How To Measure the Quality of a Hire: A Simple Guide

Key takeaways

• Define the quality of hire to set the standard. Determine your criteria for performance and values alignment, set measurable goals, and collect feedback from managers and peers.
• Improve every step of the hiring process. Review your selection, interview, and onboarding processes. Keep refining your methods to attract the right person for each role, and get them up to speed quickly.
• Quality of hire shapes long-term success. Hiring top talent lets you build a reliable, high-performing team, making your employer brand more appealing to future job seekers.

While workers are critical to business success, the costs associated with recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training team members are among most organizations' top expenses. Because of this, understanding and improving the quality of hires can have a significant, positive impact on your team's performance and overall operational efficiencies.

Quality of hire is a measurement of a new worker's performance and contributions to the business. High-quality hires boost productivity, collaboration, and business outcomes. But if your team brings in workers who aren't the right fit, you risk falling short on your business goals and might even face added costs from extra training and lost productivity.

In this guide, we'll cover the steps and best practices for measuring the quality of a hire so that you can feel confident in your ability to engage qualified workers to drive successful outcomes in your organization.

Define quality hire criteria

Accurately measuring the quality of a hire can be complicated and vary from one company to the next. One of the first steps is to define your criteria for a quality hire.

Quality-hire criteria may include:

• Technical skills required to meet role expectations 
• Progress made toward performance goals outlined during onboarding
• Soft skills and competencies required for collaboration with team members 

Some roles will have different quality-of-hire metrics, criteria, and technical skill requirements than others. A manager may be reviewed based on their leadership skills, while a software engineer could be evaluated on their code quality. Aim to align your requirements and criteria with initial expectations discussed during the hiring process and onboarding. 

Once you define the criteria, ask managers to fill out scorecards with a standardized scoring system. This helps your team evaluate quality more objectively among new employees post-hire. In addition to the direct score for each criterion or category, leave room for managers to share feedback and examples.

You can use the following example as a guide when creating your own scorecard to measure the quality of hires at your organization.

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After a manager completes the scorecard, take the average across all criteria to determine the overall quality-of-hire score. When workers have a low average score, consider offering additional resources or support to help them continue adapting to the processes and expectations within your organization.

If you're looking for additional support with defining and measuring quality hire criteria, consider an independent performance management professional on Upwork. These experts can help your team define and implement a process to more effectively measure the quality of hires.

Establish performance metrics

As you onboard a new team member, set and discuss performance metrics early in the process. This will help them understand what success looks like within the company, and how best to direct their efforts.

Evidence shows how important clear goals can be. According to a survey of 1,000 full-time U.S. workers from Workhuman, 93% of respondents have a good understanding of where they stand with their performance. Among those who don't know where they stand, 60% report feeling constantly stressed at work.

When creating goals, consider using the SMART framework — setting goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound —  to help ensure they are clear and drive positive business outcomes. 

Examples of SMART goals include:

• Sales representative. Increase the number of scheduled demos with prospects by 10% by the end of the next quarter.
• Recruitment manager. Identify and implement a new recruitment tool in the first half of the year to decrease hiring time by one week.‍
• SEO manager. Double organic website traffic year-over-year with a targeted keyword strategy.

When establishing metrics, strike a balance between setting challenging yet achievable goals. If metrics are too easy, workers miss opportunities to grow in their careers, and your business might struggle to scale. On the other hand, goals that are too challenging may be demotivating.

Discuss progress toward goals during recurring one-on-one meetings and go into more detail about which goals were or were not met during more formal performance reviews. The timeline for performance review cycles varies by business; meetings typically happen annually, biannually, or quarterly.

Remember that formal performance reviews are appropriate for in-house employees, but freelancers are treated differently. When engaging independent talent, clearly define the desired business outcomes for each project and share feedback at each project milestone and after the project concludes.

Assess team fit

Holding workers accountable through performance metrics is only part of measuring the quality of hires. Equally important is evaluating how well a new hire fits within the team. Poor collaboration can hurt everyone's productivity and morale, and even your business outcomes.

Here are some questions to answer as you observe new workers and assess team fit:

• Do they understand and apply company values in their day-to-day work?
• Do they communicate clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing?
• Do they follow established communication processes, such as knowing when to use synchronous versus asynchronous communication?  
• Are they actively engaging with colleagues and contributing to team discussions?
• Are they comfortable asking questions and looking for support when needed?
• Do they share respectful and constructive feedback with other team members when necessary?
• Do they meet deadlines and follow through on commitments?
• Do they display effective time management and prioritization skills?
• Do they regularly update project management software or follow other established processes to share work progress?

Getting used to a new work environment takes time. If a new team member doesn't seem to be a perfect fit at first, this doesn't necessarily mean they're a bad hire. To help them understand expectations, document your company values, team processes, and essential tools.

Have a system during onboarding to ensure new team members receive essential information about how the team operates. Also, check in about how they're settling in and hold one-on-one conversations to address any concerns.

To increase the likelihood of a positive team fit, pair each new worker with an existing team member as a buddy or mentor. An onboarding buddy helps new hires get up to speed and offers a friendly point of contact for questions that might feel too informal for a supervisor or manager.

Collect feedback

Each organization has a unique process for evaluating worker contributions, and most in-house workers participate in some form of performance review cycle. However, while this process works well for established workers, waiting for a companywide talent review cycle may not be the most effective approach for evaluating the quality of new hires.

Rather than holding off until a performance review, collect feedback from supervisors, managers, peers, and new team members soon after they join the organization.

Supervisor and manager feedback

Leading up to performance reviews, consider encouraging direct supervisors and managers to schedule check-ins at each new team member's 30-, 60-, and 90-day mark to give feedback. During these meetings, managers can complete the new hire evaluation scorecard and track the progress of individuals over time.

Regular feedback sessions also let new team members ask questions and clarify any uncertainties, which can help them acclimate better to the team, accelerate ramp-up time, and meet or exceed performance metrics.

Peer and stakeholder feedback

To receive more comprehensive insights, consider soliciting 360-degree feedback. This performance management approach goes beyond simply collecting feedback from managers by also asking an individual's peers and other stakeholders to share insights about their performance.

If the worker holds an external-facing role, 360-degree feedback may also include input from contractors, customers, and others outside the organization. This feedback can help a worker and their supervisor understand successes or areas for improvement that they may not have known about otherwise.

Implementing 360-degree feedback to measure the quality of a hire requires a defined process to ensure feedback is honest, effective, and constructive. Comments should also be kept anonymous to avoid creating a culture of blame and negativity. Consider developing 360-degree feedback guidelines and conducting and recording training sessions before starting the process.

Direct feedback from new team members

Collecting feedback directly from workers gives a more holistic view of overall performance and quality. A common way to evaluate employee performance is through self-evaluations, which let team members fill out a simple feedback form to reflect on their strengths, achievements, and areas of improvement.

In addition to asking for feedback on their own performance, ask workers about their experience to date on the team by distributing new-hire satisfaction surveys. This step can provide valuable insights to help improve the new worker experience for existing and future team members.

Some questions to consider asking include:

• To date, does the role align with your expectations based on the job description and discussions during the hiring process?
• Is the onboarding process effective? If not, how can we improve the process?
• Do you have a clear understanding of the requirements and goals for your role?
• Does your manager provide the support necessary to succeed in your role?  
• Do you have the resources to effectively adapt to the team's processes and tools?

Analyze retention rates

Understanding the worker retention rate, or the percentage of individuals who remain with the company after a certain period of time, helps your organization identify the causes of turnover and ways to increase workers' tenure with your team.

Calculating retention rate can vary depending on a company's recruitment, talent management, and overall business goals. Retention rate is typically calculated either annually or quarterly. While most companies track retention at the organizational level, others may also maintain retention benchmarks across teams or departments, or by specific talent sourcing channels.Use the following formula to calculate retention rate:

For example, if you had 50 employees at the beginning of the year and 46 remain at the end of the year, your annual retention rate would be 92%.

(46 ÷ 50) × 100 = 92%

Focusing on retention for independent talent and full-time employees is important because, when they leave, so does their institutional knowledge. At the same time, your team risks disengagement among remaining team members. High turnover also leads to increased costs, as your team will need to recruit, onboard, and train new workers each time someone departs.

Another smart retention strategy, that takes a long-term view, is to conduct formal exit interviews. During these discussions, your HR or talent management team asks individuals why they chose to leave (if the decision was voluntary) and requests feedback on their overall experience with the team. Analyzing this feedback can reveal trends in the turnover rate.

If several workers leave the company from the same team, the manager may not be leading effectively and may need additional training. Or, if they leave the organization because the job wasn't what they were expecting, you may need to rethink the hiring process and how you present the job description.

Review your hiring process

An effective recruitment and hiring process is key to attracting and engaging high-quality candidates. Understanding what works and what doesn't in your hiring process improves the quality of hires at your organization.

If your recruiting metrics show that some of your best workers consistently originate from the same talent sourcing channel, such as referrals, you may want to invest more in the channel and reduce your spending on those that don't drive results. Or, if you notice recent hires don't align with your expectations, you may want to add additional steps to the recruiting process. This may include evaluating soft skills or scheduling additional interviews before making a hiring decision.

Consider the following steps to improve your hiring process and resulting worker quality:

• Rewriting job descriptions to set the right expectations and target quality candidates based on your business needs
• Expanding your reach by considering alternative staffing solutions or leveraging sourcing tools to attract more qualified talent
• Implementing AI recruiting tools to reduce the time to fill roles, improve the candidate experience, and avoid missing out on top performers due to a slow process
• Administering pre-hire talent assessments to better understand candidates' soft and hard skills
• Asking individuals to share direct work samples
• Requesting brief presentations or projects to learn more about candidates' competencies
• Scheduling peer interviews to more effectively gauge team fit

Continually update measurement strategies

As the labor market, in-demand skills, and business needs continue to change, regularly refining and updating your strategies for measuring the quality of hires will set you up for success.

Some ways to update your measurement strategies include:

• Rethinking your organizational chart based on shifting business needs
• Rewriting job requirements and candidate evaluation criteria as skills needs change
• Supporting cross-functional collaboration by encouraging HR and talent acquisition team members, hiring managers, team leads, supervisors, and other stakeholders to brainstorm new ways to measure the quality of hires
• Redefining new hire performance metrics to align with strategic business objectives
• Upskilling and reskilling existing workers and administering talent assessments to measure competence with new in-demand skills
• Integrating new tools and technology, such as performance management software, a talent management system, or an employee engagement platform, to better identify worker performance and behavior trends over time
• Setting more ambitious worker retention goals

Hire top talent with Upwork

Knowing how to hire quality employees means understanding how to measure the quality of hire. This helps ensure that you have team members with the right skills and competencies in place to drive long-term business success and growth.

However, it's an ongoing, time-consuming process that requires thoughtful planning. Rather than measuring and identifying ways to improve the quality of hires on your own, consider partnering with a skilled talent management specialist.

Experienced independent talent management professionals are available on Upwork to identify and implement proven strategies to help you reach qualified workers and maximize the impact of your hiring efforts.

As you look to engage more high-quality workers, you can also access talent with more than 10,000 skills on Upwork to fill skills gaps, drive positive business outcomes, and reduce operational costs. 

FAQs on how to hire quality employees

Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions about hiring quality employees to build a strong and effective team.

What are the 5 C's of recruitment?

The 5 C's of recruitment are competence, capability, compatibility, commitment, and character. This is a common framework used by recruiters to assess their candidates during the interview process. 

These help you find someone capable of doing the job, growing with the role, aligning with your company culture, staying loyal, and upholding strong values, which are all key traits of a good employee.

What is the 4/5ths rule for hiring?

The 4/5ths rule checks fairness in hiring. It states that the hiring rate for any group (for example, gender or ethnicity) should be at least 80% of the rate for the most-selected group. If it's lower, your hiring practices may show bias.

What is the 70% rule of hiring?

There's no perfect resume, so the 70% rule suggests hiring someone who meets about 70% of your job requirements. This helps you find quality employees who can grow into the role. It's useful for startups and small businesses that value adaptability and problem-solving over checking every box.

What is an employee recruitment strategy?

An employee recruitment strategy lays out how you'll find and attract qualified candidates. It covers writing accurate job postings and posting them on reputable job boards, strengthening your employer brand, and using employee referral or social media channels to increase reach. A focused plan helps you hire employees who are the best fit for your team.

What are the best practices for hiring quality employees?

Great employees join companies that know what they stand for. Be clear about your values and company culture, and make sure your job postings reflect that. Work with recruiters who understand your business goals, and keep your interview process consistent and fair. It's an investment, but one that's worthwhile. The right employee, with a strong work ethic and a good team fit, will help you build a high-performing team that stays together.

Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.