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Time to Hire (TA Metric)

Time to Hire measures how long it takes to fill an open position – typically counted from job requisition approval to the accepted offer or start date.

The global average time-to-hire (or time to fill) for non-executive roles is around 54 days, though this varies by industry. Hiring speed directly impacts business performance and talent acquisition success.

Extended vacancies mean lost productivity and revenue – for example, if a sales role generates $1,000/day, taking 45 days to fill instead of an industry benchmark 40 days costs $5,000 in lost sales for that hire.

Scaled up (e.g. 100 such hires a year), that’s a half million-dollar opportunity cost. Faster hiring also prevents losing candidates to competitors. 

Research shows that delays in the hiring process increase the chance a candidate accepts another offer.

In fact, one of the top reasons candidates decline offers is that “there’s a better one on the table” by the time you decide. Thus, efficient time-to-hire gives companies a competitive edge in securing in-demand talent.

Impact of Time to Hire

Companies that optimize time-to-hire reap tangible business value. 

Higher offer acceptance rates is one – keeping the process swift and candidate-friendly means fewer drop-outs. Ideally, firms shoot for 90%+ offer acceptance; if it dips below that, slow hiring is a likely culprit.

Moreover, a fast fill rate means less revenue left “on the table” from open positions and an ability to capitalize on opportunities (or demands) sooner.

For example, reducing average time-to-fill by just 5 days can save significant lost productivity – one case showed saving $5K per sales hire, translating to $500K/year for 100 hires.

Thus, time-to-fill improvements have a clear ROI. It’s no wonder that time-to-fill is regarded as a top driver of HR ROI for new initiatives.

Leading firms continually benchmark this metric against industry averages and their own past performance to ensure their recruiting engine is running at peak speed.

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Quality of Hire →
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Includes recruitment process design, steps, stages and personas

Inclusive Hiring →
Track how well an organization is attracting and hiring candidates from underrepresented groups

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Vic Okezie is a talent acquisition leader and coach. He coaches experienced professionals to help then land Senior IC, Director and Leadership roles. Learn more →

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