Benchmark Recruitment Data: Key Metrics from OneUp Research 2024

Recruitment benchmarking is the practice of comparing an agency's performance with that of other top organisations in the industry. 

This strategic evaluation technique aims to help you set realistic, achievable goals and assess your performance against competitors. 

It can also help you to identify opportunities and areas for improvement within your agency. 

A robust and consistent benchmarking process is instrumental to the success of your recruitment agency. 

After all, without key benchmarking recruitment figures, it's impossible to know how your recruiters should be performing or to set realistic business goals. 

OneUp's State of Recruitment 2024 report reveals benchmarking results across a wide variety of critical metrics based on data from 200 permanent recruitment agencies.

In this guide, we'll discuss the major findings and explain how you can apply these recruiting benchmarks to your own recruitment strategy. 

The Role of Benchmarking in Recruitment Strategy

Your recruitment strategy must begin with benchmarking.

Indeed, benchmarking recruiting informs both strategic planning and performance improvement. 

A solid benchmarking process improves business performance competitiveness, slashes cost and risk, and boosts customer satisfaction. 

How?

Benchmarking ensures agencies hire the top talent for their clients with an optimised, more accurate and efficient recruitment process leading to high quality candidates.

The knock-on effects of a strong recruiting benchmark exercise include a boost in your agency's culture and morale and an enhanced reputation that will bring in new inbound revenue.

So, before setting out a recruitment strategy, business leaders should conduct a benchmarking exercise. 

This should reveal:

• How recruiters within your company are performing on key metrics
• How the wider industry is performing for key recruitment benchmark metrics

To assess your business's performance, you will need to examine historical data over set time periods. 

For example, you could benchmark using data from the past month, six months, or one year.

You will also need to select the critical recruitment metrics you wish to benchmark — these are the same recruiting KPIs you plan to track going forward. 

Using these benchmarks, you can set realistic yet ambitious goals for both recruiter and agency performance. 

To define strategic benchmarks, you'll need to use recruiting benchmark data from the wider industry to discover how competitors are performing for critical metrics.

Below, you'll find a selection of crucial recruitment benchmarks from 2023 on which to base your goals. 

Key Recruitment Benchmarks for 2024

OneUp's recruitment industry benchmarking report — the State of Recruitment 2024  — reveals critical industry benchmarks that agency leaders can use to measure their competitiveness. 

The recruitment metrics and performance benchmark report is based on the 2023 results of 200+ clients specialising in permanent recruitment. 

Read on to find out how recruiters performed in 2023 and how your reps compare. 

78 Permanent Jobs Added Each Month Per Agency

On average, recruitment agencies added an average of 78 permanent roles each per month throughout 2023.

November was the busiest month of 2023 after this figure trended upwards throughout the year. 

226 CVs Sent Each Month Per Agency

Recruitment agencies sent an average of 226 CVs per month for permanent roles in 2023. 

This number peaked in Q1 before dropping significantly in April, rebounding, and remaining mostly stable for the remainder of the year. 

86 First Interviews Booked Each Month Per Agency

Recruitment agencies booked an average of 86 first interviews for permanent roles in each month of 2023. 

Q1 2023 was by far the busiest time of the year for first interviews, before a sharp drop at the beginning of Q2, followed by a levelling out during the rest of the year. 

11 Placements Each Month Per Agency

An average of 11 permanent placements were made each month per recruitment agency in 2023. 

Placements spiked in February and June and enjoyed a consistent second half of the year. 

£73k Revenue Generated Each Month Per Agency

In 2023, recruitment agencies specialising in permanent placements generated an average revenue of £73,000 per month. 

Most agencies enjoyed a strong Q1 regarding revenue in 2023 — a trend also seen in 2022. 

547 Business Development Calls Made Each Month Per Agency

The average number of monthly business development calls made by each recruitment agency stood at 547 in 2023. 

Q1 was the busiest time of the year for calls, with the rest of the year seeing a downward trend. 

7 BD Calls Needed to Add One New Job

In 2023, it took an average of seven business development calls by a recruitment agency to add one new job.

However, this number trended downwards later in the year, suggesting less competition to win new jobs as the year progresses.

3 CVs Sent to Book One First Interview

An average of three CVs needed to be sent to book one first interview in 2023, according to OneUp's recruitment trends report.

The number of CVs sent to each open job gradually declined as the year went on, as the number of jobs added increased.

8 First Interviews Needed to be Booked to Fill One Placement

In 2023, just under eight first interviews needed to be booked on average to fill one job placement. 

The highly competitive first quarter saw the highest number of first interviews needed per placement, but this dropped from May onwards.  

7 Jobs Added Needed to Fill One Placement

The average number of jobs added needed to fill one placement sat at seven in 2023. 

While more jobs came on the market as the year progressed, successful placements did not follow at the same speed, with this ratio trending upwards throughout the year.

4.6 Jobs Per Month Each Recruiter Added

The average recruiter added 4.6 jobs per month in 2023. 

10.2 CVs Sent Per Month By Each Recruiter

According to our data, recruiters sent an average of 10.2 CVs each month in 2023.

4.2 First Interviews Were Booked Per Month by Each Recruiter

Each recruiter booked an average of 4.2 first interviews per month in 2023. 

0.5 Placements Per Month Made by Each Recruiter

In 2023, the average recruiter made 0.5 successful placements every month. 

£3.9k Generated By Each Recruiter Every Month

Recruiters each brought in an average of £3,900 in revenue to their agency every month in 2023.

Using Benchmark Data to Improve Recruitment Processes

So, now that you've browsed the benchmarking data above, how can you use this information to improve your hiring processes?

1. Identify Your Key Metrics 

Which recruiting benchmark metrics will unlock success for your recruitment agency?

It's a big question. 

To answer this, you'll need to consider your overall business strategy, your roadmap for the future, your recruitment strategy, and your agency's performance. 

Every agency will benefit from tracking a number of recruiting KPI benchmarks, such as revenue per recruiter, jobs added, time to hire, or placements made. 

In order to improve your hiring process, you'll want to track metrics at every stage of your funnel. 

However, there will likely be additional metrics that your agency should focus on. 

For example, if your hires' attrition rate is unusually high, you'll need to examine metrics like quality of hire and sourcing channel effectiveness. 

Suppose the number of jobs added has been worryingly low for the past few months. In that case, it may be a good idea to delve deeper into metrics surrounding the effectiveness of business development calls. 

2. Collect and Analyse Benchmarking Data

Once you've identified your key metrics, it's time to gather your data around those metrics.

For 2024, you can use the data within OneUp's recruiting metrics and performance benchmark report — State of Recruitment 2024 — saving you plenty of time around collection and analysis. 

If you're conducting the recruitment industry benchmarking exercise in-house, look at competitive recruitment agencies and outstanding rivals you aspire to perform at the level of. 

3. Consider Relevant Internal Data 

Before launching into your goal-setting exercise, you also need to consider internal data and circumstances.

Remember, the point of this exercise is to create realistic and achievable yet ambitious goals.

So, if specific circumstances affect your agency, you should temper your goals accordingly. 

For example, if one recruiter has taken an extended leave of absence, your average revenue per recruiter will likely be subdued.

Or perhaps you operate in a niche sector heavily impacted by world events or economic circumstances?

In these instances, you would need to lower your targets or change how you analyse the data to ensure your goals are achievable.

Alternatively, maybe your specialist sector is currently in extremely high demand due to new emerging tech — an advantage that your competitors do not have. 

In this case, you could consider setting your goals significantly higher than the benchmarking data might suggest. 

4. Set Your Goals 

You've collected the data, crunched the numbers and it's finally time to set those all-important goals.

Every goal you set should be SMART:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-bound 

Furthermore, every individual within your agency should be given goals to work towards. 

Therefore, your goals will include: 

• Business-wide goals
• Team goals
• Individual recruiter goals

For example, when looking at revenue metrics, your business-wide goal would be to generate £X amount of revenue within the next month, your team goal would be to generate £Y amount, and your individual recruiter goal would be to bring in £Z amount. 

5. Track Goals 

Now, you need to set up a system to track progress towards these goals. 

Recruiting analytics software OneUp was designed for this very purpose.

To truly engage recruiters with their performance, it's essential that they are each able to easily access their real-time data. 

Using OneUp, create custom dashboards for each recruiter that show their progress towards each goal they have been set. 

Now, create custom team dashboards that display overall progress towards team goals. 

Finally, set up a custom dashboard for the leadership team which shows overall progress towards business goals. 

6. Dive Into the Data

Now your real-time data is organised into custom dashboards complete with intuitive visualisations, it's easy to regularly check progress towards your goals. 

Vitally, this will also help you identify and swiftly resolve any issues with your processes. 

For example, you may notice that a high number of CVs are being sent, but the first interview booked rate is significantly subdued. Then, delving into the data, it's possible to isolate this to one client.

You can then speak to recruiters to find out why this client has yet to book any interviews despite a high volume of CVs being sent, and if necessary, book a meeting with the hiring manager in question to discuss the issue. 

7. Adapt and Improve

The overall results of your benchmarking exercise must be harnessed to adapt and improve your recruitment strategy and processes. 

While real-time data allows you to implement quick fixes, as outlined above, the overall results from the time period you've tracked will give you essential insights. 

Is your recruitment process as smooth as it can be?

Are there frequent bottlenecks in the hiring funnel?

Are your recruiters excelling at one task but underperforming at another? 

The results should reveal exactly where issues exist within your recruitment strategy and processes — and identify how they can be rectified. 

8. Do It All Again 

Benchmarking is not a one-time thing. 

Instead, it should be a continuous cycle of gathering and analysing data and then improving and adapting. 

After all, you need to determine if your improvements have had the desired effect, while constant market shifts mean strategies must be regularly updated. 

So when your current benchmarking time period is coming to an end, you need to start collecting and analysing the latest data for the next cycle.

How to Apply Benchmark Data with OneUp

OneUp is a recruiting analytics software designed with performance management, team motivation and reporting in mind. 

Put simply, it's the perfect tool to invest in when embarking on a benchmarking exercise. 

With custom dashboards and intuitive data visualisations, anyone within your agency can access the data they need at the touch of a button.

OneUp provides a single source of truth, pulling data from across your tech stack. Integrations include a wide variety of recruitment CRMs, VoiP tools, timesheets, and social media. 

So, how can you use it for your benchmarking exercise?

First up, connect your tech stack to the software and input your benchmarking data.

Now, use OneUp to create a custom dashboard for every individual within your agency. 

These dashboards should show their goals and progress in real-time.

Using these tools, you can now analyse this data, delving down into the tactics behind various results — and use these insights to inform your strategy.

For example, if you notice that fewer first interviews are being booked, you might dive into CVs sent data. If the volume of CVs sent is low, you can set a new goal for your recruiters — a minimum limit of CVs sent during X time period for a new job added, for example. 

Perhaps you've noticed the number of placements made is down, but upon inspection of the data, the number of first interviews booked and CVs sent look good. Looking further up the recruitment funnel, you notice recruiters are relying heavily on job boards that, your data suggests, deliver high volume but lower quality candidates. You can now delve deeper into sourcing channel data to determine which channels should be used for which types of clients, hiring managers, and roles.

You can also use OneUp's automation function to set up custom benchmarking reports and have them delivered to your inbox regularly, ensuring you never miss a thing.

The platform also encompasses gamification tools to help motivate your team towards their goals. 

For example, you can set up public leagues displayed on screens around your office that show how recruiters are performing compared to their colleagues. 

You can also automate celebration anthems or public broadcasts that play when a recruiter has hit their goal. 

Final Thoughts

Benchmarking is instrumental for recruitment success.

Without a thorough benchmarking exercise, it's impossible to know how your agency is performing and what targets recruiters should strive for. 

Implement a consistent benchmarking process, and you should see enhanced performance, competitiveness, and customer satisfaction.

Benchmarking leans heavily on data, meaning investing in a robust analytics tool that ensures data transparency across your organisation is essential. 

Ideal for benchmarking, recruiting analytics software OneUp is easily integrated into day-to-day operations. 

Its advanced data analytics tools make it simple to dive into the reasons behind the data, while automation saves enormous amounts of time and effort. 

Furthermore, OneUp's user-friendly interface, intuitive visualisations, and motivational tools help to ensure recruiters are genuinely engaged with their performance targets. 

Ultimately, this software is key in ensuring your recruitment agency achieves and surpasses your goals. 

Book your demo here today.

FAQs 

What is Recruitment Benchmarking? 

When you benchmark recruiting, you are comparing the performance of your agency with competitors. 

This strategic evaluation technique involves gathering industry benchmark recruitment data in order to find out how your agency is performing and set realistic goals for improvement. 

Done well, recruitment benchmarking should help agency leaders identify opportunities for improvement and make their processes more efficient. 

What Are Recruiting Funnel Benchmarks?

Recruiting funnel benchmarks are the industry standards for recruitment metrics throughout the funnel. 

These include:

• Jobs Added
• CVs Sent
• First Interviews Booked
• Placements Made
• Revenue Generated 

By identifying the industry standards for these recruiting funnel benchmarks, agencies can categorise their performance and set realistic goals for improvement. 

What Are Recruitment Conversion Rate Benchmarks?

The recruitment conversion rate measures how effective a recruiting process is at turning candidates into hires. 

It is calculated by taking the number of job seekers at the top of the recruiting funnel and dividing this by the number of placements made. 

A recruitment conversion rate benchmark, therefore, is the industry's average conversion rate.