7 Practical Ways to Measure Quality of Hire (With Examples)

For HR and TA professionals, ensuring that every new hire delivers value is a core challenge. And whilst measuring quality of hire can sometimes feel abstract, focusing on practical, data-driven approaches makes it actionable. Here are 7 ways to assess and improve the quality of your hires throughout your hiring process.

1. Time to Productivity

Time to productivity measures how quickly a new hire reaches full performance capacity. A shorter ramp-up suggests that your hiring process successfully identified candidates who can hit the ground running. Monitoring this metric helps HR understand which roles, onboarding processes, or candidate profiles perform best.

How to track:

• Define what “full productivity” looks like for each role (quota, output level, ticket volume, project ownership).

• Track the number of days from start date until the employee consistently meets this threshold.

• Compare ramp-up time across departments or hiring cohorts to identify strong predictors during hiring.

2. Time to Independence

This metric looks at how long it takes a new hire to work effectively without constant supervision. Employees who reach independence quickly demonstrate both competence and adaptability, reducing managerial workload and contributing more rapidly to team goals.

How to track:

• Ask managers to record when the employee begins working without daily guidance.

• Track the number of support requests, coaching sessions, or escalations per week.

• Use a milestone, such as “can run X task end-to-end without supervision,” to standardise measurement.

• Log independence dates across all hires to identify which interview traits correlate with faster autonomy.

Pro-tip: By consistently assessing autonomy-related capabilities in Evidenced - such as problem-solving or ownership - teams can later analyse whether those signals predict faster time to independence on the job.

3. Peer Recognition

Feedback from colleagues or recognition programs can reveal how well new hires are integrating into the team and contributing to company culture. Employees who earn kudos or positive peer feedback early are likely demonstrating both effectiveness and collaborative skills.

How to track:

• Use tools like Bonusly or Slack shoutouts to track recognition frequency.

• Measure number of kudos/recommendations received in first 90–180 days.

• Analyse the type of recognition (collaboration, initiative, problem-solving).

• Compare peer sentiment trends across different hiring cohorts to identify hiring patterns.

4. Learning and Development Progress

Monitoring how quickly new hires acquire new skills or complete training programs provides insight into their growth potential. Employees who accelerate through learning milestones tend to adapt better and contribute to evolving organisational needs.

New hires who quickly develop strong interviewing and assessment skills also tend to show higher levels of judgment, alignment with company standards, and long‑term leadership potential. Their ability to learn what "good" looks like in your hiring process is an early indicator that they understand expectations, values, and performance bar‑raisers.

How to track:

• Link onboarding modules or required training courses to completion deadlines.

• Measure the time it takes for the new hire to finish mandatory training.

• Track performance in assessments or simulations tied to those learning modules.

• Record long-term development indicators such as elective training completed in year one.

5. Early Performance Metrics

One of the clearest indicators of a hire’s quality is how they perform in the first 90 days. This can include meeting project milestones, completing onboarding tasks, or hitting early productivity goals.

Tracking early performance helps identify strong performers as well as those who may need additional support.

How to track:

• Set specific 30/60/90 day goals for each role.

• Use manager check-ins or simple rating scales (e.g. 1–5) for progress.

• Compare the new hire’s achievement rate to historical averages for the same role.

• Record trends in a spreadsheet or ATS-integrated dashboard to spot patterns over time.

Pro-tip: Interview data captured in tools like Evidenced can be reviewed alongside early performance outcomes, allowing TA teams to see which interview signals consistently predict strong first‑90‑day performance.

6. Probation Pass Rates

Many organisations use probation periods to ensure new hires meet expectations. Tracking the percentage of employees who successfully pass probation provides insight into the effectiveness of your hiring criteria. High pass rates typically indicate good alignment between the hiring process and role requirements.

How to track:

• Set consistent pass criteria: performance expectations, attendance, behaviour, and skills.

• Record pass or fail outcomes and reasons for any extensions or failures.

• Analyse probation outcomes quarterly to see which roles, teams, or interviewers produce stronger results.

• Combine pass rate data with early interview scores to identify predictive signals.

7. Retention Metrics (6/12/18 Months)

Retention beyond the first year is a strong indicator of quality hire. Tracking retention at 6, 12, and 18 months provides a more nuanced view than overall turnover. Short-term retention highlights onboarding effectiveness, while longer-term retention reflects cultural fit and job satisfaction.

How to track:

• Run retention reports at fixed intervals (6, 12, and 18 months).

• Categorise departures (voluntary, involuntary, internal move) for deeper insight.

• Combine retention with performance data to distinguish “healthy retention” from “unhealthy retention.”

• Compare retention by hiring manager, sourcing channel, or assessment method to refine hiring strategy.

Bonus: Connecting People Data to What Drives Quality of Hire

For HR and TA teams, improving quality of hire means doing more than using people data for performance reviews. The real value comes from linking those insights back to your recruiting decisions so you can see which skills and behaviours actually drive success.

Evidenced supports this by allowing you to structure interviews around the capabilities that you actually assess against, so you can tie those signals to real performance and retention outcomes. This creates a closed feedback loop between hiring, performance, and retention - helping teams continuously improve how they assess and select talent.

Conclusion

Measuring quality of hire requires a combination of early performance data, ramp-up speed, peer feedback, skill growth, and long-term retention. By focusing on these practical metrics, HR and TA professionals can make informed decisions that improve hiring outcomes and identify top talent with confidence.

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