Which recruitment metric sums all costs involved in hiring a new employee?

Which recruitment metric sums all costs involved in hiring a new employee?

• A. Time-to-fill.
• B. Vacancy rate.
• C. Applicant yield.
• D. Cost-per-hire.

Answer: (D)

When assessing recruitment performance, the metric that captures every expense tied to bringing a new employee on board is cost-per-hire. This measure adds up all recruitment-related costs—internal staff time, software and tools, job postings, agency fees, candidate travel, background checks, assessments, interviewing, relocation, and onboarding—and then divides that total by the number of hires made. It gives a single, comparable figure of how much each new hire costs the organization. This differs from other metrics: time-to-fill looks at how long it takes to fill a vacancy, focusing on speed rather than cost. Vacancy rate reports the proportion of unfilled positions, indicating workforce supply dynamics, not spending. Applicant yield tracks the flow and conversion of applicants through the pipeline, again focusing on volume and efficiency rather than total cost.

When assessing recruitment performance, the metric that captures every expense tied to bringing a new employee on board is cost-per-hire. This measure adds up all recruitment-related costs—internal staff time, software and tools, job postings, agency fees, candidate travel, background checks, assessments, interviewing, relocation, and onboarding—and then divides that total by the number of hires made. It gives a single, comparable figure of how much each new hire costs the organization.

This differs from other metrics: time-to-fill looks at how long it takes to fill a vacancy, focusing on speed rather than cost. Vacancy rate reports the proportion of unfilled positions, indicating workforce supply dynamics, not spending. Applicant yield tracks the flow and conversion of applicants through the pipeline, again focusing on volume and efficiency rather than total cost.