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Time to hire. Offer acceptance rate. Candidate experience score.
In today’s recruiting world, tracking these metrics is table stakes. But the real question is: How do you know if your results are competitive or secretly costing you top talent?
In a recent Employ webinar, Stephanie Manzelli (Chief People Officer at Employ) answered that question by unpacking the latest findings from the 2026 Hiring Benchmarks Report, powered by data from more than 6,000 Employ customers.
Then, she handed the microphone over to Kim Stevens (Director of Talent Acquisition at Employ), Erica Wallace (Talent Acquisition Manager at BambooHR), and Theresa Mazzaro (Recruitment Manager at Fairfax Radiology Centers) for a panel discussion. The conversation surfaced five key truths about what a “healthy” funnel really looks like:
- There’s no “one-size-fits all” definition
- More applicants do not always mean better candidates
- The best funnels have a healthy channel mix
- Early alignment sets the pace for your entire funnel
- Candidate experience and retention go hand in hand
In this blog, we unpack these truths—backed by real data, real quotes, and real clips from the conversation. Keep reading for the recap or check out the full session here.
Truth #1: A Healthy Funnel Looks Different for Every Team
A “healthy” hiring funnel looks different for every organization. It depends on your industry, company size, and the roles you’re hiring for—which means the metrics that matter most (and the benchmarks you compare them against) can vary widely.
For Fairfax Radiology Centers, the biggest challenge has simply been getting qualified candidates in the door. Theresa Mazzaro shared that before implementing JazzHR (an Employ ATS) they were seeing about four applications per requisition—and only half were qualified.
Now, they average 12–24 applicants per role, with roughly 80% meeting their qualifications. That shift allows Theresa’s team to focus less on volume and more on understanding how candidates actually find them—tracking things like time spent on their career site and how visitors convert into applicants.
For Kim Stevens, who often manages much larger applicant pools, the focus is different. Her team looks closely at time in stage and time to hire to spot where candidates might be falling off or where hiring teams need to move faster.
Different challenges, different metrics—but the same goal: understanding what’s actually happening inside the funnel.
That’s why, as Erica Wallace puts it, evaluating funnel health is both an art and a science. It’s not just about collecting data; it’s about interpreting it and using it to tell a clear story about your hiring process.
Listen to Erica explain what that looks like in practice:
Truth #2: More Applicants ≠ Better Candidates
Recruiting teams are getting more applications than ever. But that hasn’t translated into a more qualified pool of candidates.
In fact, the opposite is happening. As it gets easier and easier to apply for jobs—think one-click applications or AI-generated resumes—many teams are dealing with a growing signal-to-noise problem.
For Erica’s team, the ease of applying has even led to a rise in fake or fraudulent candidates. As she explained, “we’re spending more time than ever getting rid of those, so we’re really focused on finding and using tools that can help us automate filtering them out.” If technology can help handle more of that early screening, her team can spend more time on the human-centered work of recruiting.
For high-volume, patient-facing roles, Theresa’s team has taken a different approach. They actually stopped hosting or sponsoring jobs on larger job boards altogether. As she put it, “it makes it way too easy to apply for seven or eight jobs you aren’t qualified for. And if I paid for them, I would be frustrated with the results.”
Instead, her team focuses on narrowing the pool earlier in the process to keep the focus on qualified applicants. Here’s how Theresa approaches high-volume hiring while avoiding a flood of unqualified candidates:
Truth #3: The Best Funnels Have a Healthy Channel Mix
Today, most candidates come through inbound applications. But that doesn’t necessarily mean inbound should be the only strategy teams rely on. Instead, the strongest funnels usually blend multiple sources—each playing a different role in the hiring process.
For Erica’s team, the right mix depends heavily on the role. But one source has stood out consistently: referrals.
By using tools that connect source-of-hire data to employee performance, they’re able to see which channels are actually producing the best long-term hires. And since they started tracking it in 2023, referrals have been their most consistent source of top performers.
That insight has helped them lean more intentionally into referrals—while still keeping a close eye on inbound candidates.
Kim echoed that idea from a slightly different angle. For her team, the goal is to avoid relying too heavily on inbound applicants, which can start to feel reactive.
Instead, they focus on building a balanced funnel where each source serves a different purpose. Inbound helps drive reach for high-volume roles. Sourcing helps identify talent for leadership or niche positions. And referrals often bring in candidates who already have a strong connection to the organization—or who are more likely to be a strong cultural fit.
When those sources work together, recruiting becomes much more proactive—and much less dependent on any single channel.
Listen to Kim break down her approach to building a more balanced funnel:
Truth #4: Early Alignment Sets the Pace for Your Entire Funnel
The screen-to-interview rate shows how many screened candidates actually move forward to interviews. When that number drops, it’s often one of the first signs that something isn’t aligned. Maybe recruiters and hiring managers aren’t on the same page about what the role requires. Maybe the job description isn’t clear. Or maybe interviewers are evaluating candidates using different criteria.
When Erica’s team sees this metric start to dip, they go back to the beginning: the intake meeting with the hiring manager. Are the right questions being asked during that conversation? Is everyone aligned on what success in the role actually looks like? Are interviewers asking consistent questions and evaluating candidates the same way?
To help reinforce that alignment, Erica’s team even created interview training for hiring managers, focused on structured interviews and consistent scorecards, so everyone is working from the same playbook. Here’s how she approaches that process:
The second metric here—time to interview—adds another layer of context. It shows how quickly teams can move once a promising candidate enters the pipeline.
During the conversation, Kim explained that automations, calendar integrations, self-scheduling, and defined feedback timelines can all help keep this number low. But in her experience, speed usually comes down to something simpler: whether leaders treat hiring as a real priority.
“When hiring is urgent, interviews happen quickly,” she explained. “When it’s treated like a side task, that’s when things start to drift.”
That’s why Kim uses benchmark data to help leaders see why hiring processes need to stay focused and efficient. In today’s market, long or overly complicated interview processes don’t just slow things down—they can cost you great candidates.
Here’s how she makes that case internally:
Truth #5: Candidate Experience and Retention Go Hand-in-Hand
These metrics highlight something recruiting teams don’t always talk about enough: the hiring experience doesn’t just influence whether someone accepts the job—it can shape whether they stay.
And it starts long before onboarding.
For Erica’s team, improving candidate experience began with something simple: measuring it. After every first-round interview, candidates now receive a short survey asking them to rate their experience and share feedback while it’s still fresh.
At first, the scores weren’t great. But once the team started tracking the data, it became much easier to see where things were breaking down. Some candidates said interviewers seemed unprepared. Others felt like they weren’t being heard or didn’t know what was happening next.
That feedback led to some important changes. Erica’s team introduced interview training for managers, improved communication between interview stages, and created interview prep packets so hiring managers walk into interviews fully aligned on the role and evaluation criteria.
Here’s how she approaches that process:
For Theresa’s team, candidate experience comes down to one clear standard: every applicant gets a response within one business day.
From the moment someone applies through the final decision, candidates always know where they stand and what to expect next. That level of communication helps the hiring experience feel personal—even for candidates who ultimately aren’t hired.
As Theresa put it, “Candidates aren’t just potential employees. They’re part of the community we serve. So, it’s incredibly important we treat every interaction as an opportunity to build a positive relationship.”
Because in recruiting, how candidates feel during the process doesn’t just affect acceptance rates. It can shape retention, reputation, and long-term success.
Connecting the Dots Across Your Funnel
At the end of the day, a “healthy” hiring funnel isn’t about hitting a single benchmark.
It’s about understanding what your data is telling you—and knowing where to dig deeper when something feels off.
Because the metrics don’t operate in silos. A drop in candidate experience can impact retention. A slow interview process can cost you top talent. And a flood of applications doesn’t always mean you’re attracting the right candidates.
The teams that get this right aren’t just tracking metrics. They’re connecting them—and using that story to make smarter, faster decisions.
If you’re looking to pressure-test your own funnel, start with the benchmarks. Then ask the harder question: What’s your data actually telling you?
And if you want to go deeper, you can explore the full 2026 Hiring Benchmarks Report or watch the full webinar for more insights.
