FICTIONAL DEMONSTRATION · RECRUITING OPERATIONS
A recruiting funnel dashboard and decision memo
A working spreadsheet and interpretation memo using synthetic cohorts, resolved offer decisions and active stage ages.
Download PDF · 3 pages ↗Download the editable dashboard workbook (.xlsx) ↗
I'd use this dashboard to review four aged records and three pending offers, then check the decisions behind them. The example contains 30 invented records. It shows how a useful metric depends on a clear population and denominator, and why a small recent cohort should not be presented as proof of better or worse hiring.
What the workbook contains
The companion Excel workbook has a Review sheet and a Data sheet. Every record and event is fictional; codes identify examples only. There are no real candidate identities or client results. The report is fixed at illustrative day 60, with day 1 as the start of the example period. An editable flag marks active records older than five calendar days in their current stage.
| Application cohort | Applicants | Screened | Interviewed | Offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earlier batch | 20 | 12 | 6 | 4 |
| Recent batch | 10 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| Total | 30 | 18 | 9 | 6 |
Stage counts are distinct records that reached that stage by report day. They are cumulative within an application cohort, not current stage balances. An application cohort is assigned at entry and does not change when a person moves stages. Current balances are calculated separately for active records.
The immediate review
Four of fourteen active records are older than five calendar days in their current stage, or 28.6%. Three offers remain pending. These flags identify questions to investigate. They do not establish a cause, a hiring recommendation or a benchmark against other companies.
Keep offer acceptance separate from pending offers
| Offer status | Earlier batch | Recent batch | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accepted | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Declined | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Pending | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Resolved offer acceptance | 2 / 3 = 66.7% | Not available | 2 / 3 = 66.7% |
Resolved acceptance = accepted ÷ (accepted + declined). Pending offers are shown alongside the rate. Dividing two accepted offers by all six issued offers would produce 33.3%, but that is not resolved offer acceptance. The recent batch has no resolved offer decisions, so its acceptance rate is unavailable, not zero.
Current work is another view
| Current stage | Active records | Older than five days |
|---|---|---|
| Applied | 4 | 0 |
| Screen | 5 | 2 |
| Interview | 2 | 1 |
| Offer | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 14 | 4 |
The workbook calculates age as report day minus the current stage-entry day for active records. Exactly five days does not cross a greater-than-five flag. Closed records have no active-stage age. A missing stage day on an active record is displayed as missing and counted separately, rather than appearing as healthy zero age.
Do not overread the cohort comparison
Both cohorts have 60% screened and 30% interviewed at this snapshot. They have different follow-up time. Later decisions could change the recent cohort. Keep the application window and elapsed observation time visible; these counts alone do not establish that two recruiting processes perform equally.
Worked decision memo
D16. Review records R04, R06, R07 and R25. R04 is a pending offer aged six days. R06 is at interview for ten days. R07 and R25 are at screening for seven and six days. Confirm that the timestamps, current status and candidate commitments are still accurate before assigning actions.
| Review question | Responsible owner | Next useful evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Why is the interview record waiting? | Hiring lead | Whether feedback, a meeting or a scope decision is missing. |
| What do the two screen flags represent? | Recruiting owner | Last completed action, next promised update and the decision required. |
| What remains open on the aged offer? | Designated offer owner | The person's stated questions and the next agreed contact. |
| Are the source records reliable? | Recruiting operations owner | Unique IDs, ordered events, valid stage dates and reconciled totals. |
Using the editable model
Change the report day and review flag on Review. Replace invented source records in the 50 reserved rows on Data, preserving the column definitions and unique record IDs. The calculated age and event-order checks sit to the right of the inputs. The summary formulas cover all 50 rows. Extend their bounds deliberately before using a larger extract.
Checks before a client review
Reconcile distinct application records with the source export. Confirm that each stage event belongs to the same application, that no event is later than report day and that offer outcomes match the issued offers. Separate a missing timestamp from a true zero. Review an input change to ensure the dashboard and charts respond before relying on the saved view.
Next step
Agree on cohort, stage and offer-outcome definitions with the recruiting owner. A real audit would use a limited export, verify the records and then discuss the decisions the numbers support.