Every hiring manager has asked themselves: Was that a good hire?

We’d all like to answer that question quickly with an easy “yes.” But the second part isn’t always as clear – how do you actually know?
In this post, we’ll explore how to move beyond gut feelings and instincts and look at measurable ways to determine whether your most recent hire was a good one.

“I have a good feeling about this one.”

Trusting your gut or instincts honestly won’t cut it when it comes to evaluating a new hire

We get it—especially if you’re a seasoned hiring manager, sometimes you “just know”—but you still need data.

Let’s be honest: between the first interview and the first 90 days on the job, many candidates can present surface-level signals that confirm what your instincts are looking for, but still fall short of meeting your team’s expectations. It’s okay to “stick with your gut,” but you need objective, quantifiable data to prove your gut right.

Note: This process is a two-way street

As much as we may put the onus on the employee to show up as the best version of themselves, we must also ensure they are placed in an environment where they have every opportunity to be that good hire.

We can’t expect new hires to be great if they aren’t given the tools and support they need to succeed. Part of evaluating a new hire is also evaluating the environment you’re creating to help them grow and perform.

What “hiring well” actually looks like

If you want to move beyond gut feel, you need something to measure against. Here’s a framework worth considering.

Rank each statement under each category on a 1–5 scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) to encourage honest self-reflection.

1. Quality of Hire

1. We have clear, documented criteria for what “success” looks like before we start interviewing
2. Our hiring decisions are based on structured evaluation, not just who felt like the best “fit” in the room
3. Hiring managers and new hires are aligned on role expectations before the end of the first quarter
4. Our new hires consistently meet or exceed the criteria outlined in the job description at 90 days
5. We regularly compare a new hire’s actual performance to what we predicted during the interview process

Major Key: The job description doesn’t disappear just because the posting isn’t live anymore. It becomes the benchmark for evaluating both the new hire and the team’s expectations for the role.

2. Time-to-Productivity

1. We can clearly define when a new hire becomes “fully productive” in their role
2. Our onboarding process accounts for both technical skills and industry context
3. New hires receive—and take advantage of—training and professional development
4. Managers check in regularly during the first 90 days to measure progress toward milestones
5. We can distinguish between a slow ramp-up due to role complexity and one caused by a poor hire

Major Key: There is always a learning curve. Being transparent about how steep that curve is helps set expectations for both hiring managers and new hires.

3. First-Year Retention

1. Our first-year voluntary turnover is lower than the industry average
2. When employees leave early, we conduct meaningful exit interviews and act on what we learn
3. New hires report that the role matches what was described during the interview process
4. We can identify patterns in early attrition (specific roles, teams, or managers) and address them
5. Our retention rates reflect a healthy environment, not just a lack of better options

Major Key: Even when a hire doesn’t work out, there’s still something to learn about your hiring process, onboarding, and team environment.

None of these metrics requires new software or a full HR analysis. They simply require paying attention and being willing to track the outcomes of your decisions instead of relying solely on instinct.

A few EdTech wrinkles worth naming

Everything above applies no matter what industry you’re in. But if you’re hiring in EdTech, there are a few quirks that make “was that a good hire?” a little more complicated to answer.

1. The learning curve might be longer, and that’s not always a red flag.

A lot of EdTech hires come from the classroom, administration, or district and system-level roles. That background can be a huge asset when you need someone who genuinely understands the world your product lives in. But it also means the first 90 days might look different than it would for someone coming from a more traditional tech background.

If your Time-to-Productivity scores feel a little low early on, ask yourself whether that’s a hiring problem or just a realistic learning curve for a transitioning educator.

2. “Fit for EdTech” isn’t the same as “fit for tech.”

A candidate who thrives at a generic SaaS company won’t automatically thrive here. EdTech rewards patience, relationship-building, and comfort with ambiguity, traits that don’t always show up in a standard interview loop. If your criteria for success were borrowed from a different industry, your Quality of Hire scores may be telling you more about your rubric than about your hire.

3. Patience and persistence aren’t the same as moving slowly.

EdTech sales cycles tend to run long, with more stakeholders and higher stakes than a typical tech sale. That pace can look like a problem from the outside, even when it’s not. When you’re evaluating a new hire’s first 90 days, it’s worth asking whether you’re measuring real progress or just speed.

None of this changes the framework. It just means the bar for “good hire” might need a little more context before you can read the results clearly.

So…do you hire well?

If you’ve read this far and feel a little uncomfortable, that’s actually a good sign. It means you’re taking the question seriously instead of reflexively answering it.

The truth is, hiring well has to go beyond instinct. It’s a skill you build, and it starts with being honest about where you are right now.

Pull up your last five hires. Look at how they’re doing. Ask yourself whether the process that brought them in was intentional or improvised.

And if the honest answer to “Do you hire well?” is “I’m not sure”? That’s not a failure. That’s a starting point.

At HireEducation, we help EdTech companies build hiring processes that are as thoughtful as the work they do. If you’re ready to stop guessing and start measuring, we’d love to talk.