Enhancing Talent Acquisition Efficiency: Strategies for Reducing Time-to-Hire

Posted at 01 May

in HR Transformation
by Matthew Dedes

Did you know that, the average duration for hiring processes surged to 44 days in 2023? This marks a peak in recruitment timelines across various industries, with an additional day tacked on in the first quarter of the subsequent year. Such prolonged time-to-hire periods signify a considerable investment of resources by organisations in securing fresh talent.

Efforts to truncate time-to-hire are paramount for enterprises striving to swiftly acquire top-tier talent. Here, we offer insights and techniques to elevate your average recruitment pace.

Understanding Time-to-Hire:

Time-to-hire serves as a fundamental HR metric, delineating the interval between a candidate’s application submission and their acceptance of an employment offer. It exclusively tracks the journey of successful candidates, excluding those who didn’t receive offers.

Distinguishing Time-to-Hire from Time-to-Fill:

While time-to-hire centres on the journey of the chosen candidate, time-to-fill gauges the duration required to fill a vacant position with a new hire. The commencement point for time-to-fill may vary, commencing either upon approval of a job requisition for recruitment or upon public advertisement.

Time-to-hire serves as a valuable metric for scrutinising application parsing, interview organisation, and the extension of job offers to suitable candidates. Conversely, time-to-fill offers a broader assessment of overall recruitment speed.

Rationale for Monitoring Time-to-Hire:

In today’s competitive talent landscape, organisations often attribute challenges in recruiting suitable candidates to prevailing market conditions. Nonetheless, scrutinising time-to-hire enables businesses to benchmark their recruitment endeavours against industry standards, identifying any obstacles hindering talent acquisition.

Calculating Time-to-Hire: To compute time-to-hire, meticulous documentation of successful hires, spanning from initial application to offer acceptance, is imperative. This data typically leaves a digital trail, facilitating retrospective analysis. Leveraging an applicant tracking system (ATS) can automate this process efficiently.

Industry Benchmarks for Time-to-Hire:

Industries such as Energy and Defence exhibited lengthier recruitment periods, surpassing 67 days, owing to the specialised nature of roles and limited talent pools. Conversely, Retail, Consumer, and Transportation sectors boasted shorter time-to-hire rates, attributed to post-pandemic talent demand and candidates’ transferable skills.

Strategies for Time-to-Hire Reduction: If your organisation’s time-to-hire fails to meet expectations, several avenues for improvement exist:

Implement an Applicant Tracking System (ATS): An efficient ATS streamlines recruitment processes, ensuring seamless interactions for both hiring managers and candidates.
Clarify Job Descriptions: Precise job descriptions attract suitable candidates, enhancing the efficiency of initial screening processes.
Standardise Interview Procedures: Standardising interview protocols ensures consistency and engagement, fostering a positive experience for candidates.
Solicit Feedback from Hiring Managers: Collaboration between HR and hiring managers is pivotal for optimising time-to-hire. Gathering feedback enables refinement of recruitment procedures.

Considering Additional Metrics: While achieving a swift time-to-hire is desirable, it’s imperative to assess complementary metrics such as retention rates. This holistic approach ensures not only expeditious recruitment but also the selection of candidates aligned with organisational objectives.

Streamlining Recruitment Processes: Continuous improvement in recruitment practices, encompassing communication, advertising, and onboarding, can be facilitated through technology solutions like Employment Hero’s ATS, expediting both time-to-hire and time-to-fill metrics.