In the current labor market, retail hiring is tough. The challenges are endless—high turnover, fierce competition, underqualified applicants, and seasonal demand fluctuations that make staffing a constant struggle.
But here’s the problem: too many retailers hire reactively and scramble to fill positions instead of taking a strategic, data-driven approach.
So, how do retailers break out of this cycle?
Harver’s latest white paper, 7 Hiring Metrics Every Retailer Should Track, breaks down the most critical data points retailers need to monitor to help you make smarter, faster hiring decisions that boost efficiency, improve retention, and reduce costs.
Below, we highlight a few key takeaways from the report—but if you’re serious about optimizing your hiring process, you’ll want to download the full white paper for all the insights.
Why Tracking Hiring Metrics Matters
Hiring in retail isn’t just about filling roles—it’s about finding the right people, fast, while keeping hiring costs under control. When you track and optimize the right metrics, you can:
- Attract more qualified applicants without increasing sourcing costs.
- Reduce time-to-hire and avoid losing top talent to competitors
- Improve quality of hire and aligning candidates with roles they’ll thrive in
- Cut hiring costs by streamlining processes and eliminating inefficiencies
- Enhance the candidate experience and strengthen your employer brand
Here’s a preview of 3 of the 7 key metrics featured in the white paper:
1. Applicant Quantity: Are You Attracting Enough Candidates?
It’s simple—without a strong pipeline of applicants, you’ll struggle to fill open roles. But tracking applicant quantity isn’t just about volume; it’s about finding the right balance. Too many applicants can overwhelm recruiters, while too few can lead to prolonged vacancies.
Pro Tips:
- Benchmark your numbers: Harver clients typically see a 10:1 ratio of applicants to hires for hourly roles and 5:1 for managerial positions.
- Strengthen sourcing strategies: Identify top-performing job boards, referral programs, and social media channels to maximize your talent pool.
- Optimize your application process: A clunky, time-consuming application can drive candidates away. Keep it streamlined and mobile-friendly.
Stat to Know: 71% of applicants abandon applications that take more than 15 minutes.
Find out how to increase the quantity of your applicants in our blog.
2. Time-to-Hire: How Long Does It Take to Fill a Role?
Retail hiring moves fast, so if your process is slow, you’re losing top candidates to competitors. Time-to-hire measures the number of days from job posting to offer acceptance, helping you identify and eliminate bottlenecks.
Pro Tips:
- Compare to industry averages: The average time-to-hire has increased to 47.5 days according to SHRM. Look at what the numbers look like for your sector and set the bar high.
- Use automation to speed up hiring: AI-powered assessments, chatbots, and scheduling tools can cut weeks off the hiring process.
- Offer multi-location applications: Let candidates apply once and be considered for multiple store locations, increasing efficiency.
Success Story: Harver’s retail customers have reduced time-to-hire by 40% using our automated video interviews and scheduling tools.
3. Offer-to-Acceptance Rate: Are You Closing the Deal?
It’s one thing to extend job offers—but if candidates aren’t accepting them, something is off. Offer-to-acceptance rate measures the percentage of offers that turn into hires, helping you gauge whether your offers are competitive.
Pro Tips:
- Promote perks: Compensation is important, but benefits like flexible schedules and career growth opportunities can seal the deal.
- Monitor employer brand reputation: Keep an eye on key employer review boards like Glassdoor for any possible deterrents and adjust your recruitment strategy accordingly.
- Understand candidate priorities: Ask candidates what they’re looking for in an offer upfront and collect feedback from those who decline.
Dig Deeper: Analyze your recruiters’ performance and identify best practices from those with the highest offer-to-acceptance rates.
Find out how to make your job offers more appealing during a talent shortage.
Want the Full List of 7 Must-Track Hiring Metrics?
These three stats are just the beginning. In the full white paper, we cover four additional hiring metrics that can transform your recruitment strategy—plus actionable tips to improve each one.
Don’t let inefficient hiring slow your business down. Get the insights you need to stay ahead of the summer rush.
