In this guide
For careers services and recruiters
Measuring employability outcomes honestly
Measures that hold up in reviews: activation, engagement and voluntary destinations, each with a written definition, small-number protection and honest limits.
Choose measures you can define
| Measure | Example definition | What it cannot show |
|---|---|---|
| Activation | Participants who joined and completed a first task, out of those offered | Whether support was useful |
| Engagement | Participants active in at least three separate weeks | Quality of the work done |
| Applications | Applications recorded by participants during the programme | Applications not recorded |
| Destinations | Outcomes participants chose to report, with the response rate | Outcomes of those who did not respond |
Write the definition next to the number
A number without a definition invites misreading. Put the definition, the time period and the base it is calculated from beside every figure in a report, including in exported spreadsheets and slides.
Illustrative example
The same figure, reported two ways
Before
68% got jobs.
After
Of the 50 participants who answered the voluntary destination survey (out of 120 who joined), 34 reported starting paid work within six months. Non-responders' outcomes are unknown.
Illustrative figures. The second version is less impressive and far more useful, because a reader knows exactly what it means.
Protect individuals in small groups
When a cohort or subgroup is small, figures can identify individuals. Set a minimum group size below which numbers are suppressed or combined, and apply it consistently in every report and export.
Avoid common overclaims
Before you publish a programme report
- We have not presented self-reported outcomes as verified.
- We have stated response rates for any survey.
- We have not implied the programme caused outcomes without evidence.
- We have not compared our figures with others measured differently.
- Small numbers are suppressed or combined.
- Every figure has its definition and time period.
Professional bodies such as the Career Development Institute set ethical standards for career development practitioners, including honesty and integrity, which apply to how practice is described as well as delivered.
Where Luceria fits
Luceria's organisation reporting shows aggregate seats, activation, engagement bands, application funnels and voluntary self-reported destinations, with the definition attached to each number and small groups suppressed. It is internal evidence and does not replace official returns.
Common questions
What is a good response rate for a destination survey?
There is no universal threshold. The lower the response rate, the more cautious you should be, and the more important it is to state the rate alongside the result.
Can we report individual success stories?
Only with the person's informed consent, presented as one person's experience rather than a typical result.
Sources
- Career Development Institute: code of ethicsCareer Development Institute · UK · checked 3 October 2026
Put it into practice
Luceria for organisationsDrafted with AI assistance and checked against Luceria’s editorial standards. Examples are illustrative, not real people’s results. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.