Sourcing channel ROI measures the return a specific recruiting channel, a job portal, an agency, an employee referral program, LinkedIn, generates relative to what the company spent on it, used to compare which channels actually deliver hires per rupee spent.

Formula and worked example

Cost Per Hire (by channel) = Channel Spend ÷ Hires From That Channel

A company spending ₹1,00,000 on a job portal in a quarter and getting 4 hires from it works out to ₹1,00,000 ÷ 4 = ₹25,000 per hire from that channel. If the same company spends ₹40,000 on referral bonuses in the same period and gets 3 hires from referrals, that’s ₹40,000 ÷ 3 ≈ ₹13,333 per hire, a direct, comparable way to see referrals outperforming the job portal on cost efficiency. A fuller ROI formula would also weigh the value each hire generates, not just cost, but that requires linking to quality of hire and retention data by channel, which is hard to pin down reliably, so most practical usage sticks to comparing cost per hire and conversion rate channel by channel instead of chasing a full monetary ROI figure.

Frequently asked questions

Is sourcing channel ROI the same as cost per hire?

Related but not the same. Cost per hire is usually one blended, company-wide average. Sourcing channel ROI breaks that same idea down and compares it channel by channel.

Is this the same as source of hire?

Source of hire is a headcount attribution metric with no cost attached. Sourcing channel ROI adds the cost and outcome layer on top of that same data.

How often should channel ROI be reviewed?

Quarterly is common, frequent enough to reallocate budget meaningfully without reacting to short-term noise in a single month’s numbers.

Compare your channels with the Sourcing Channel ROI Calculator.