In the past, CDL driver recruiting has been driven more by gut feelings and personal relationships than hard metrics and data. While these personal relationships are still extremely important, new solutions are making it much easier for recruiters to track and measure key recruiting metrics.
So why is tracking recruiting data so important? While making decisions based on gut feeling might have worked in the past, hard numbers can show recruiters what is working and what isn’t on an operational level. With these insights in hand, recruiters can implement strategies and processes to improve output and operate more efficiently.
A few key metrics all CDL driver recruiters should be measuring are:
Speed to hire: Speed to hire is the number of days from first touch to hire. In most cases, a first touch is when an applicant fills out an application, but it could also refer to an informational phone call or when a prospective driver subscribes to a mailing list. This metric is so important because it can let recruiters know if their application process is too slow for drivers. If drivers are getting hired from underneath you during the application process, it’s probably time to rethink your speed to hire strategy.
Application completion rate: This straightforward metric refers to the number of applications that are actually submitted compared to the number of applications that are started by drivers. If your team starts tracking application completion rate and realizes that an alarmingly low percentage of drivers are actually submitting an application, you might want to go back to the drawing board on your application. Shortening and streamlining questions, while making the application mobile-optimized are effective ways to improve your completion rate.
Response rate: Once an application is submitted, then it’s up to your recruiters to contact and engage these potential drivers and move them through the pipeline. Whether your team is calling, emailing, or even texting candidates, tracking response rates can let your team know which channel is driving the most responses.
Lead sources and performance: Most CDL driver recruiters post their job openings on their own website along with other career websites, job boards, and social media. By tracking lead sources and performance, recruiters can pinpoint which lead sources are providing the greatest ROI and bringing in the most applicants. With this insight, recruiters can put more budget behind the highest-performing lead sources while backing off the ones that aren’t doing as well.
Cost per applicant: Every stage of the hiring process costs money, whether it’s posting jobs on a third-party site, marketing campaigns, or recruiting technology. CDL recruiters should be able to visualize all of the costs associated with driver recruiting and assign a ‘cost per applicant’. Then, recruiters can begin to optimize spending and re-allocate expenses to save money and better utilize recruiting tools.
By allowing recruiters to gather these critical data points and more on the backend and then making this data available in the form of clear and easy to understand dashboards, recruiters can start to make better strategic decisions on the frontend.
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