What is a recruitment funnel?

Key learnings in this glossary article:

• What are the stages of a recruitment funnel?
• Top recruitment funnel metrics to evaluate and improve the hiring process
• What can impact a recruitment funnel’s effectiveness?

What are the stages of a recruitment funnel?

In general, the stages of the recruitment funnel are as follows:

• Awareness
• Attraction 
• Application
• Selection
• Hire 

Each stage of the recruitment funnel consists of smaller steps, each with its own goals.

Awareness

The awareness stage is where organizations need to concentrate on employer branding to bring as many ideal candidates into the funnel as possible. Two important touchpoints during this phase are a company’s career site and social media profiles. Both are platforms where an organization can showcase their workplace culture, demonstrate their values, and convince potential applicants why they should join your workforce. 

Attraction

The attraction stage focuses on candidate sourcing. However, before you can advertise a job opening, it’s critical to craft a compelling job description. The job description is often the first point of contact for potential candidates, so it needs careful consideration. It needs to spark interest in your company, outline the essential job requirements, and include the right keywords to show up in relevant candidate’s search results. 

Attracting more relevant candidates is also a matter of identifying the best job boards and social media platforms where your job descriptions can attract the highest number of active candidates and passive candidates. 

One way to post jobs more efficiently is to use recruitment software that allows for multiposting job ads to many platforms at once. For example, JOIN enables employers or recruiters to create one search-optimized job ad and then automatically post it on several job boards and platforms at once. 

Application 

The application stage aims to generate the highest volume of qualified applicants, and it requires attention to the candidate experience. The first step is to evaluate the application process to reduce the number of dropouts. Create a seamless path to application, requiring the least amount of clicks possible for an applicant to submit their documents. Job seekers are increasingly applying to jobs via mobile devices. Make sure your career page or online application functions properly on smartphones and tablets.

Consistent communication is another way to set up a positive candidate experience. Send out automated emails letting candidates know their applications have been received, thank them for their submission, and provide some details about the next steps. 

Selection 

The selection stage consists of shortlisting applicants, the interview process, and candidate assessment. The goal is to narrow down potential candidates during each step to zone in on the few who get considered for hire. 

Hiring

Hiring is the final stage of the recruitment funnel. Once you have the final candidate, it’s time to make them a job offer. Tailor the offer per prior discussions and be open to negotiation. A highly-qualified candidate is likely to be receiving other job offers, so already establish the outer limits of your salary range. 

Top recruitment funnel metrics to evaluate and improve the hiring process

It’s not enough to have an established recruitment funnel plan, the stages need to be tracked and analyzed to ensure the most successful overall outcome. To evaluate whether a recruitment funnel is delivering the best results, make sure to pay attention to the following recruiting metrics:

• Source of hire: determines which platforms generate applicants 
• Quality of hire: identifies from which platforms the best-qualified candidates apply
• Time to hire: measures the time it takes to find, recruit, and hire a new employee
• Cost to hire: measures costs involved in finding, recruiting, and hiring a new employee

What can impact a recruitment funnel’s effectiveness?

Several things can impact the effectiveness of a recruitment funnel, including:

• Not doing a recruitment funnel analysis and improving areas of weakness when found.
• Sourcing candidates from too few platforms.
• Not measuring the recruitment funnel metrics accurately or consistently.