What Is Time-to-Hire?

As a key metric for HR departments   , time to hire refers to the number of days between when a candidate applies to a job posting (or is sourced by a recruiter) and when they officially accept an employment offer. While the time to hire definition is simple, the metric itself can represent the overall efficiency (or lack thereof) of an HR recruiting team.

Appointment-time metrics

Teams with significant gaps between these two critical timeline factors may have an inefficient hiring process. However, by actively monitoring time-to-hire metrics, HR managers can identify bottlenecks within the hiring funnel and take action to remove bottlenecks and boost departmental productivity.

On the other hand, a company with a short time-to-hire has broken down its hiring process into more streamlined steps. This helps reduce the time it takes to successfully screen and recruit promising candidates. Reviews about a company's time-to-hire statistics can often be found on websites like Glassdoor.

Average appointment time

 According to a report  by the Josh Bersin Company , the average time-to-job hire is projected to increase to 44 days in 2023. However, this can vary by industry due to a number of factors, such as an increase in specialized roles and smaller talent pools. For example, the same report suggests that energy and defense companies can take as long as 67 days to fill job vacancies.

While there's no single criterion for every company or industry,  hiring in a shorter time frame  can increase your chances of securing top talent in a competitive market. After all,  29% of hiring managers  who reported losing a good candidate attributed it to taking too long to make an offer.

Can a company layoff and hire at the same time?

Filling Time vs. Appointment Time

Time-to-fill and time-to-hire are often used interchangeably, but in reality, they are two different metrics. Time-to-hire refers to the total number of days between a candidate applying for a job and accepting the offer, while time-to-fill data reflects the total amount of time a company has positions vacant.

Both metrics are used to better streamline the hiring process, but each provides different information. Take a look at the formulas below:

Time-to-Job Formula

The hiring-time formula takes into account three variables: the day the job ad is posted (day one), the day the candidate accepts the job offer, and the day they submit their application.

For example, if your best candidate accepted your job offer on day 30 and applied for the job 15 days after you posted it, your hiring time for that position would be calculated as follows:

30 - 15 = 15 days

To determine your average time-to-job metric, add up several different result times and divide by the corresponding number of job positions. So, your time-to-job average might look like this:

• Abigail: 15 days
• Jordan: 12 days
• Thomas: 16 days
• Anita: 8 days
• Owen: 17 days

Step 1:  15 + 12 + 16 + 8 + 17 = Total 68 days

Step 2:  Total 68 days / 5 new employees = 13.6 days average hiring period

From this data, you’ll learn that the average job candidate  waits 13.6 days to get hired by your company  .

Filling Time Formula

Unlike the time-to-hire formula, the time-to-fill formula depends on when the HR manager begins measuring the time period. The starting point could be when the job opening is submitted for approval, when it is officially approved, or when it is first advertised. Like time-to-hire, the end point is when a candidate accepts the job offer. While the formula provides some leeway, it is imperative to maintain consistency across all positions and teams to ensure accurate metrics.

For example, let's say day 1 is when a job application is officially approved by HR. If a candidate accepts the job offer on day 20, it takes 20 days to fill. If two other positions took 15 and 30 days to fill, the average time to fill is calculated as follows:

• Phase 1:  20 + 15 + 30 = Total 65 days
• Step 2:  Total 65 days / 3 new employees = 21.7 days

This data tells the company that positions  remain open for an average of  21.7 days.

By analyzing your time-to-hire and time-to-fill averages, you can determine what's working well in your hiring process and what could be improved. Overall, the shorter your hiring time, the better chance you have of securing top talent before they're priced out of the market.