Course › Module 10 · Recruiting analytics and KPIs

Lab 9: build your dashboard

Module 10, Lesson 6  ·  3 min read ·  Updated 21 September 2026

Module 10 · Lesson 6

Build the weekly dashboard from your own numbers, then check whether it would have told you something you did not already know.

What to do

  1. Export candidates and jobs from the process you set up in Module 8 — or use the practice data if yours is still a test setup.
  2. Build the five numbers from Lesson 5, keeping raw data, sums and dashboard on separate sheets.
  3. Add counts next to every percentage.
  4. Add the date it was last refreshed.
  5. Write one paragraph: what needs attention this week, and why.
  6. Separately, work out your funnel percentages and compare them with the planning numbers from Module 3, Lesson 1.

What to hand in

The dashboard, the paragraph, and a short note on where your real percentages differ from the planning numbers — and what that means for how many people you actually need to find per hire.

How to know you have done it right

CheckGood looks like
Everything is actionableEvery number maps to something someone would do
Counts shownNo bare percentages anywhere
Small samples flaggedCounts under ten shown as counts, not percentages
StructureRe-exporting the data does not break the sums
ReadableA hiring manager could read it without you there
One screenNo scrolling

Check yourself before Module 11

  • Which number surprised you? That is the one worth watching.
  • Is there someone on the going-cold list you had forgotten? Most people find at least one.
  • Where is your biggest drop between stages, and is it quality or delay? Check the booking time before deciding.
  • How many of your percentages rest on fewer than ten people? Those are not measurements yet.

Without an export

If your system cannot export, or you do not have one, build the dashboard from the practice data instead. The spreadsheet works with any list of candidates that has a stage and a date, including one you keep by hand. The five numbers do not need a system. They need a record.

How long to spend

Sixty minutes. If it takes three hours you are building a reporting suite rather than a weekly dashboard — and the suite is the thing that stops being updated in week four.

Common questions

What recruiting metrics actually matter?

Conversion rate between stages, not activity counts. Applications received, interviews held and messages sent describe effort; screen-in rate, interview-to-offer rate and offer acceptance describe whether the effort worked. Always report the count beside the rate — at twelve hires a year, one unusual search moves every percentage.

How do you measure quality of hire?

You cannot, cleanly. Every available measure is a proxy with a known defect: performance ratings are noisy and manager-dependent, retention is slow and confounded by the team, hiring manager satisfaction measures the relationship. Use two or three and name their limits. Do not build a composite score — it hides the defects behind the appearance of measurement.

What is the difference between time to hire and time to fill?

Time to hire starts when a candidate enters the process and measures how fast your process moves a person. Time to fill starts when the requisition opens and measures how long the business waits — including the fortnight before anyone could start sourcing. Report both, labelled, and use the median rather than the mean.

Check yourself

Four questions. Nothing is recorded anywhere but your own browser — this is for you, not for a score.

  1. 1Candidates drop sharply between screening and first interview. What should you check first?

  2. 2You have 12 hires a year across 6 channels. What can you conclude about channel performance?

  3. 3Which is the most honest way to report quality of hire?

  4. 4Screening throughput doubles. Does requisition capacity double?