The past few years have particularly been very advantageous for the staffing industry overall, and tech staffing specifically has noted some significant growth. In 2021 and 2022, SIA reported a growth in the US tech staffing market – both in revenue by 17% and 16%, respectively. In the next five years, from 2024 to 2029, the global tech staffing market is estimated to grow by 3.66%. One of the main drivers for this growth is the demand for tech talent predicted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as IT jobs will increase by 356,700 positions on an annual basis from 2023 to 2033, a figure that is undoubtedly intriguing for the industry.
In this post, we will focus on how to become efficient in tech staffing by paying particular attention to important targets and milestones that every business should set when building effective tech teams.
From Hiring to Thriving: Mastering Tech Staffing KPIs for Success
Today, it is easier than ever for staffing consulting firms to devise strategies to help their clients control the cost per hire and improve the efficiency of the hiring processes. As it happens, there is no industry standard or one-size-fits-all solution for efficient tech staffing. Each business requires a tailored solution defined by appropriate KPI mix, both results, and leading indicators.
At the end of the day, it needs to be able to boost a business’s bottom line and demonstrate a return on investment.
Most relevant recruitment KPIs are performance based and are bound to the overarching goals. For example, instead of just counting how many individuals have applied for a position, a KPI will reveal how many of them were likely to be hired and add value to a business. When thinking about the effectiveness of recruitment, there are specific KPIs that need to be monitored. Deciding which recruitment metrics to use is specific to every organization, and here are a few of the more important ones:
1. Time to Hire
There’s no argument that people have trouble with efficiency when compared to Time to Hire. The average “time to hire” for tech staffing is usually at a range between 29 and 43 days, encompassing everything from sourcing and pre-screening to technical interviews. Among all important staffing metrics, time to hire is the most challenging KPI to tackle. While hitting these IT staffing benchmarks is great, businesses would tremendously benefit if these benchmarks were lowered for one very simple reason: for every month that a tech vacancy stays open, more and more resources and attention are used in trying to fill it.
Improving this metric is crucial so that you can get the best employees before your rivals do. It is important not only to reduce costs and project delays, but also to improve the quality of hire and organizational efficiency and agility.
2. Cost Per Hire
Hiring a new employee is no small feat and the value of recruiting metrics, specifically cost per hire, is worth taking into consideration regardless of the work environment. Cost per hire is a perfect metric for organizations to determine their recruitment strategy’s impact.
Cost Per Hire is increasing as more businesses aim for expansion. According to SHRM the average cost per hire in 2019 was $4,129 and by 2023 it had gone up to $4,700. This puts the earning capacity of the candidate into context. Roughly 15%-25% of a candidate’s expected first year’s salary will account for the total cost described. Due to various factors including the size of the organization and the specific tech position, the average cost is expected to shift drastically. Expenditure on advertisement alongside agency fees is expected to account for 30-40% of the entire recruitment cost.
For an organization, attracting top tech talent is invaluable. In the long run, it drives business value and helps in maintaining the spending ratio and quality. Every organization wants to get the most value from their spending and keeping the hiring expense and quality of the hires into consideration. Because of the shift in other obligations, it becomes hard to balance spending and getting value, but with the correct tools, it becomes increasingly easier.
3. Sourcing Channel Efficiency
Skill gap is a real issue, and as estimated by 51% of employees, the biggest hindrance towards the recruitment process is the incapability of accessing candidates with the correct skill sets.
It is possible to track which channels help an organization recruit the best candidates for the least amount of money, whether through recruitment agencies, social media, employee referrals, or job boards. This cost per hire metric determines the most effective sources of hire, allowing recruitment resources to be more efficiently spent targeting those that yield the best results for the quality of candidates received. In a word, it is about balancing between effectiveness and efficiency in sourcing for tech talents.
4. Acceptance of Offers
This metric tracks the ratio of total accepted job offers against the provided job offers. It helps in understanding the overall attractiveness of a job offer and the hiring process in general. High acceptance rates indicate that the company is providing competitive offers, the selection process is streamlined, and the incoming candidates are enthusiastic to be part of the company. Conversely, low acceptance rates point to factors related to compensation, role expectation, bias as to race or gender, or even candidate experience which indicate an area that the company needs to improve in order to attract and retain the right talent in the tech world. A survey conducted in 2019 indicated that among many organizations, the technology-focused offer acceptance rate is between 0 to 20%. This is rather low. Finding the right approach in tech staffing has to deal with offer acceptance rates. There should be a focus on remuneration, effective communication as well as effective communication, and a custom experience. Also, spending time on engaging with the candidates along the entire process, providing them with an engaging candidate experience, and customizing the benefits will make offers more appealing, thus increasing acceptance rates.
5. Candidate Quality After Onboarding
This performance indicator measures the time taken by new employees to start being productive, as well as the amount of productivity they are able to achieve if measured against other employees in the same or related roles within similar organizations.
Put simply, post-hire metrics assess how employees performed against business expectations, fulfilled team roles, interacted with other employees, and adapted to the organizational culture after they were recruited. By assessing this metric, organizations can evaluate the efficiency of their staffing processes and improve upon them to be able to hire people who are suitable for the position, as well as likely to succeed in the company.
6. Employee Turnover Rate
Because of the pressure and uncertainty that comes with the field, technology companies usually have the greatest turnover rates. The cutoff turnover rate for this industry in 2022 was on average 13.2%, making it one of the least stable in terms of employee retention. In tech staffing, higher than average turnover rates may reflect issues with job satisfaction, organizational culture, or hiring and retention expectations. Tracking this KPI allows the organization to deal with issues like loss of employees due to poorly structured onboarding, lack of career progression chances, or low salary pay compared to the market. By monitoring turnover rates, employers can understand who inappropriate hire was made and what measures does he need to be taken. Let it be known though; low turnover ratios are one of the main objectives of staffing. Tracking this KPI can ultimately guarantee improved workforce stability, productivity and scalability.
7. Client Satisfaction Rate
This metric gauges how well a company’s tech talent performs in relation to the client’s requirements. There needs to be a balance between these expectations and the output from the hired candidates. Thus, client satisfaction rates greatly aid in ensuring that the recruitment process is successfully sourcing the right skills combined with the necessary interpersonal attributes. Organizations may use feedback provided by the clients to enhance their staffing practices, candidate selection, and increase their client’s trust in them, which guarantees business continuity.
KPI-Focused Staffing with Stride Digital
No matter what size an organisation is, gathering and monitoring recruitment analytics like KPIs can be overwhelming without the right technology, leadership and strategies in place.
Stride Digital’s tech staffing services empower businesses by delivering highly skilled professionals tailored to meet critical IT needs while optimizing key performance metrics. By leveraging flexible staffing models like team extensions, onsite and offshore development centres, and staff augmentation, Stride Digital helps businesses scale efficiently and respond dynamically to project demands. Their expertise in tech skill assessment, niche talent acquisition, and leadership support ensures companies achieve a superior quality of hires while reducing ‘time to hire’ and ‘cost per hire.’
Focused on aligning talent with organizational goals, Stride Digital employs advanced sourcing strategies to enhance sourcing channel efficiency, reduce employee turnover rates, and foster long-term workforce stability. Further, our contract-to-hire services offer a trial-based hiring model, minimizing recruitment risks while ensuring the perfect fit for critical roles. Whether it’s scaling operations, driving innovation, or improving workforce capabilities, Stride Digital provides tailored staffing solutions that deliver measurable, impactful outcomes across diverse industries.
Conclusion
Measuring what matters is the key to staying ahead… Around 82% of companies consider data essential for talent acquisition decisions. Whether it’s improving recruitment processes, minimizing hiring biases or assessing candidates, these metrics offer insights into recruiting effectiveness. By tracking these KPIs and using the insights for data-driven recruiting, businesses can scale to new heights of success.
Contact us today to elevate your tech staffing efficiency 👉
