Contractors should track a short list of recruiting metrics: time to hire, source of hire, quality of hire, funnel conversion and early retention. Speed and cost numbers alone do not show whether a hire worked. For HVAC, plumbing and mechanical firms, the metrics that matter are the ones tied to what happens after the offer: whether the technician or project manager is productive, safe and still on the payroll a year later.

TL;DR

• Five metrics cover most needs: time to hire, source of hire, quality of hire, funnel conversion and 30/90/365-day retention.
• Time-to-fill and cost-per-hire count activity. Quality of hire and funnel conversion show where hiring is working or failing.
• Define success for each role before measuring. A shared definition between the hiring manager and recruiter makes the data usable.
• Any screening tool that is scored and used to reject candidates should be tracked for adverse impact. Recordkeeping is a compliance matter, not only a reporting preference.
• Review the numbers monthly, by role, not as one company-wide average.

Table of Contents

• Why contractors need hiring data now
• The five recruiting metrics that matter
• Metrics that look useful but mislead
• Add behavioral data for mechanical roles
• Keep screening data compliant
• Forecast, so metrics are not measuring a scramble
• Our perspective
• Putting the numbers to work with Petra Talent
• A simple monthly review routine
• FAQ
• Sources

Why contractors need hiring data now

The labor market gives contractors little room for guesswork. An August 2024 survey by Arcoro and the Associated General Contractors of America found that 94% of U.S. construction firms have trouble filling at least some positions. In the BLS August 2026 JOLTS release, construction shows 251,000 job openings, a 3.7% hiring rate and a 1.8% quits rate. Openings are up 38,000 from the same period in 2025, even after dropping 48,000 from the prior month.

Retention data from the field points the same way. A ServiceTitan analysis of technician records found turnover between 12% and 21% across HVAC, plumbing, electrical and garage door trades, with electrical contractors highest at 21%.

When openings stay open and turnover runs this high, each bad hire is expensive. Metrics show which part of the process is leaking: sourcing, interviewing, offers or onboarding.

The five recruiting metrics that matter

SHRM’s reporting on data-driven recruiting lists five core metrics: time to hire, source of hire, quality of hire, recruitment funnel effectiveness and recruiter performance. Contractors can adapt these as follows.

Time to hire

Measure from the day a candidate is identified to the day the offer is accepted. For a service technician, a week of silence after a ride-along can cost the hire. Track the gap between stages, not only the total, so you see where decisions stall.

Source of hire

Count every channel, then follow the hires through to 90 days. A channel that produces many applicants but few retained technicians is costing time. Employee referrals, trade school relationships, and specialized recruiters often look very different once retention is attached.

Quality of hire

This is the hardest number to define and the most useful. SHRM’s coverage quotes experts who recommend 30, 60 and 90-day check-ins and using retention, turnover and manager satisfaction as proxies. The condition: the recruiter and hiring manager first agree on what success looks like for that role.

For a plumbing service technician, that might be:

1. Completes ride-along sign-off by day 30.
2. Runs calls independently by day 60.
3. Meets first-time-fix and callback targets by day 90.
4. Is still employed at 12 months.

We cover this in more depth in our guide to quality of hire for contractors.

Funnel conversion

Track conversion at each stage: applied, phone screened, technical screened, interviewed, offered, accepted. If many candidates pass the phone screen but fail the technical screen, sourcing is pulling the wrong profile. If offers are declined, compensation or speed is the problem. SHRM’s reporting on targeted metrics advises moving beyond time-to-fill and cost-per-hire toward measures like workflow conversion, because those point to problems that can be fixed.

Early retention

Record who is still on the payroll at 30, 90 and 365 days, by role and by source. Early exits within 90 days usually point to a mismatch between what was promised and what the job is. Exits after a year more often point to pay, management or career path.

Metrics that look useful but mislead

Time-to-fill and cost-per-hire are easy to calculate, and many contractors stop there. They describe efficiency, not outcomes. A fast, cheap hire who leaves in four months looks excellent on both. The SHRM article makes the same point: it is easy to build metrics that count activity without saying much about performance.

Keep them as supporting numbers. Do not make them the goal. A recruiter or hiring manager rewarded only for speed will fill seats quickly and revisit them soon.

Add behavioral data for mechanical roles

Technical skill is only part of the picture. Construction Executive reports that behavioral data on communication, problem solving and teamwork can reduce attrition more effectively than technical skills alone. In its example, one firm cut annual attrition by 4% and saved $180,000 a year. That is one firm’s result, not a promise for every contractor, but it supports adding a behavioral measure to the scorecard.

A practical version: have two interviewers score each finalist on communication, ownership of mistakes and teamwork using the same 1 to 5 rubric. Then compare those scores to 90-day performance. After a dozen hires, you will know whether the rubric predicts anything.

Keep screening data compliant

Metrics and screening tools share a legal edge. Under the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, a selection tool that has a disparate impact by race, sex or ethnicity must be shown to be job-related and consistent with business necessity. The EEOC’s informal discussion letter on recordkeeping notes that failing to keep records to analyze impact can itself be a problem, and that the agency may draw adverse inferences. Informal screens count too.

For contractors, that means keeping stage-by-stage applicant records, auditing pass rates by group at least annually, and not relying only on a vendor’s claim that a test is valid. Questions about a specific test or practice belong with employment counsel.

Forecast, so metrics are not measuring a scramble

Most contractors start recruiting only when a project is already pressing. Construction Executive describes this reactive pattern and its late, rushed crew build-ups, and recommends using workforce data to forecast needs and using pipeline gaps to upskill existing staff. Add one forward-looking metric to your dashboard: open roles expected in the next 90 days versus candidates already in the pipeline. Our article on how a candidate pipeline benefits plumbing contractors covers this in practice.

Our perspective

We recruit only for HVAC and plumbing, and the same pattern shows up across contractors. Most track time-to-fill because it is the one number the phone and the calendar give them for free. Few can say how many of last year’s hires were still productive at 12 months, and fewer can say which sourcing channel produced them.

Our view is that a contractor with three honest numbers beats one with fifteen unreliable ones. Start with a written definition of success for each role, then track funnel conversion, 90-day retention and source of hire. When a placement does not work out, the data should show whether the problem began in sourcing, screening, the offer or onboarding. That is also why we pair technical vetting and credential verification with market wage guidance: a candidate who passes the screen but is offered below market tends to show up in the retention numbers a few months later.

— David

Putting the numbers to work with Petra Talent

If your metrics show a weak stage, outside help can address it. Our HVAC recruiting services and plumbing recruiting services cover role-specific sourcing, and technical vetting and workforce solutions address the screening stage. Our model is contingency-based, with a one-time placement fee of 18%. You can see the details on our pricing page, and our piece on what sits behind recruiter fees explains how to compare total cost.

A simple monthly review routine

1. List every open role with days open and current stage.
2. Calculate conversion between stages for each role family (service tech, installer, project manager, superintendent).
3. Check 30, 60 and 90-day status for each hire from the past year.
4. Tie each hire back to a source.
5. Pick one stage to fix in the coming month and record the change.

Separate leadership roles from technician roles. Project managers and superintendents have longer cycles and different success measures, as we explain in how HVAC leadership hiring differs from technical roles.

FAQ

What are the most common recruiting metrics?

The most common are time to hire, cost per hire, source of hire, quality of hire, offer acceptance rate and funnel conversion. Contractors get the most value from quality of hire, source of hire and early retention because they connect hiring to results on the job.

How do you measure quality of hire for a technician?

Define success with the hiring manager before the search starts, then check in at 30, 60 and 90 days. Use ride-along sign-offs, callbacks, first-time-fix rates, manager satisfaction and 12-month retention as inputs.

How often should a contractor review recruiting metrics?

Monthly works for most firms, with a deeper annual review. Hiring volumes at small contractors are low, so look at trends over several months and by role before drawing conclusions.

Do hiring assessments need to be tracked for legal reasons?

Yes, where they are used to screen candidates. Under the Uniform Guidelines, tools with disparate impact must be validated, and missing records can themselves cause trouble. Ask employment counsel to review your process.

Sources

• Data-Driven Recruiting Proves Business Impact, SHRM
• Targeted Recruiting Metrics Will Improve Hiring, SHRM
• Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, BLS JOLTS
• Technician turnover and tenure by trade, ServiceTitan
• Behavioral Hiring Builds a Stronger Construction Workforce, Construction Executive
• How Workforce Data Can Help Close Contractor Skills Gaps, Construction Executive
• EEOC Informal Discussion Letter

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