An employee referral programme is a process where employees recommend job applicants from their...
Recruiting is hard. Tech is expensive. And in South Africa, HR teams are stretched and hiring needs are urgent.
You have to ask: Is the software we’re using actually making a difference?
It’s not about bells and whistles. It’s about results.
It’s pointless investing in recruitment software, if you can measure its return. The answer lies in one concept: Return on Investment (ROI).
If your recruitment tech isn’t saving you time, reducing costs, improving candidate quality, or speeding up hiring, it’s not doing its job. But too often, ROI is misunderstood or poorly measured.
Let’s unpack what recruitment software ROI actually looks like, what metrics matter most, and how to know whether your software is delivering real value to your business.
Why ROI Matters in Recruitment Software
Recruitment software can be a game-changer. It streamlines complicated hiring processes, automates repetitive tasks, and makes it easier to identify top talent quickly.
And just like any investment, its success should be measured against tangible outcomes, not just whether your team likes using it.
Why measure ROI?
- To justify your investment: Can you prove the software is saving money or time?
- To optimise processes: Which tools or workflows are adding value, and which aren’t?
- To scale effectively: As hiring needs grow, is the platform helping you do more with less?
- To align HR with business goals: Showing measurable impact helps HR move from a support function to a strategic one.
1. Time-to-hire: The first number to watch
What it tells you:
How long it takes to fill a role. The average number of days from job posting to offer accepted. This is a direct indicator of process efficiency, and a strong predictor of candidate experience.
What to track:
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Time saved by automating manual tasks (e.g., CV screening, scheduling)
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Faster response times with chatbots or mobile workflows
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Reduction in delays caused by disconnected systems
Why it matters:
When jobs stay open, teams get overloaded and business slows down. This is even more pertinent in South Africa’s competitive market. Entry-level candidates often take other offers if your process drags. If your software is working, this number should go down.
2. Cost-per-hire: Where your money goes
What it tells you:
What it costs to make one hire. This includes job ads, agency fees, software, and HR time, divided by the number of hires.
What to watch for:
- Fewer external recruiting fees
- Reduced time spent on admin
- Better conversion rates from internal or low-cost sources
Why it matters:
Recruitment costs eat up your budget quietly. Good software helps you cut waste. Automating manual tasks reduces reliance on agencies, lightens the admin load, improves conversion rates and helps you source more efficiently. If your cost-per-hire isn’t improving, your software may not be pulling its weight.
3. Quality of hire: Are you hiring right, not just fast?
What it tells you:
How well new hires perform and whether they stay.
How to measure it:
- 90-day retention rates
- Probation pass rates
- Feedback from line managers
- Performance reviews of new hires
Why it matters:
Fast hires are good. Great hires are better. Hiring quickly means nothing if you’re rehiring three months later. Strong hires reduce training time, turnover, and performance gaps.
Good recruitment tech should help you find better-fit candidates faster. If your ATS or chatbot is surfacing stronger candidates through better screening or referrals, performance and retention should go up.
4. Source of hire: What channels are actually working?
What it tells you:
Not all channels are equal. Keep track of where your best candidates come from. Whether its job boards, career sites, referrals, or internal mobility, insights matter.
Why it matters:
Software should make it easier to see what works. That way, you can double down on what’s working and cut what’s not.
A practical example:
Many companies are seeing high-quality hires from employee referrals, but only when those referrals are easy to make. Employee referral tools like txtHR Refer quietly support this behind the scenes, by making it simple for employees to refer friends via WhatsApp or SMS.
5. Candidate experience: What does the journey feel like?
What it tells you:
How candidates feel during the process. This applies to things like application ease, communication, feedback speed. Whether candidates find your process smooth, clear, and respectful.
What to measure:
- Application completion/drop-off rates
- Communication turnaround time
- Basic satisfaction surveys
Why it matters:
A clunky process drives applicants away. A good experience builds your employer brand. Even for those who don’t get hired. A bad one? People talk. Especially online.
In South Africa’s entry-level market, where candidates often apply via mobile, clunky portals lead to drop-offs and frustration. Good tech should make applying simple and responsive.
6. Recruiter efficiency: Are your people working smart?
What it tells you:
How much time HR teams spend on admin vs. actual hiring.
What to track:
- Time saved on admin
- Number of candidates managed per recruiter
- Roles filled per recruiter per month
More efficiency = better ROI.
Why it matters:
Recruitment teams don’t have hours to spare. Every task the system can handle—scheduling, screening, referral tracking—is time your team can use on strategy and engagement.
7. Automation coverage: What’s being handled for you?
What it tells you:
Which parts of the process are automated, and where humans still need to step in.
Why it matters:
Automation doesn’t replace people. It makes their lives easier. In high-volume hiring environments like call centres, retail, logistics, automated chat and screening can be the difference between surviving and thriving.
A practical example:
If your system automatically schedules interviews or screens candidates before the recruiter even logs in, that’s a real win. But if your team is still buried in inboxes and Excel sheets, the ROI isn’t there yet.
Why this all matters in South Africa
Recruiting in South Africa comes with unique pressures:
- High unemployment and massive applicant volumes
- Limited recruiter capacity in many organisations
- A mobile-first jobseeker audience with limited data access
- Urgent business needs for fast, compliant, quality hires
The right technology doesn’t just digitise the process, it adapts to your real-world hiring context. Good recruiting software should:
- Work across devices, especially mobile
- Simplify candidate engagement in low-data environments
- Give your team time back, not take more of it away
That’s what ROI looks like: simplified processes, better hires, and space to focus on what matters.
Final thought: If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it
Recruitment software should make things better, and you should be able to prove it.
Whether it’s fewer hours spent screening, more hires through referrals, or a smoother candidate experience, your tech’s impact should be visible.
If it’s not? You may be using the wrong tool, or not using it fully.
Ask the right questions. Follow the data. And make sure every click, every message, every automated task is moving your hiring forward, not just looking good on paper.
Because ROI isn’t about features.
It’s about results.