STAFFING PROGRAM KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Steven Cesare, Ph.D.

A business owner from Mississippi called me the other day to discuss his company’s staffing program as the 2026 landscape season is ramping up. The owner has many of the fundamentals in place to promote staffing effectiveness: annual strategic plan identifying staffing needs, employee handbook, job descriptions, interview protocols, a new employee orientation program, and an on-boarding program; he is still working on his company career ladder. But all things considered, he is doing pretty well.

As a capitalist, I acknowledged his staffing plan, though I told him he was clearly missing the most important factor: goals. Without empirical goals, accountability cannot be achieved, thereby nullifying a lucrative bonus program for his Department Managers to take his company culture to the next level.

Guess his next question.

“Steve, what staffing goals should my company have?”

I reflexively deferred to his strategic plan, executive team input, and the rolling three averages of various staffing metrics indigenous to his organization’s internal work environment and external labor market realities. That said, I then offered the following list of basic staffing key performance indicators to him.

Pipeline Generation
1. New Candidate Leads Generated = 10-15 job applications per week
  - As I reminded him, a strong incentive plan with exposure across multiple sources including Team Engine, Indeed, Face Book, X, Craig’s List, employee referrals, job boards, local organizations, job fairs, and trade programs are the basics for any dignified staffing plan.
2. Lead Indicator = 10 outbound touches per week
  - This includes text message campaigns, e-mails, and re-engaging with past applicants (i.e., “Catch and Release”).
Time-to-Fill
1. Time to Hire = Less than 5 days
  - This means the entire timeline from initial contact through employee screening procedures, to the applicant being interviewed, selected, and completing the New Employee Orientation Program should be completed in less than one business week.
  - Moreover, all applications should be reviewed within four hours of receipt, with all qualified candidates being contacted within one hour of approval, to be scheduled for an interview.
  - Companies with effective staffing models operate with a sense of urgency, not preoccupation.
Onboarding Attendance
1. New Hires who show up for Day 1 of Employment-New Employee Orientation = 95%
  - Best-in-Class organizations maximize the pre-boarding process to re-emphasize their company culture to imminent employees to make them feel welcome and valued.
  - Once the selected applicant receives a conditional job offer letter, the company initiates ongoing communication (e.g., company e-mails, social media posts, text messages from Company President, Department Manager, and Human Resources) outlining the on-boarding process the new employee can expect to experience once s/he joins the team.
Quality of Hire
1. New Employee Retention = 80% of new hires remain employed after 90 days
  - Successful companies reward retention, not recruitment.
  - The key drivers of this metric address proper onboarding expectations, that ensure new hires receive clear performance expectations about the company culture, work roles, attendance, and workplace conduct, with minimal corrective action required during the introductory period.

You know what I’m going to ask now. What staffing goals are in place at your company? Or are you going to tell me you have been too busy to generate them? Didn’t you say the same thing last year?

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