What are the most important HR KPIs to track?

The most impactful HR KPIs span four categories: Recruiting (Time-to-Fill, Cost-per-Hire, Offer Acceptance Rate, Source of Hire), Retention (Employee Turnover Rate, Retention Rate, Absenteeism Rate), Performance (Goal Completion Rate, Performance Review Completion, 90-Day Retention), and Cost (HR-to-Employee Ratio, Benefits Cost per Employee, Training Cost per Employee). Tracking all 20 gives a complete picture of workforce health.

How often should HR KPIs be reviewed?

Recruiting KPIs like Time-to-Fill and pipeline velocity should be reviewed weekly. Retention and cost metrics are typically reviewed monthly. Strategic metrics like annual turnover rate, eNPS, and training ROI are reviewed quarterly or annually. The frequency depends on how actionable the metric is — frequent review only makes sense when you can respond quickly.

What is a good employee turnover rate?

According to SHRM, the average voluntary turnover rate in the US is around 13–15% annually. High-turnover industries like retail and hospitality see 40–60%. Technology companies typically target under 10%. What's 'good' depends on your industry and role types — the key is tracking your trend over time and understanding the reasons behind departures through exit interviews.

Can I track HR KPIs automatically in an ATS?

Yes. Treegarden automatically tracks all recruiting KPIs (Time-to-Fill, Cost-per-Hire, Source of Hire, Funnel Conversion Rate) in real time. Retention and performance metrics can be connected via integrations with your HRIS. Built-in dashboards and scheduled reports eliminate manual spreadsheet tracking.

HR KPIs Dashboard Template 2026 — Free Template

How to use this dashboard template Each KPI below includes a definition, formula, industry benchmark, and how frequently to review it. Use this as a reference when building your HR dashboard in a spreadsheet, BI tool, or directly in your ATS. Filter by category to focus on the metrics most relevant to your current priorities.

Quick Reference — All 20 KPIs

Recruiting

Time-to-Fill

Benchmark: 44 days (SHRM avg)

Recruiting

Cost-per-Hire

Benchmark: $4,700 (SHRM avg)

Recruiting

Offer Acceptance Rate

Benchmark: 85–90%

Recruiting

Source of Hire

Track % per channel

Recruiting

Applicants per Opening

Benchmark: 50–250 applicants

Recruiting

Funnel Conversion Rate

Applied → Hired: ~1–3%

Retention

Employee Turnover Rate

Benchmark: 13–15% annually

Retention

Employee Retention Rate

Target: 85%+ annually

Retention

90-Day New Hire Retention

Target: 90%+

Retention

Absenteeism Rate

Benchmark: <2% per month

Retention

Employee NPS (eNPS)

Target: +30 or higher

Performance

Goal / OKR Completion Rate

Target: 70–80% of OKRs

Performance

Performance Review Completion

Target: 100% on schedule

Performance

Internal Mobility Rate

Benchmark: 15–25% of hires

Performance

Training Completion Rate

Target: 95%+ mandatory

Performance

High Performer Retention Rate

Target: 90%+ top quartile

Cost

HR-to-Employee Ratio

Benchmark: 1 HR per 100 employees

Cost

Benefits Cost per Employee

Benchmark: 30–35% of salary

Cost

Training Cost per Employee

Benchmark: $1,207/yr (ATD avg)

Cost

Revenue per Employee

Varies widely by industry

🔍 Recruiting KPIs

KPI	Definition	Formula	Benchmark	Frequency
Time-to-Fill	Days from job requisition approval to offer acceptance	`Date Offer Accepted − Date Req Opened`	44 days SHRM 2025 avg; Tech: 55 days	Weekly
Cost-per-Hire	Total recruiting spend divided by number of hires in a period	`(Internal Costs + External Costs) ÷ Total Hires`	$4,700 SHRM avg; Tech: $6,800+	Monthly
Offer Acceptance Rate	Percentage of job offers accepted by candidates	`(Offers Accepted ÷ Offers Made) × 100`	85–90% Under 80% signals comp or process issues	Monthly
Source of Hire	Percentage of hires originating from each recruiting channel	`(Hires from Source ÷ Total Hires) × 100 per channel`	Varies Referrals: 30–40% of hires in high-growth cos	Monthly
Applicants per Opening	Total applications received per open position	`Total Applicants ÷ Number of Open Roles`	50–250 Below 10 may indicate reach or brand issues	Weekly
Funnel Conversion Rate	Percentage of applicants who progress to each pipeline stage through to hire	`(Stage N Count ÷ Stage N-1 Count) × 100 per stage`	Applied→Hired: 1–3% Screen→Interview: 30–40% is healthy	Weekly

📈 Retention KPIs

KPI	Definition	Formula	Benchmark	Frequency
Employee Turnover Rate	Percentage of employees who left the organisation in a given period	`(Separations ÷ Avg Headcount) × 100`	13–15% Annually; Retail/Hospitality: 40–60%	Monthly
Employee Retention Rate	Percentage of employees who remained employed over a given period	`((Start Headcount − Departures) ÷ Start Headcount) × 100`	85%+ Annually; top companies achieve 90%+	Monthly
90-Day New Hire Retention	Percentage of new hires still employed after 90 days	`(Hires Still Employed at Day 90 ÷ Total Hires) × 100`	90%+ Below 85% signals onboarding or hiring quality issues	Monthly
Absenteeism Rate	Percentage of scheduled work time lost to unplanned absence	`(Unplanned Absent Days ÷ Total Scheduled Days) × 100`	<2% Per month; above 3% warrants investigation	Monthly
Employee NPS (eNPS)	Likelihood employees would recommend the company as a place to work (scale 0–10)	`% Promoters (9–10) − % Detractors (0–6)`	+30 or higher Excellent: +50. Below 0 is a danger signal.	Quarterly

🌟 Performance KPIs

KPI	Definition	Formula	Benchmark	Frequency
Goal / OKR Completion Rate	Percentage of set goals or OKRs fully achieved by end of period	`(Goals Achieved ÷ Goals Set) × 100`	70–80% 100% completion may signal goals are too easy	Quarterly
Performance Review Completion	Percentage of scheduled performance reviews completed on time	`(Reviews Completed on Time ÷ Reviews Scheduled) × 100`	100% Any incomplete reviews require manager follow-up	Quarterly
Internal Mobility Rate	Percentage of open positions filled by internal candidates (promotions or transfers)	`(Internal Hires ÷ Total Hires) × 100`	15–25% High internal mobility signals strong development culture	Quarterly
Training Completion Rate	Percentage of employees who completed required training programs	`(Completions ÷ Assigned Employees) × 100 per program`	95%+ For mandatory compliance training; below 90% = compliance risk	Monthly
High Performer Retention Rate	Percentage of top-rated employees (top quartile) still employed at year end	`(Top Performers Retained ÷ Total Top Performers) × 100`	90%+ Losing a top performer costs 50–200% of their salary	Quarterly

💵 Cost KPIs

KPI	Definition	Formula	Benchmark	Frequency
HR-to-Employee Ratio	Number of HR staff relative to total headcount; indicates HR capacity	`Total Employees ÷ Total HR FTEs`	100:1 High-growth startups: 50:1. Large enterprises: 150:1	Quarterly
Benefits Cost per Employee	Total employer benefits spend divided by number of employees	`Total Benefits Spend ÷ Total Employees`	30–35% of salary US avg; includes health, retirement, PTO, insurance	Monthly
Training Cost per Employee	Total learning and development spend per employee per year	`Total L&D Budget ÷ Total Employees`	$1,207 / yr ATD State of the Industry avg; Tech: $1,800+	Quarterly
Revenue per Employee	Total revenue generated per full-time equivalent employee; measures workforce efficiency	`Total Revenue ÷ Total FTE Headcount`	Varies by industry SaaS: $200K+. Retail: $120K. Manufacturing: $180K	Quarterly

Track all these KPIs in Treegarden

Treegarden automatically calculates recruiting KPIs in real time — Time-to-Fill, Cost-per-Hire, Source of Hire, and funnel conversion — without manual spreadsheets.