What is Quality of Hire?
Quality of hire measures the value a new employee delivers, typically combining ramp-up speed, performance ratings, retention past a defined horizon and hiring-manager satisfaction. It is the outcome metric every other recruiting metric exists to serve.
Last updated July 2026 · Reviewed by the TalentHive product team
Also known as: QoH
It is also the hardest metric to move, because the feedback loop is long — often six to twelve months — and attribution is contested. The practical approach is to fix a definition, measure it consistently, and correlate it backwards against screening signals.
That correlation only works if screening produces comparable data. When candidates are evaluated by different interviewers asking different questions, there is no stable input to correlate against outcomes. Structured, rubric-scored interviews for every candidate make the analysis possible at all.
Related terms
Interview Scorecard
An interview scorecard is a predefined set of competencies with rating scales and behavioural anchors that interviewers use to evaluate every candidate identically. It converts subjective impressions into comparable scores and creates the written record that makes hiring decisions defensible.
Structured Interview
A structured interview asks every candidate for a role the same predetermined questions in the same order, and scores answers against a fixed rubric. Decades of selection research find structured interviews substantially more predictive of job performance — and far more legally defensible — than unstructured conversations.
Cost per Hire
Cost per hire is the total internal and external recruiting spend for a period divided by the number of hires made in it. External costs cover advertising, agency fees and tooling; internal costs cover recruiter and hiring-manager time, which is usually the larger and most often omitted share.
Time to Hire
Time to hire measures the days between a candidate entering your pipeline and accepting an offer. It reflects the efficiency of your evaluation process. Time to fill, by contrast, counts from when the requisition opens, and so also includes sourcing time.
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