Consultant KPI wallboards and call analytics for recruitment
Recruitment has always managed by activity. The problem is that the activity numbers most agencies manage by are self-reported, which means they measure diligence at data entry as much as effort on the phone. Telephony-sourced analytics fix that at the source: the phone platform reports the call, so the data is the same for everyone. This page covers which metrics are worth putting on a wall, which are actively counterproductive, and how to get them.
- Call metrics captured by the platform, not typed by consultants
- System-sourcedCall metrics captured by the platform, not typed by consultants
- Real-time wallboards for the floor and trend reporting for managers
- Live + historicReal-time wallboards for the floor and trend reporting for managers
- Data out to CSV and BI tools so it can join revenue reporting
- ExportableData out to CSV and BI tools so it can join revenue reporting
- Live floor wallboards on a TV or browser, showing the numbers your desks are actually managed on.
- Historic reporting by consultant, desk, brand, site and time period.
- Conversation-quality metrics, not just dial counts, so coaching targets the right behaviour.
- Exports and API access so call data can be combined with placement and revenue data.
Metrics worth tracking — and what each one tells you
Volume metrics measure input. Quality metrics tell you whether the input is working. You need both, and you need to be careful which ones you put on a wall.
- What it actually tells you
- Raw effort
- Watch out for
- Easily gamed by short, deliberate no-answer calls
- What it actually tells you
- How often someone actually answers
- Watch out for
- Poor connect rates are usually a list or caller-identity problem, not effort
- What it actually tells you
- List quality and calling-time effectiveness
- Watch out for
- Compare desks with similar candidate pools only
- What it actually tells you
- Depth of conversations held
- Watch out for
- Long calls are not automatically good calls
- What it actually tells you
- Meaningful contact, filtering out voicemail and wrong numbers
- Watch out for
- Set the threshold per desk; a temp availability call is short by nature
- What it actually tells you
- What conversations are producing
- Watch out for
- Only works if dispositions are consistently used
- What it actually tells you
- Whether client and candidate calls get answered
- Watch out for
- Missed inbound calls are lost revenue nobody logs
- What it actually tells you
- Where the business is leaking enquiries
- Watch out for
- Frequently the single most valuable number here
The metric most agencies are missing
Almost every agency measures outbound activity closely and inbound performance barely at all. That is the wrong way round commercially, because an inbound call is usually someone who already wants something from you.
- How many inbound calls were not answered last month, and at what times of day?
- How many went to voicemail, and how many of those voicemails were returned?
- Which desk numbers ring out most often, and is that a rota problem or a routing problem?
- How long does a client wait before someone picks up?
- Are out-of-hours calls being captured at all, or simply lost?
These are answerable from call data alone, and the answers usually lead to routing changes that cost nothing and recover real enquiries.
Want this looked at on your own setup?
A review is free, there is no obligation, and you keep the written summary either way.
Making wallboards work on a floor
A wallboard that is ignored is just an expensive screensaver. A few practical rules from deployments.
- Show a small number of metrics. Four or five, large enough to read across the room.
- Include at least one team metric, so the board encourages help rather than only internal competition.
- Put inbound service levels on the board too, not only outbound activity.
- Give each desk its own view — a temp desk and an executive search desk should not be on the same leaderboard.
- Let consultants see their own numbers in their own client, so coaching is not a public event.
- Review what is displayed after a month. The first configuration is rarely the right one.
Coaching with recordings and analytics together
Analytics tell you where to look; recordings tell you why. Used together they turn management from opinion into observation.
- Find the consultant whose connects are healthy but whose conversion is not, then listen to three calls.
- Compare the opening thirty seconds of high performers and new starters on the same desk.
- Use AI call summaries via Atom Insight to review far more calls than a manager could listen to.
- Track whether coaching changed the metric, over the following fortnight, rather than assuming it did.
Setting up desk reporting properly
- Agree the outcome list before go-live, and keep it short enough to be used honestly.
- Define the “meaningful conversation” threshold per desk.
- Decide which metrics are public on the wall and which are private to the consultant.
- Set inbound answer targets alongside outbound activity targets.
- Schedule the reports managers need, so nobody is assembling them manually.
- Confirm export or API access so call data can join placement data.
Frequently asked questions
Can we display wallboards on a TV in the office?
Yes — wallboards run in a browser, so a wall-mounted screen with a small media player or smart display is all that is needed. Consultants working from home see the same views in their own client.
Will consultants find a way to game the numbers?
Any single-metric target gets gamed, in every sector. That is why we recommend pairing dials with connects and meaningful-conversation counts, and reviewing recordings. Measuring three related things makes gaming obvious.
Can we get call data into Power BI or our own reporting?
Yes. Scheduled exports and API access let call activity sit next to submissions, interviews, placements and revenue — which is where it becomes genuinely useful to a director.
Do these metrics work across multiple offices and brands?
Yes. Reporting can be sliced by consultant, desk, brand, site or the whole group, which matters if you are running several trading names.
Related recruitment guides
See what your call data would show
Book a review and we will walk through the wallboards and reports, including the inbound numbers most agencies have never seen.
- Full audit of every line, number and contract you hold
- Honest view of what your CRM will and will not integrate with
- The call data you are not currently seeing, including missed inbound
- A written summary — yours to keep either way