Recruitment Dashboard

Finding the right people can be a challenging task for any organization. It’s time-consuming, with new positions taking 42 days to fill, and expensive, costing around $5,000 to hire a new employee.

A recruitment dashboard helps you create a more efficient hiring process by showing how many candidates are in the pipeline, how long it takes to fill a position, and the cost associated with each hire. With this data-driven approach, you can streamline your recruitment process and ultimately save resources. Let’s explore what a recruitment dashboard is, how it can help your organization, and how you can create one.

What is a recruitment dashboard?

A recruitment dashboard displays key metrics and data points related to your hiring process. For example, it can show how many candidates applied for each position, where they come from, and what stage they are in the recruitment funnel.

With a recruitment dashboard, you can improve your recruiting strategy and create a positive candidate experience. This leads to a more effective recruitment process, helping your company attract and hire the best talent.

Benefits of using a recruitment dashboard

Using a recruitment dashboard can make your hiring process more efficient by helping you fill vacancies quickly, cut costs, and improve candidate quality. Here are six benefits of using this tool:

Fill vacancies quickly and accurately

A recruitment dashboard shows real-time data on the number of candidates in the recruitment funnel. Through this, HR teams can see which positions need urgent attention.

It also displays key metrics like time-to-fill and time-to-hire, which helps identify delays in the hiring process so recruiters can take immediate action to speed it up.

Reduce recruitment costs

Using a recruitment dashboard can significantly reduce recruitment costs by providing insights into the most cost-effective candidate sources. Knowing which platforms work best for your hiring needs lets you allocate budgets more efficiently. Additionally, tracking metrics like cost-per-hire helps in identifying areas where expenses can be cut without compromising the quality of recruitment.

Improve candidate quality

A recruitment dashboard shows the application-to-interview ratio, which indicates the quality of applicants. If a high number of applications leads to interviews, it means the job postings are attracting suitable candidates. It also tracks the performance of new hires, helping HR teams refine their recruitment strategy to attract top talent consistently.

Boost collaboration and communication

Having a centralized view of the recruitment process makes sure all team members can access the same data and updates. This transparency reduces misunderstandings and improves teamwork. An HR team that knows the progress of each job opening can coordinate their efforts better and provide feedback as soon as possible to hiring managers and candidates.

Increase candidate engagement

Increasing candidate engagement is another benefit of using a recruitment dashboard. As mentioned, the tool helps you identify delays in the hiring process. Knowing where the bottlenecks are allows you to make improvements and offer a smooth experience for all applicants.

Standardize the recruitment process

A recruitment dashboard provides a consistent framework for tracking and analyzing talent acquisition metrics. As a result, all team members can follow the same procedures and use the same criteria for evaluating candidates, helping you avoid hiring bias.

For instance, it’s found that managers who interview someone with similar job experiences are three times more likely to hire that person. A recruitment dashboard can include metrics that specifically monitor diversity in the candidate pool, such as the variety of previous job roles, industries worked, and the candidate's background diversity. These metrics encourage hiring managers to consider a broader range of candidates and reduce unconscious biases.

Key metrics to track on a recruitment dashboard

Time to fill, time to hire, and cost per hire are just a few of the key metrics to track in your recruitment dashboard. Let’s explore these metrics and why your HR team should track them:

Time to fill

Time to fill measures the number of days it takes to fill an open position, from the job posting to the candidate accepting the offer. A longer time to fill suggests potential bottlenecks that need addressing. For example, if it takes 30 days to fill a sales position but only 20 days for a similar role in another department, HR can investigate why there is a delay and make improvements.

Time to hire

Unlike time to fill, which starts measuring when the job was posted publicly, time to hire refers to the number of days between each candidate’s application to the job offer or decline. It’s essential to track both metrics since it shows the efficiency of different stages in the recruitment process.

By comparing time to fill and time to hire, HR can pinpoint areas for improvement, such as streamlining the interview process or reducing offer negotiation time. These insights lead to a more effective recruitment strategy and faster hiring cycles.

Cost per hire

Cost per hire calculates advertising costs, recruiter salaries, and any additional expenses, like signing bonuses, your organization spent in hiring a new employee. Displaying this metric on your recruitment dashboard helps your HR team manage budgets and find cost-effective hiring sources.

For example, if your recruitment dashboard shows that the average cost per hire is $5,000, your company can find ways to reduce this number, either by choosing cheaper advertising sources or improving the screening process.

Applications received per vacancy

Applications received per vacancy helps HR teams understand the attractiveness of job postings and identify if they are reaching enough candidates. A low number of applications might suggest a need for better advertising or a more compelling job description.

It’s calculated by counting all of the applications or resumes received and dividing it by the total open positions you currently have. If you notice a low number of applications per vacancy, it may indicate the need to revise your job postings or target a wider audience. 

Candidate source

Knowing which platforms provide the best candidates allows HR teams to use resources more effectively by focusing on the most productive channels. For example, if 60% of your successful hires come from LinkedIn, while only 10% come from a different job board, you can consider subscribing to LinkedIn Premium for more features, like having your job posts show up to more potential candidates.

Open job requisitions

Open job requisitions help HR teams and managers keep track of all active vacancies from each department so that none are overlooked. It also provides a clear overview of the hiring workload. For example, if a company has 25 open requisitions and only 5 recruiters, it signals a need to hire more recruiters or streamline the process to avoid overwhelming the team.

Recruiter-to-open-acquisitions ratio

There’s also the recruiter-to-open-recquisitions ratio, which specifically measures the number of open positions each recruiter is handling. A high ratio indicates that recruiters have to keep track of many applications and job postings, potentially affecting the quality of the hiring process. With this metric, you can make sure your team isn’t overwhelmed by the number of vacancies they have to fill.  

Application-to-interview ratio

The application-to-interview ratio shows the number of applications needed to secure a single interview. This metric helps your team gauge the effectiveness of your screening process.

A high ratio suggests that many applications aren’t suitable, indicating a need for better job post content or more targeted advertising. If it takes 20 applications to secure one interview for a Marketing Officer role, you should improve job descriptions by detailing key responsibilities and qualifications more clearly. This way, you can attract more qualified candidates and reduce this number.

Signing bonus expense

This metric is important for budgeting and making sure that the expenditure is justified and effective in attracting top talent. For example, if your signing bonus expense metric shows you’re spending $40,000 annually for bonuses but sees a 30% increase in offer acceptance rates, you can easily justify the amount based on data.

Offer acceptance rate

A high job offer acceptance rate indicates that the company is attractive to candidates and that the offers you made are competitive. A rate of 90% and above is generally considered high.

You can improve your offer acceptance rate by making sure your job offers are competitive and aligned with candidates' expectations. Do market research on compensation packages and benefits offered by competitors so you can tailor your offers to be more appealing.

Additionally, providing clear communication throughout the hiring process and promptly addressing any candidate concerns can also positively impact offer acceptance rates. Remember, as an HR team, applicants are one of your main customers, so you should strive to provide a positive experience for them.

Employee turnover rate

Employee turnover rate tracks the number of employees who leave the company within a certain period, either within the first 90 days or a year. The average turnover rate in 2023 was 41%. However, it actually varies across industries, so you have to check benchmarks for your specific niche.

Having an employee turnover rate that’s higher than the industry standard indicates issues with the recruitment process or company culture. When you’ve come to this point, you have to improve retention strategies by conducting exit interviews to gather feedback from departing employees and fostering a positive work environment to help reduce turnover rates.

How to create a recruitment dashboard

Creating a recruitment dashboard involves knowing your recruitment needs and data sources to make sure it can help your hiring processes. Here’s a guide on how to create an effective recruiting dashboard:

Determine your recruitment needs

First, identify what you want to achieve with your recruitment dashboard. Ask yourself whether you’re looking to reduce time-to-hire, improve candidate quality, or manage recruitment costs. Once you have the answer, you can then establish specific, measurable objectives, such as increasing the offer acceptance rate by 10%.

Identify and integrate your data sources

Next, build a comprehensive recruitment dashboard by gathering data from all relevant sources. This includes your Applicant Tracking System (ATS), HR software, spreadsheets, and other databases.

Find a tool that can integrate with multiple sources seamlessly. Klipfolio PowerMetrics can collect data from different ATS (BambooHR, iCims, Workable), job boards (Indeed, Glassdoor, Monster), and HR management systems (Workday, ADP, SAP SuccessFactors) for a holistic view of your HR processes.

Choose the layout and visualization types

More than just collating all relevant recruitment data into a single dashboard, you also have to think about its layout and the types of visualizations to use. Make sure to choose visuals that best represent your key metrics.

For example, bar charts can compare time-to-hire across departments, while pie charts can show the distribution of candidate sources. Afterward, place the most critical metrics at the top of the dashboard for quick access and group related metrics together for easy comparison.

Implement your recruiting dashboard

Once you have identified your needs, gathered your data, and chosen your layout, it’s time to implement the dashboard. This involves setting it up in your chosen software like PowerMetrics and giving relevant team members access.

Plug in the data and configure the visualizations. Klipfolio’s no-code feature lets you easily create custom dashboards based on your recruitment needs.

Before rolling it out to the entire team, test the dashboard with a small group to make sure it’s working correctly and providing valuable insights. Then, teach your HR team and recruiters how to use the HR dashboard effectively. Provide training sessions (consider using Training Dashboards as well) and documentation if necessary. After implementation, collect feedback from users to make any necessary adjustments along the way.

Best practices when creating recruitment dashboards

As you create your recruitment dashboard, you should think about the user first and foremost. Make it intuitive and adapt it for different user roles. Here are the best practices to keep in mind:

Keep it user-friendly

Your recruitment dashboard should be easy to navigate and understand by using simple language, clear labels, and intuitive layouts. When HR teams and recruiters use the dashboard, they should be able to quickly find the information they need without getting confused.

For example, use color-coded charts to show the number of candidates at each stage of the hiring process to help users instantly grasp the data. This reduces time spent searching for information and increases productivity.

Adapt the dashboard for different user roles

Different roles in the HR team need different information. A recruiting manager might need to see the overall hiring funnel, while a recruiter might focus on the number of interviews scheduled.

Adapting the dashboard to fit these roles makes sure everyone gets the most relevant data. For instance, a hiring dashboard for managers might include high-level metrics like time to hire and cost per hire, while a recruiter's dashboard might show detailed candidate sources and application statuses. A role-based approach makes the dashboard more effective and useful for everyone involved.

Use visual hierarchies

Visual hierarchies help users understand the most important information at a glance. When you place the most critical metrics at the top and use larger fonts or bolder colors, you can guide users through the data logically.

For example, showing the total number of open positions at the top of the dashboard, followed by breakdowns of candidate sources and interview stages, helps prioritize information. This way, HR teams can focus on key recruitment metrics easily and make quicker decisions.

Check for automatic data updates

Automatic data updates are crucial for making real-time decisions and tracking the recruitment process accurately. For instance, integrating the dashboard with the company's applicant tracking system (ATS) can automatically update the number of applications received, interviews scheduled, and offers accepted. This reduces manual data entry, minimizes errors, and keeps the HR team informed of the department’s status.

Implement role-based access control

Role-based access control restricts dashboard access for so that only authorized personnel can view or edit certain information. For example, HR managers might have full access to all data, while recruiters might only see data relevant to their roles. This level of data security prevents sensitive information from being accessed by unauthorized users. 

What to avoid in recruitment dashboards

Packing too much information into a single display and having inaccurate data can negatively impact the effectiveness of your dashboard. These are the things you should avoid:

Dashboard clutter

Cluttered dashboards overwhelm users and make it difficult to find important information. When a recruitment dashboard has too many charts, graphs, and data points crammed into one screen, it becomes challenging to navigate.

For example, including every recruitment metric on the dashboard for HR managers and executives will not be effective. They only need high-level insights, such as the total number of open positions and the status of the overall hiring funnel.

Make sure users can quickly access the information they need without distractions. Even better, provide options to tailor the dashboard to individual responsibilities, such as providing advanced filtering and drill-down capabilities. 

Non-intuitive design

A non-intuitive design can reduce the dashboard's effectiveness and frustrate users. If it has a confusing layout, HR teams will waste time figuring out how to use it. 

One scenario is if the dashboard requires multiple clicks to find basic information, like the number of candidates in the pipeline. A simple, intuitive design with clear labels helps users find what they need quickly and improves the overall experience.

Outdated data or data anomalies

Using outdated data or having data anomalies in your dashboard can make your HR team base their strategies on inaccurate information. For example, relying on outdated data about candidate sources can lead to ineffective advertising strategies. Make sure the dashboard is connected to real-time data sources and regularly updated to maintain accuracy and reliability.

One-size-fits-all displays

A one-size-fits-all approach to dashboards ignores the specific needs of different users. HR managers, recruiters, and hiring managers require different insights.

A hiring manager might need detailed candidate profiles, while an HR executive needs an overview of the recruitment process. Customizing the dashboard for different roles helps each user get the information they need to perform their tasks efficiently.

Lacking data sources

If you don’t plug all relevant data sources into your recruitment dashboard, you’ll get gaps in your analysis. A robust tool should pull data from multiple sources to give a complete view of the hiring process so you can make well-informed decisions based on a full set of data.

Inconsistent data formats

Inconsistent data formats lead to errors in interpretation. For example, showing some metrics in percentages and others in absolute numbers without clear labels can be misleading. Standardizing data formats across the dashboard makes it easier for HR teams to compare and analyze the data to maintain clarity and accuracy in the recruitment process.

No clear objectives

If it's not designed with specific goals in mind, recruitment dashboards won't provide actionable insights. For example, if the dashboard doesn't highlight the metrics needed, like time to fill or cost per hire, HR teams won't know where to focus their efforts. Setting clear objectives allows it to deliver valuable insights that align with the company's recruitment strategy and goals.

Boost recruitment efficiency with Klipfolio

Optimize your hiring process with a well-designed recruitment dashboard to improve your team's efficiency and effectiveness. Focus on user-friendly design and displaying relevant metrics to create a powerful tool to attract and retain top talent.

Let Klipfolio PowerMetrics assist your recruitment processes with beautiful visualizations of key metrics that doesn’t require extensive coding knowledge. Start free today and begin enhancing your recruitment efficiency.