The short answer
You measure it by tracing every hire back to the channel where the candidate came from. The number of applications doesn't matter, but how many people per channel were ultimately hired. That is the only metric that counts.
Discuss your vacancy, our approach and your recruitment fee. A no-obligation, 30-minute conversation.
Applications tell you nothing about hires
Many HR managers look at the number of applications per channel. That's what most systems track, so it makes sense. But a channel that delivers twenty applications and zero hires is money spent for nothing. A channel that delivers five applications and three hires is worth its weight in gold. The metric you track drives your behavior. Measure clicks and you optimize for clicks. Measure hires and you optimize for hires.
The question to ask about every channel: how many people who came through this channel are now working for us? Make that question central to your evaluation.
How to trace back from hire to channel
Start with every hire and note the source. Do that for a quarter; longer if you have few placements. Fictional calculation example: say you hired eight people in a quarter. Five came through social campaigns, two through a job board, and one through an internal referral. That means social campaigns delivered 62.5% of your hires. Compare that to what you spent per channel. That gives you cost-per-hire per channel, a metric that actually tells you something about return.
Track this pattern for at least two quarters before drawing conclusions. One quarter can be skewed by season, a single role, or chance.
What you see in the Red Rocket cockpit
Red Rocket runs social campaigns and uses AI via WhatsApp to qualify candidates. The AI tests answers against your hard requirements: required certificates, availability, location. If someone doesn't qualify, the AI can automatically let them know they won't be moving forward. That way only candidates who meet the basic requirements enter your cockpit. Required certificates are for you to verify; the AI filters based on what candidates report themselves.
In the cockpit you see each candidate's profile, AI answers, score, optional CV, and any follow-up questions. The personal follow-up and hiring decision are yours. Because every candidate comes through the cockpit, you can later see per campaign which candidates were moved forward and hired. You see not just how many people responded, but how many people from that campaign were ultimately hired. That is the difference between measuring reach and measuring result.
From explanation to your practice
Source and editorial note
This article offers practical considerations. Examples are fictional, not client results or forecasts. The source below provides broader context, not evidence for a particular Red Rocket outcome.
Frequently asked questions
What if I only have a few hires per year? Is tracking still useful?
Yes. Especially with few hires, insight per channel is valuable. Every misplaced investment hits harder. Start by recording the source for each hire, even if there are only five a year. After two years, a pattern emerges.
Does Red Rocket guarantee how many hires a campaign will deliver?
No. We don't guarantee numbers of hires, conversations, or placements. What we offer is a no cure no pay model starting at 11% of the gross annual salary on placement. The media budget falls under separate conditions. Results depend on the role, the market, and your selection.
