Time to Fill

What is Time to Fill?

Time to Fill is the number of calendar days between advertising a role and the role being filled.

You can also define a different starting point for Time to Fill, such as when the hiring manager approves the job description, when headcount is allocated for the role etc.

How to calculate Time to Fill:

To calculate the average time to fill across multiple roles, you’ll first need to count the calendar days between your starting point (e.g. role launching on careers site) until the role is filled, for each role. Then use the following formula to work out the average:

( Time to Fill position 1 + Time to Fill position 2 + ... + Time to Fill position n ) / # of roles recruited for in that time period = Time to Fill

For example, if you have hired three Engineers with 30, 40 and 50 days time to fill respectively, then your average time to fill is (30+40+50)/3 = 40 days.

Pros:

Tracking Time to Fill helps you plan your recruitment activity better and also serves as a warning sign when your hiring process takes too long.

Measurement of the start and end point needs to be consistent - most ATS now measure this from the date a role is published to once an offer has been accepted.

Cons:

If your time to fill is too long, look at breaking it down per hiring stage. You may find you only need to optimize for one stage, rather than plan a full recruitment process overhaul.

Including open positions, or trying to identify a company Time to Fill will skew your average without reflecting the efficiency of your hiring process.