What is time to hire?
Time to hire is the number of days between a candidate entering your process, usually by applying, and accepting your offer. It measures how fast your process takes a person from first contact to yes.
Time to hire formula
Here is how to calculate time to hire for one hire:
Time to hire = date the offer was accepted − date the candidate applied
Average across hires for the same kind of role, or better, take the median. For sourced candidates, start the clock at first contact.
Time to hire vs time to fill
Time to fill starts earlier, when the job is approved or opened, and includes the time before the eventual hire even applied. Time to hire starts with the candidate. A long time to fill with a short time to hire means the right person took a long time to find; a long time to hire means your own process is slow.
How to reduce time to hire
- Find the stage where candidates wait longest and fix that first.
- Hold interview slots in advance instead of chasing calendars each time.
- Agree the decision makers and the scorecard before the first interview.
- Make the offer within a day or two of the final interview.
Which time to hire benchmark to use
Published averages mix very different roles and countries, so they are a weak guide. Your own history is the useful time to hire benchmark: track the median per role family and watch the trend. Recruitment Workflow Optimizer breaks the figure down into time per stage, so you can see which stage consumed the weeks.
Last reviewed 2026-11-01.