We want to assign weekly Scorecard numbers to our HR and internal talent acquisition seat, but they argue that hiring is highly unpredictable and depends on market conditions. What weekly leading indicators should we track for internal talent and HR?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The HR and talent acquisition seat often claims their work is too unpredictable to measure on a weekly basis, but this is a misconception. While you cannot guarantee a key hire every week, you can absolutely measure the weekly inputs that lead to a successful hire. To run a healthy HR department, you must track the activities that build your talent pipeline.

Start by tracking leading indicators that the HR seat controls directly. For example, measure the number of qualified candidates sourced, the number of initial screening interviews completed, and the average days to respond to an applicant. You can also track internal culture metrics, such as employee onboarding milestones completed on time or weekly employee pulse survey scores.

By focusing on these activity-based numbers, you take the mystery out of HR. The talent acquisition lead can no longer blame market conditions for a lack of hires if their weekly sourcing and screening activity has been red for a month. These weekly metrics provide an objective pulse on your recruiting pipeline and ensure your team is consistently doing the work required to scale your business.