A good KPI measures a result the person can affect and the customer can feel. On a staffing desk, "first submittal accepted by the client" is a good KPI. "Calls made this week" is a bad one. The first goes up when a recruiter reads the order and sends the right person. The second goes up when they dial more, whether or not anyone gets placed.
The two, side by side
Bad KPI: calls made. 112 this week. It tells you the phone was busy. It does not tell you whether the right people were called, whether anything was learned, or whether an order moved. A recruiter can hit the number by calling the wrong list twice.
Good KPI: first submittal accepted. Seven of nine orders this month. It tells you the recruiter read the order, found the right person, and proved it in the submittal. The client felt it: they met someone worth meeting on the first try.
Four tests for a good KPI
- Is it an outcome? Something that happened, not something that was attempted. A placement, an accepted submittal, a repeat order.
- Can the person affect it? A recruiter cannot control a client's budget. They can control whether the submittal answers the order.
- Can the customer feel it? If a client would never notice the number moving, it is not measuring service.
- Is it hard to game? If the fastest way to raise it is to do worse work, it is a bad KPI.
"Calls made" fails tests one, three and four. "First submittal accepted" passes all four.
More good and bad pairs
| Bad KPI | Good KPI |
|---|---|
| Resumes sent | Submittals that led to an interview |
| Hours logged | Placements still there after 30 days |
| Emails to clients | Repeat orders without a sales call |
| Candidates in the database | Candidates who pick up when you call |
How to use a good KPI without making people hate it
Share it with the recruiter, with the work behind it. "Seven of nine. The two that bounced both missed the shift line. Let's look at them." The KPI starts a conversation about the submittal, not about the person. That is what makes an outcome KPI feel fair, and an activity KPI feel like surveillance.
Where M-Tracker fits
A good KPI needs the work behind it to be visible. In M-Tracker, each submittal is checked against its job order before it goes out, and managers see which orders got accepted work the first time. The KPI and the coaching come from the same place, the submittal itself, and nobody has to count calls.
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Questions people ask
Is there any use for activity KPIs?
As a warning light, yes. If calls drop to zero, something is wrong. As a measure of good work, no.
How many KPIs should one recruiter have?
Two or three outcomes. More than that and none of them get attention.
What is a good KPI for a branch manager?
Share of orders filled with the first submittal, across the branch. It measures how well the whole desk reads orders.
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