Hiring Diagnostic
How does your hiring compare?
Ten categories. Honest scores.
A clear picture of where your hiring function is strong and where it's costing you.
AI-MULTIPLIED. HUMAN-LED.The hiring force multiplier. Embedded inside VC and PE-backed tech companies.
Hiring Diagnostic
Assessment
How does
your hiring
compare?
Ten categories. Honest scores. A clear picture of where your hiring function is strong and where it's costing you.
Select the description that best fits how each category operates today — not how you want it to be.
What stage is your company?
Optional — select your stage for a personalised benchmark, or skip straight to scoring.
01
Ownership of Hiring
—
What this measures
Who owns hiring outcomes in your business — and whether that ownership is real, not assumed.
Absent
No one owns hiring. It defaults to the founder between other priorities.
Inconsistent
Someone nominally owns it. In practice it shifts under pressure or only moves when the founder pushes. Most Seed and Series A companies are here.
Structured
A senior operator owns the function with real authority. The founder is consulted, not required.
Self-Sustaining
The function runs, improves, and scales without intervention. The founder is a stakeholder, not a participant. Best-in-class at your stage.
02
Role Clarity
—
What this measures
Whether roles are defined before hiring starts — and whether leadership agrees on what success looks like before a candidate is approached.
Absent
No brief exists. The role is defined by whoever is loudest in the room. Sourcing starts before anyone agrees on what they're looking for.
Inconsistent
Briefs exist but are vague, incomplete, or contested. Leaders have different views on the hire. JDs are written after the fact. Most Seed and Series A companies are here.
Structured
Every role has a defined success profile before sourcing starts. Leadership is aligned before a candidate is approached.
Self-Sustaining
Alignment happens as a matter of process, not conversation. Hiring managers can brief a recruiter in under 30 minutes. Roles rarely need re-scoping mid-process. Best-in-class at your stage.
03
Process Maturity
—
What this measures
Whether your hiring process is documented, understood, and consistently followed — or exists only in the heads of individuals.
Absent
No process exists. Every hire starts from zero. Stages, timelines, and standards are improvised each time.
Inconsistent
A process exists in practice but not on paper. Different hiring managers run different versions. Candidates experience inconsistency. Most Seed and Series A companies are here.
Structured
Stages are documented, standardised, and communicated to every hiring manager. A new operator can onboard to the process in days.
Self-Sustaining
The process is a living asset. It improves with every hire, is owned by the function, and runs independently of any individual. Best-in-class at your stage.
04
Hiring Infrastructure
—
What this measures
The quality and reliability of the tools and systems supporting your hiring — ATS, pipeline tracking, data integrity, and reporting.
Absent
No ATS. Pipeline lives in spreadsheets or inboxes. There is no visibility into what is happening or why.
Inconsistent
Tools exist but aren't adopted or configured properly. Data is unreliable. Reporting is manual. The system creates friction instead of removing it.
Structured
ATS is configured and adopted. Pipeline data is clean. Hiring velocity, stage conversion, and time-to-fill are visible.
Self-Sustaining
Infrastructure produces real-time insight without manual effort. The system improves hiring decisions, not just records them. Best-in-class at your stage.
05
Agency Reliance
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What this measures
How dependent your business is on external recruiters — and whether internal sourcing capability exists.
Absent
No internal sourcing capability. Every hire goes through an agency. Cost per hire is high, opaque, and compounds with every role.
Inconsistent
Some internal sourcing exists but it's inconsistent. Agencies fill the gaps by default, not by design. No repeatable process is being built.
Structured
Internal sourcing produces consistent shortlists. Agencies are used selectively for specific roles, not as the default.
Self-Sustaining
The function sources independently at scale. Agency is an exception, not a crutch. Cost per hire is predictable and materially lower. Best-in-class at your stage.
06
Sourcing Speed
—
What this measures
How quickly a qualified pipeline is established and moving after a role is opened.
Absent
No sourcing function exists. Roles are posted and waited on. Pipeline builds by chance, not by design.
Inconsistent
Sourcing happens but slowly. Roles sit open for weeks before a qualified pipeline exists. Candidates are lost to faster-moving competitors in the gap.
Structured
Pipeline is activated within days of a brief. Outreach is targeted and produces shortlists in weekly sprints. Response rates are tracked.
Self-Sustaining
The function sources at pace as a matter of process. Speed is a hiring advantage that compounds — the best candidates are reached first, consistently. Best-in-class at your stage.
07
Hiring Manager Engagement
—
What this measures
Whether hiring managers are engaged and accountable in the process — or whether they are the bottleneck.
Absent
Hiring managers are not participants in any meaningful sense. Decisions stall, feedback doesn't come, and the recruiter is chasing constantly.
Inconsistent
Managers engage when pushed. Feedback is slow, vague, or inconsistent. Hiring deprioritises under operational pressure every time.
Structured
Hiring managers treat open roles as a priority. Feedback is structured and timely. Decisions are made within 48 hours of a panel.
Self-Sustaining
Hiring manager accountability is built into the process, not enforced by the recruiter. The function moves at pace regardless of operational pressure. Best-in-class at your stage.
08
Candidate Experience & Market Signal
—
What this measures
How candidates experience your hiring process — and what that process signals about your company in the talent market.
Absent
No structured candidate experience exists. Communication is reactive or absent. The process sends a signal whether you intend it to or not.
Inconsistent
Some communication happens but it's slow, unclear, or inconsistent. Candidates leave the process with a negative impression. The damage is quiet but accumulating.
Structured
Every candidate receives clear communication and a consistent experience. Rejected candidates leave with a positive impression. The process protects the employer brand.
Self-Sustaining
The candidate experience is a hiring asset. Rejected candidates refer others. Your employer brand attracts talent before a role is even opened. Best-in-class at your stage.
09
Offer Conversion
—
What this measures
Whether the business can close candidates at offer stage — and whether the process that leads to offer sets it up to win.
Absent
No closing strategy exists. Offers are made and the outcome is waited on. Declines are a surprise every time.
Inconsistent
Offers are made but frequently declined. Compensation benchmarking is weak. Counter-offers aren't anticipated. The process arrives at offer unprepared.
Structured
Compensation is market-tested before the process begins. Closing is managed proactively. Offer acceptance is above 85%. Declines are rare and understood.
Self-Sustaining
Closing is built into the process from first contact. Counter-offers are anticipated and managed. Declines are an exception, not a pattern. Best-in-class at your stage.
10
Retention
—
What this measures
Whether the people you hire stay — and whether the hiring process is contributing to or undermining that.
Absent
No connection between hiring and retention. Onboarding is unstructured. Early attrition is accepted as normal.
Inconsistent
Early attrition is a pattern. Roles are mis-sold or mis-scoped at interview. New joiners leave within 12 months and the hiring process is rarely examined as the cause.
Structured
Roles are accurately represented in the hiring process. Onboarding is structured and owned. Retention rates are strong and tracked.
Self-Sustaining
The hiring process and the employee experience are aligned. New joiners become advocates. Early attrition is not a feature of the business. Best-in-class at your stage.
Benchmark
your result
Hiring Score
—/50
Score all ten categories above to see your diagnosis.
In practice — Lyrebird Health
Lyrebird Health came to us mid-crisis. A previous supplier had quit under the pressure.
Six months
From engagement to Series B ready
53 hires
Delivered across AU and UK
$720k+
In capital preserved
90 → 20
Days time-to-hire
Zero
Agency use
Zero
New joiner resignations
Then we built their UK function from scratch. That's what a self-sustaining hiring engine looks like in practice.
We've seen this before. We know what fixes it.
20 minutes. We map where time and capital are being lost and show you exactly how the force multiplier runs inside your business.
