Voicemail rate

Recruiters rarely track voicemail rate, but they feel it every day. A morning of calling can end with a list of messages left and few conversations held. In frontline hiring most calls end this way, as phone screening shows with the numbers.

How do you measure voicemail rate?

1. Count all outbound calls to candidates in one period.
2. Count the calls that reached voicemail or rang out without an answer.
3. Divide the voicemail calls by all calls.

Voicemail rate = calls that reached voicemail ÷ all calls made

Measure it per hour of the day and per day of the week. The rate is usually highest during office hours, when frontline candidates are at work. Measure it per source too. Candidates from an old database answer less often than people who applied yesterday.

Why is it high in frontline hiring?

• Candidates are at work. A warehouse operator on a shift cannot pick up during the day.
• Unknown numbers get ignored. Many people do not answer a number they do not recognise.
• Calls come too late. A candidate called days after applying may no longer be interested.
• Phones are off or full. Some candidates switch phones off on site or have a full mailbox.

What does a high voicemail rate cost?

Each call that reaches voicemail still takes time: dialling, waiting, leaving a message and noting it in the applicant tracking system (ATS). Then the recruiter calls again later. The time adds up across a team. It also delays time to first contact, which costs candidates.

How do you bring the voicemail rate down?

1. Call when candidates can answer. Evenings and weekends reach more people than Tuesday morning.
2. Call fast. A candidate who applied minutes ago still has the phone in their hand.
3. Use a number candidates can recognise. Introduce the number in the job ad or the first message.
4. Follow up in writing. A short SMS or WhatsApp message after a missed call lets the candidate reply when it suits them. See WhatsApp recruiting.
5. Let candidates call back. A missed call is less of a loss when the candidate can ring the number back and still get through.

How does Ringtime handle voicemail?

Ringtime's AI assistant makes the calls and deals with voicemail so recruiters do not have to.

1. The assistant calls within 5 minutes of the application, inside the calling hours you set.
2. When it reaches a voicemail, it hangs up and tries again later. You decide whether it leaves a short message or nothing.
3. After a missed call, the candidate can get a short SMS and can reply to it.
4. The candidate can call the number back and talk to the assistant.
5. After the agreed number of missed calls, the assistant can continue the screening on WhatsApp.

For a published customer result, see phone screening.

To stop dialling voicemail, see how Ringtime automates phone screening.