Love them or hate them KPIs are an integral part of recruitment with most recruitment companies and are not going away. I thought I would put down some of the feedback and comments from everyday recruiters we interview.
Being in Rec to Rec, one thing we hear in a lot of meetings meeting we do is that one of the most common reasons for wanting to leave their current company is. …Wait for it…. yes of course the KPIs.
- They are just too much and I seem to be mindlessly sending out resumes. My clients moan at me and it ruins the relationship.
- You cannot send out 15 resumes a week in my coverage area without spamming
- My manager just does not seem to listen or care.
Sending out resumes just to hit KPIs
So what`s going on with that? The perception from many consultants is that some companies only seem to focus on how many times you send resumes out and less on the quality and result. I would say the simple answer to this is that if you are averse to too many KPI`s ,do not join a company that works an aggressive KPI model. The secret is knowing which companies operate which model, and what is best for you. This is where DS Recruit can help you out.
Why KPIs?
What we hear from consultants and managers is that KPIs should be used as a way a way to measure and catch consultants if they are not working out before it is too late. However, it does seem like a lot of the time they are being used as a tool to smack people with if they have not sent out their 15 resumes this week. Consultants that are reasonably experienced and billing seem to be the most negative about KPIs. They are consistently billing, but still get told off week after week. This is also true of some managers who feel they have to chase KPIs because that is what management wants, despite having a performing team.
Many Consultants think KPIs reduce their performance. We find many consultants are annoyed about the one on ones, and the nagging they will receive, with the result being a focus on the wrong things to get placements, and becoming less consultative.
Using KPIs successfully in recruitment
Key Performance Indicators are important measures for recruitment companies to measure the business pipeline, and make sure they are on target for that all important yearly goal. A good set KPIs should provide an insight about everyone`s current level of performance and pipeline. However, in practice, KPIs are rarely used in this way and are quite often attached to the end of a stick as opposed to being picked up and owned by the consultants
For me I check my KPIs daily as more of a way to see how I am tracking. This is because I want to have my own measures in place, but I generally know if things are quiet or not. Being a manager, the data that is generated from the KPIs generally points towards where a consultant is falling short and allows me to help them and put actions in place and make suggestions to correct whatever issues they have. The key to using KPIs successfully in recruitment is how each manager delivers an applies them. This is where there seems to be a massive discrepancy. Maybe inexperienced managers are only following the rule book to the letter?
Let`s remember that KPIs are only an indication of what is happening and do not tell the whole story of what is going on. They are a powerful tool if used correctly, but all too often the KPI`s become the main focus rather than a tool to get where we want to go.
KPIs in Tokyo Recruitment companies
Because of the amount of recruitment companies we work with, we get to learn about what goes on inside with processes and KPIs. There there are definitely a lot of differences around Tokyo to learn about but our time in the market has helped us to get a handle on what is being done at each company.
KPIs are not going away any time soon. The most important thing regarding KPIs is to choose your next company carefully, bearing in mind how they manage and implement their KPI`s. Some consultants are going to like the process and knowing exactly what their day has in store for them, and others are going to operate better in an environment which is less planned for them and they need to generate their own business.
Good luck out there and we are happy to talk anytime about this topic.