“[Many corporations] have the most opulent work environments ever – playing fields, concierge service, spas, onsite daycare - and yet people still can’t wait to get out of there at 4pm or 5pm. It’s a new day, folks.”

What attracts and retains top talent to your organization is more than perks and salary, obviously. But knowing what those key factors are depends in large part your ability to measure your recruiting successes – and knowing what to measure in the first place.

Dan Hanyzewski, staffing director from Nike and keynote speaker at Kennedy Information’s recent Recruiting 2008 Conference and Expo in Las Vegas believes that using the right metrics in order to justify workforce goals is only half the battle. Traditionally viewed as merely a “cost of doing business,” recruiters and other talent managers now need to use and communicate the bottom line financial impact and strategic value of their efforts.

An essential part of this equation is leveraging your company brand to develop your employer brand.

“This is the first time in American history that we’ve had four generations at work at the same time,” Hanyzewski says. How do you communicate an employer brand that will attract such a broad audience? Hanyzewski might say it has to do with how you communicate the mission of your organization, both in what you say, but more importantly, by what you do.

“The reality is that we [at Nike] have a mission that has nothing to do with dollars and cents…. Our mission is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete on the face of the earth. Meaning, if you have a body, you are an athlete,” Hanyzewski says.

Translating the inspiration and innovation gained from high performance athletes, to a corporate brand, to a far-reaching employer brand, and likewise, to meaningful recruiting metrics represents a seamless continuum for Hanyzewski.

The perfect example of a real metric comes from runner Steve Prefontaine. “Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.” Hanyzewski asks, What’s the metric? For a recruiter, it means that everyone that gets past you pays a price.

Traditional measures, like cost per hire, customer satisfaction, and time to fill, don’t measure the most essential thing – the quality of your candidates, Hanyzewski asserts. Rather, quality of hire is the least measured aspect of a recruiting function’s performance. Candidate care also should absolutely be measured, Hanyzewski says, because it has direct impact on your bottom line.

“But Metric One is quality. You can’t take raw material and put it in the wrong environment and culture. That’s a metric. Before the hunt you need to deliver a subject matter prospectus. You can’t go get what you don’t know. A req. is just a bunch of words. What you really need to know is what success looks like – you need a prototype.

“This is also measurement. Subject matter expertise is strategic. Being a recruiter, you have to be able to distinguish yourself to the person you are trying to hire.“

“One of the most powerful metrics is time,” Hanyzewski says. But, what’s does it mean? What’s the expectation? It’s not time to fill. “If you had an understanding of what that role being empty represents on a daily basis, then you will know what it means to the bottom line.” Whether a position is open 75 days or 125 days, unless you know what the vacancy cost is, it won’t help you know the impact, Hanyzewski adds.

“The only numbers that really count are those that tell you your recruiting efficiency – the bottom line impact less your total recruiting costs,” Hanyzewski says. If you’re hurting for resources – meaning you don’t have recruiters that can hunt and be strategic – then you’re going to need to make a business case [for them] to the CFO. You need to know your impact to the bottom line.”

Seventy days or 125 days, unless you know what that vacancy cost is, it won’t help you know the impact, Hanyzewski says. Hanyzewski explains that if you can calculate your vacancy cost due to lost revenue, and maybe you deduct 10% due to the declining economic climate, and you know the vacancy has existed for 6 months, and you multiply it by the number of territories, then you now know the reality of time to fill because it’s real money. “Now you can come to the table with a real business concern.”

The only numbers that really matter

• Bottom Line Impact less Total Recruiting Costs
• Recruiting Cost Ratio
• Recruiting Efficiency

Source: Dan Hanyzewski, Nike

“Your value in terms of metrics right now might be butts in seats. But it’s much more than that,” Hanyzewski says. “Run your own race. Measure consistently. Measure three things. You choose them. Know the net impact. Know the bottom line impact.”