I often get questions from recruiters regarding how many calls they should make. This is a tricky question, as the answer is directly related to the results that are generated by those calls.
There is no simple answer to this question because it varies by niche and the experience of the recruiter. However, the range of 40-75 calls per day will apply to most recruiters.
A seasoned recruiter may only need to make 40 calls per day because their calls are returned and they have deep client relationships. Their average call may last 10 minutes or more. A rookie recruiter, on the other hand, may get weak results while making 100 calls per day because each call lasts 90 seconds and they get very few call backs.
The value of tracking recruiting numbers
I’ve always believed that there’s value in tracking calls daily. If you’re like most recruiters, you’ll do this by hand.
In my case, I use a very low-tech method: sticky notes. Each morning, I simply take a sticky note and paste it on my desk near the phone. I write in two categories: calls and conversations.
Under “calls,” I enter a hash mark for each attempt that ends with voicemail. For “conversations,” I enter a hash mark for calls that end in a business conversation. If I get disconnected or put through to the wrong department, that doesn’t count as a call. Sourcing calls that do not lead to a sourced name also do not count as a call.
A better way to track call activity is by using call tracking software and recruiting CRM. From a management perspective, this is a no-brainer. The best management techniques are those where a good system does the managing and the manager acts like a coach. By using call tracking software, the program is collecting the raw numbers and holding your staff accountable.
It also helps to keep them focused on one of the most important variables in recruiter success: time on the phone. By using software, you’ll be able to see how many minutes each recruiter spent on the phone, how many calls were made, and what the average time per call was. This information can be used for coaching and training purposes.
For instance, if two recruiters have been with you for six months apiece, and one has an average call time of two minutes while the other’s is seven minutes, you can make some assumptions from this data. Perhaps the one with the shorter average call is making very weak presentations and people want to get off the phone with them in a hurry. Perhaps they sound too “salesy” or are not prepared.
Then again, if the person with the longer call average is under-producing as a recruiter, perhaps they’re staying on the phone too long with the wrong people and wasting time. The data gives you the raw numbers, and then it’s your job to use those numbers to dig and coach so that you and your staff can improve.
Recruitment tracker numbers
Tracking calls is a valuable activity, and it’s something that I’ve done throughout my career. However, it’s less valuable than tracking the results of those calls. If you’re getting “B” results with 35 calls, trying to hit 100 calls may be a waste of time for you.
Below are three results-based numbers that recruiters should track:
1.) Number of recruiting calls per day: Enough to surface three viable candidates that you can interview internally.
2.) Number of marketing calls: Enough to generate two “A-level” searches per week.
3.) Number of sendouts: One per day is a good goal to shoot for, as you will end up with 20 or more new sendouts per month.
Once you put in the time and energy to develop your business, you can expect to see more and more applications for the job orders you’ve landed. Streamline these tasks with Top Echelon’s ATS recruiting software.
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Gary Stauble, a guest writer for the Top Echelon Recruiter Training Blog, is the principal consultant for The Recruiting Lab, a coaching company that assists firm owners and solo recruiters in generating more profit in less time. For more information or to schedule a complimentary coaching session, visit The Recruiting Lab’s website or call 408.849.4756.