Introduction: Quality of Hire
Hiring someone who remains on your team for more than 90 days might be seen as a good candidate quality, but quality is not measured only by their duration on your books. Someone could have stayed for over a year, but their contribution could not exceed the basic requirement to keep them on the payroll.
Quality of Hire is a good metric that goes beyond the 90-day retention period, examining if, in performance figures, engagement, and professional development, their presence has delivered value to the company.
In this article, we discuss why 90-day retention is not enough to define a quality of hire and how to measure quality of hire beyond the 90-day mark.
Why 90-Day Retention Is Not Enough to Assess Quality if Hire?
As we already mentioned – the 90-day period marks the start of your working relationship with the new employee. This means that you can expect some adjustment time at the beginning of the job. But simply calculating the percentage of retained workers at the end of this timeframe is not a good idea.
To begin with, there are people that stay on their posts out of convenience, while their actual performance level has not met expectations. Secondly, the 90-day threshold does not include possible issues appearing after the initial scope of responsibilities the employee could manage is reached. With that in mind, a different approach to quality of hire measurement has to be implemented.
How to Measure Quality of Hire Beyond 90-Day Retention?
1. Measure Time to Productivity
Another way to assess quality of hire is to analyze the worker’s progression and growth rate and their ability to take responsibility. Every new employee needs to train and learn the basic mechanisms of the organization’s functioning, and there is nothing wrong with it. But if the new worker constantly needs help and cannot perform even basic duties by the end of the first month, the employer may question the quality of the hire. Finally, it is essential to measure how satisfied the employee’s direct supervisor is with the new tool.
2. Evaluate Manager’s Feedback, Not the Candidate’s Likes
Managers and direct supervisors can offer you honest feedback on whether the candidate fits within the team structure. After spending six months or a year with the new employee, managers will be able to answer these questions:
- Does the worker meet my expectations?
- Is the employee capable and able to work independently?
- How is their communication and level of education?
- Can one say that the worker has taken responsibility?
- Has the person grown professionally during their time with us?
Instead of asking the manager if they like the employee, put these questions to them while also examining the relationship between the new tool and the rest of the team.
3. Judge how Well They Fit Into the Team
A worker who can bring the team closer together, teach others, and contribute to the creation of a productive and friendly environment is a quality hire. You should examine this factor closely, especially when the new employee works in a highly collaborative role or in a workplace where interaction plays a primary role in achieving success.
An employee who always helps their colleagues can be a better choice compared to someone who only fulfills their duties. Assessing this metric is a guarantee that the worker fits into the team and will serve the business for a long time.
4. Examine Workers’ Growth Patterns
Aside from measuring how well the new staff member met the initial expectations, it is essential to give attention to their growth pattern. In other words, did the worker learn new skills, did they manage to increase their productivity level, and can they take on greater responsibilities?
The most suitable metric for quality of hire here is career growth. The more experienced an employee becomes, the more valuable they are to the company. The hiring manager and human resource specialists can keep track of if the person has received the appropriate training, certification, and education.
They can also check whether the worker has received a promotion or taken on more challenging tasks over time. New hires typically need around eight months to a year to demonstrate their growth potential, so employers should closely monitor any early signs of growth.
5. Assess The Business Impact
Most importantly, measure how well the quality of this hire impacted the business’ growth and revenue, and how are these factors changing with time. While people forget about candidates’ names, faces, and interviews, their impact on the company never disappears.
Every position has its metrics for quality of hire assessment, and if a sales employee has brought in more customers, the team works better, or the code written by this programmer has improved the system’s speed, then this hire is profitable. The most crucial metric here is the ability to increase revenue.
Conclusion: Quality of Hire
Finally, remember that quantity and quality rarely come together, and an employee can stay on your books for more than 90 days and still be a poor quality hire.
While quality of hire measurement is an excellent way to observe the professional growth of your employees, and analyze if they met your expectations, remember that any new worker needs time to find their footing in the workplace.
A good worker can be a high-quality hire while delivering fewer results in the beginning before becoming more productive as time passes. This is why measuring quality of hire, examining these different criteria beyond the 90-day period, is essential for assessing if a candidate is the right fit for the open position.
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