Hiring Great Talent or Just Guessing? 5 Ways to Measure Quality of Hire
Among all the metrics recruiting teams track, one of the most critical—and elusive—is Quality of Hire (QoH). How you measure it depends on your data, culture, and processes, which is why approaches vary so widely.
When requisitions pile up, tracking QoH can feel secondary. In reality, it’s one of the most powerful ways to maintain quality control—especially during periods of rapid growth, when the risk of compromising talent quality is highest.
Our guide offers practical methods to measure QoH, from quick, low-effort approaches to advanced, data-rich models, helping you protect and strengthen the quality of every hire.
1. Retention Rate (e.g., 6-month or 1-year retention)
If you have limited access to data, retention is often a fundamental metric that even the least data-enabled companies can get. It’s a starting point.
How to Measure: % of new hires still employed after a specific period.
Cons:
Doesn't account for whether retained employees are truly performing well.
External factors (bad managers, poor culture fit) can influence retention beyond hiring quality.
Pros:
Simple and objective
May correlate with hiring success, as unsuccessful hires tend to resign or be terminated more frequently.
Easy to benchmark across the industry.
2. Performance
The effectiveness, productivity, and impact of a new hire.
How to Measure:
Survey hiring managers after 6 months about how satisfied they are with the hire. I.e., Would you hire this person again? Have they upleveled your team?
Manager ratings from performance reviews over the first 6–12 months.
Cons:
May require persistent follow-ups with managers to ensure survey completion.
Requires well-defined performance metrics to be meaningful.
Managers might not always provide objective feedback due to bias or lack of clear criteria.
Pros:
Direct input from the people working with the new hire.
Directly measures productivity and contribution.
Can be tailored to company goals and role expectations.
3. Time to Productivity
Often referred to as ramp-up time
How to measure: Track the number of days or months it takes for a new hire to reach predefined performance benchmarks, such as sales quotas, project completion rates, or other key productivity indicators.
Cons:
Hard to define and standardize across roles.
External factors (training quality, team dynamics) influence ramp-up time.
Pros
Focuses on how quickly a hire becomes effective.
Helps identify issues in onboarding and training.
4. Employee Net Promoter Score
Used by organizations to gauge employee engagement.
How to Measure: Conduct surveys to understand employee satisfaction.
Cons:
Hard to quantify objectively.
Self-reported data may not be fully reliable.
Pros
Measures long-term integration into the company.
Can predict long-term retention and performance.
5. Revenue or Business Impact (for applicable roles)
How to Measure: Measure direct contributions (e.g., revenue generated, deals closed, cost savings) for roles in sales or product.
Cons:
Not applicable to all roles (e.g., HR, admin, support).
External factors (market conditions, team dynamics) influence business impact.
Doesn’t include interpersonal dynamics and their effect on the culture of the team.
Pros
Tied directly to business outcomes.
Helps show ROI of strong hiring practices.
Provides clear, quantifiable metrics that make performance discussions more objective.
Final Thoughts
Key Milestones for Measuring Quality of Hire:
Week 2: Assess initial adoption and cultural fit.
Month 3: Evaluate early performance and team integration.
Month 6: Measure mid-term progress and development.
Month 12: Assess long-term impact and growth potential.
Key Principles for Measuring Quality of Hire:
Establish benchmarks based on high-performing employees.
Compare new hires against these benchmarks.
Keep evaluation forms simple for hiring managers.
Predictive validity will come after you have been tracking over time
Formulating Quality of Hire:
Start with straightforward measurements before introducing complex formulas.
Track metrics consistently to identify patterns.
Look for trends within teams and across the organization.
Use multiple data points to create a well-rounded assessment.
Why does the Quality of Hire metric matter?
Measuring Quality of Hire (QoH) isn’t just about data—it’s about unlocking insights that help hiring teams make smarter, more strategic hiring decisions. Tracking QoH can highlight opportunities to strengthen onboarding, management, and recruiting practices, ultimately improving retention and performance and reducing cost of hire. Over time, it helps organizations identify the key attributes of high-performing employees, optimize hiring strategies, and build a stronger, more engaged workforce. See how Uber’s Head of Talent and ModelExpand Advisor Ana Recio used data to scale quality hiring in this case study during a key inflection point for Uber’s hiring.
About ModelExpand
ModelExpand is a talent advisory firm that helps companies build a high-performing internal recruiting engine. We partner with your team to design the people, processes, and systems that drive consistent, faster, higher-quality hiring at scale. Contact us to learn more.
