The KPI Reboot: OUT with the old ways and IN with the modern recruitment metrics

If you’ve read The Danger of Decorative Dashboards, you’ll know how easy it is for recruitment businesses to track numbers that look good but don’t drive action. Now this blog takes that thinking further. Here, we’re highlighting which traditional KPIs are outdated, and what to replace them with to build real growth and resilience. 

It’s time for a KPI reboot for a digital-first era. We’re moving from quantity to quality, from activity to impact, and from vanity to value.

Below, we break down what’s OUT; the metrics that no longer serve you, and what’s IN; the modern metrics that future-proof your growth.

1. Out: Call volumes and call times

How likely are you to take a call from an unknown or silent number? Tracking call volumes and duration is increasingly obsolete and this metric no longer captures meaningful engagement. Most people avoid unknown numbers, and remote work plus mobile tech has made cold calls less effective. Worse, these metrics say nothing about the quality of these interactions.

In: Quality interactions across channels

Measure the impact of conversations, whether by email, social, or video. Track outcomes, follow-ups, and recorded activity. The focus shifts from hitting arbitrary call targets to building relationships that drive results. Remember, the metrics should include the actual outputs - what was achieved, a follow up schedule and what was recorded.

If it’s not on the system, it didn’t happen!

Takeaway: Measure true engagement, not raw numbers.