What is Time to Hire? Understanding and Optimizing Your Recruitment Velocity

In a competitive talent landscape, the speed at which organizations identify and secure candidates can make or break recruitment success. Time to Hire quantifies this velocity—measuring the efficiency of your recruiting funnel and highlighting opportunities for optimization.

What is Time to Hire

Time to Hire is the total elapsed time, usually measured in calendar days, from the moment a candidate enters the recruitment process (e.g., application submission or initial engagement) through to the candidate’s acceptance of an employment offer.

Why It Matters

• Talent Acquisition Efficiency: A shorter Time to Hire helps you capture top-tier talent before competitors do.

• Cost Savings: Recruiting expenses accumulate daily—advertising, agency fees, and internal recruiter costs—so reducing days saves money.

• Employer Brand: Rapid, transparent hiring enhances candidate experience, boosting employer reputation and future candidate pools.

• Operational Continuity: Filling roles swiftly mitigates productivity losses and prevents workload bottlenecks on existing teams.

Industry Benchmarks and Trends

• Average Benchmarks: According to SHRM, the average Time to Hire across industries ranges from 30 to 45 days, with tech roles averaging closer to 50 days due to skill scarcity.

• Lean Teams: Startups and SMBs often average 25–30 days by leveraging agile recruitment practices.

• AI-Driven Organizations: Companies using AI sourcing and screening report up to 40% reduction in hiring cycle times year-over-year.

Case Study: How Company X Reduced Time to Hire by 35%

1. Challenge: Company X faced a 60-day average Time to Hire, leading to missed revenue targets.

2. Solution: Implemented Moka’s AI-driven ATS, automating resume screening and interview scheduling.

3. Outcome: Time to Hire dropped from 60 to 39 days within three months, saving over $100,000 in recruitment costs annually.

Use Cases in HR

• Recruitment Metrics Dashboards: Track Time to Hire across departments, locations, and role types.

• Vendor Performance Evaluation: Compare agency or job board performance based on speed and quality of candidates.

• Executive Reporting: Provide stakeholders with clear KPIs tied to hiring velocity and cost-effectiveness.

Best Practices for Reducing Time to Hire

1. Automate Repetitive Tasks: Use ATS features for resume parsing, interview scheduling, and candidate follow-ups.

2. Maintain Talent Pools: Build and nurture pipelines of pre-qualified candidates for high-turnover or critical roles.

3. Collaborative Hiring: Standardize interview kits and scorecards to speed up decision-making.

4. Continuous Improvement: Regularly analyze bottlenecks—such as approval delays or interview timing—to iterate processes.

Related HR Glossary Terms

• Job Description (JD)

• Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

• Candidate Experience

• Job Requisition

• Talent Pipeline

• Time to Hire

• Cost per Hire

• Sourcing Strategy

• Offer Acceptance Rate

• Employer Branding

FAQs

Q: How is Time to Hire different from Time to Fill?
A: Time to Hire measures from candidate engagement to offer acceptance, while Time to Fill spans from job requisition approval to acceptance.

Q: Which metrics should accompany Time to Hire?
A: Commonly paired metrics include Time to Fill, Quality of Hire, and Cost per Hire to provide a holistic view of recruitment performance.

Q: Can external factors affect Time to Hire?
A: Yes, factors such as market demand, geographic location, and role seniority can influence hiring speed.

Call to Action (CTA)

Accelerate your recruitment process today! Discover how MokaHR’s AI-powered platform streamlines every stage of hiring to shorten your Time to Hire and secure top talent faster. Request a Demo