Time to fill is a foundational hiring metric that tracks the number of days it takes to fill an open position—starting from when the job requisition is approved until a candidate accepts the job offer. It’s a key performance indicator used by recruitment and HR teams to evaluate the efficiency and speed of their hiring process.
Understanding your time to fill helps you better plan resources, reduce costs, and build a more responsive recruitment strategy. Let’s explore how this metric fits into the modern recruiting landscape—and why optimizing it is more than just a numbers game.
Why Time to Fill Matters in Recruitment
Whether you’re scaling fast or backfilling critical roles, knowing your time to fill gives insight into the overall recruitment process. This metric not only reflects how long it takes to hire but also shows where process bottlenecks may exist.
A long time to fill can signal friction—whether it’s in candidate sourcing, interview scheduling, or offer approval. In contrast, a shorter time to fill helps your team stay agile, especially when competing for top candidates in a tight talent pool.
It’s also one of the most important metrics for hiring managers, who rely on quick turnarounds to meet business goals. And it directly impacts your ability to attract and retain qualified candidates—because candidates don’t want to wait endlessly or feel lost in the process.
How to Calculate Time to Fill
To calculate time to fill, take the number of days between when a job opening is posted (or the requisition is approved) and when the candidate accepts the offer. The formula is simple:
Time to Fill = Date of Offer Acceptance – Date Requisition Is Approved
To calculate your company’s average time to fill, divide the total number of days it took to fill all open positions over a set period by the number of roles filled in that period. This gives your company’s average time to fill.
What’s the Difference Between Time to Fill and Time to Hire?
Though often used interchangeably, time to fill and time to hire are not the same. Time to fill measures the full cycle from job requisition to offer acceptance, while time to hire focuses on the candidate’s journey—starting when a candidate applies or is sourced, to when they’re hired.
Both are valuable recruiting metrics, but they highlight different aspects of your hiring process. Understanding the difference between time to fill and time to hire can help you identify inefficiencies more precisely.
What Impacts Time to Fill?
A range of factors can impact your time to fill:
- Job complexity: Niche or senior roles take longer to fill.
- Hiring team coordination: Misalignment in interview scheduling, feedback, or approvals can slow things down.
- Talent sourcing strategies: Effective sourcing helps identify the best candidates faster.
- Technology: Using modern tools like recruiting automation can reduce time to fill and save time on manual tasks.
- Hiring process structure: A disorganized process adds days unnecessarily.
According to industry data, the average time to fill a position ranges from 36–42 days, but it can take longer depending on the industry, role, or geography.
How to Reduce Time to Fill Without Sacrificing Quality
Improving time to fill isn’t about rushing the process—it’s about making it more efficient. Here are a few ways to reduce your time to hire without compromising on candidate experience:
1. Optimize Your Hiring Process
Audit your recruitment funnel. Identify steps that delay interviews, feedback, or offer decisions. Implement automated onboarding to accelerate post-offer workflows and improve the overall employee experience.
2. Use Recruiting Automation
Recruiting automation tools streamline candidate engagement, interview scheduling, and follow-ups. Platforms like GoPerfect integrate AI to match candidates and drive faster decisions—helping you hire better and reduce friction in the hiring process.
3. Improve Team Collaboration
When your team communicates well, everything moves faster—from aligning on the job description to making the final offer. Set expectations, track each step, and keep your team accountable.
4. Invest in the Right Technology
Using an applicant tracking system (ATS) and interview tools helps you track progress, eliminate manual errors, and improve efficiency. Smart platforms also help identify qualified candidates and automate follow-ups.
5. Build and Nurture a Talent Pool
Instead of starting from scratch every time you post a job, build a strong talent pool. Tools that support candidate relationship management can help you stay connected with past applicants and potential candidates, cutting down time spent sourcing.
Why Time to Fill Is a Strategic Metric for TA Leaders
Measuring time to fill helps HR teams understand where they’re thriving—and where they need to improve. It can also:
- Help align recruitment timelines with business goals
- Reveal gaps in your processes or resources
- Highlight the impact of tools, teams, or external vendors
- Provide data to support better talent decisions
- Shape cost per hire tracking and ROI
By tracking this metric consistently, you can make informed decisions that elevate both the candidate experience and your company's ability to hire strategically.
Moving Forward: Actionable Strategies for Smarter Hiring
In today’s talent market, every day matters. The longer it takes to fill a job, the more your company risks losing qualified candidates to faster-moving competitors. You may also face increased costs, lower employee morale, and reduced productivity.
By using tools like GoPerfect for automated onboarding, smart candidate matching, and integrated ATS workflows, you can streamline your hiring process and reduce time to hire—without compromising on quality.
If you’re ready to fill a job faster, hire with precision, and improve your team’s agility, it may be time to request a demo and learn how to optimize your recruitment strategy from start to finish.
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