; you’re also undermining momentum and morale.
• Skills Agility: Are you hiring for current needs or future capabilities? Are your teams equipped to evolve?

Why These Metric Matter More Now Than Ever

The business world is rapidly evolving. Digital transformation, automation, and artificial intelligence are changing how teams operate and what they require from talent. 

However, a lot of hiring processes are still streamlined for speed rather than for strategic value.

Here’s what forward-thinking organisations understand:

• Growth comes from the right hires, not just fast ones.
• Strategy shifts require adaptable, skilled teams.
• Talent Acquisition is most effective when it’s measured on outcomes, not inputs.

TA must demonstrate its impact if it is to be seen as a growth function rather than merely a cost centre.

And the right metrics make that possible.

How to Start Shifting Your TA Metrics

Not sure where to start? You don’t need to revamp your entire dashboard overnight. Begin with these small but strategic steps:

1. Introduce a Time-to-Productivity Measure
   • Collaborate with managers to establish what constitutes “productive” and monitor the time it takes for new hires to reach that level.
2. Run Post-Hire Surveys
   • Three to six months after hiring, ask managers about contributions, fit, and performance. Use that data to inform future decisions.
3. Link Hiring to Business KPIs
   • Demonstrate how TA supports goals like customer success, market expansion, and revenue growth.
4. Educate the Business
   • Help leaders understand why faster isn’t always the only factor that makes a hire better and how long-term metrics protect ROI.

Final Thoughts

Speed and spend are easy to measure but they’re not the whole story. Recruiting quickly feels good. Hitting hiring targets looks good. But if those hires aren’t delivering value or sticking around, it’s just motion not progress.

The real measure of Talent Acquisition is its impact.
On productivity.
On performance.
On the future of your business.

It’s time to raise the bar on what success looks like.

If you’re ready to rethink your TA metrics, we’re ready to help: 🔗 solutionsdriven.com/contact