What Is Time to Hire?
Time to hire is the number of days between a candidate entering your hiring pipeline and accepting a job offer. It measures how quickly you can move a strong candidate from first contact to a signed offer.
Time to hire is different from time to fill. Time to fill counts from the day the job opening is approved, while time to hire starts when the candidate enters the process.
How do you calculate time to hire?
Formula
Time to hire = date the candidate accepts the offer minus date the candidate entered the pipeline.
Calculate it per candidate, then average by role, team or period. Averages can hide differences, so also review the median.
What affects time to hire?
- Number of interview rounds and scheduling delays
- Speed of feedback and decision-making
- Assessment length and complexity
- Offer approval steps
- International hiring steps, such as contracts, payroll setup and time zone coordination
Why does time to hire matter?
- Strong candidates often accept other offers quickly
- Long processes increase candidate drop-off
- Open roles slow projects and add workload to the team
- It is a useful signal of recruiting process health
How can you reduce time to hire?
- Define the role and must-have skills before sourcing
- Use pre-vetted talent pools
- Run interview steps in parallel
- Set deadlines for feedback and decisions
- Prepare standard contracts and onboarding steps
- Use a recruiting partner for roles in other countries
Hiring remote employees abroad adds steps. Read our guide to hiring employees in Latin America to plan for them.
Need to hire faster in Latin America? Talk to Lupa Hire about pre-vetted talent for your roles.
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