If you don’t measure the right clock, you’ll “fix” the wrong problem.
Founders come to me and say, “Adam, we need to hire faster.” My first question is always the same. Faster according to which clock?
Most teams mix up Time to Fill and Time to Hire. Then they argue in circles. Meanwhile, the role stays open and the best candidates move on.
Time to Fill vs Time to Hire (plain English)
Here’s how to think about these two metrics without overcomplicating it.
Time to Fill (TTF)
Time to Fill is the company’s clock. It measures how long the role stays open on your side of the table.
TTF usually starts when the role is approved or opened. It ends when the offer is accepted, though some companies measure to the start date. Pick one definition and keep it the same.
TTF includes every internal delay. Approvals. Changing the job mid-search. Slow scheduling. Offer stalls. If TTF is high, your hiring system is leaking time.
Time to Hire (TTH)
Time to Hire is the candidate’s clock. It measures how fast you can move once you’re talking to a real person.
TTH usually starts when someone applies or when you first reach out and they engage. It ends when they accept. This metric tells you how decisive and organized you look to talent.
If TTH is slow, you’re losing great people to faster teams. And no, the candidate isn’t in your back pocket waiting for you to feel ready.
The formulas (keep them simple)
You can’t improve what you can’t define. Keep your formulas basic. Keep them consistent.
Time to Fill formulas
[ Time to Fill (days) = Offer Accepted Date – Requisition Approved/Open Date ]
If your business runs on start dates, use this version:
[ Time to Fill (days) = Start Date – Requisition Approved/Open Date ]
Time to Hire formula
[ Time to Hire (days) = Offer Accepted Date – Candidate Apply/First Contact Date ]
When you report averages, add up the days and divide by the number of roles or hires. Don’t change the start and end points every quarter. You’ll lose the story in the data.
How to read the numbers without fooling yourself
I like looking at the gap between TTF and TTH.
If TTH is fine but TTF is huge, recruiting isn’t your bottleneck. Alignment is. Someone is dragging approvals. Someone keeps moving the goalposts. Someone can’t make time to interview.
If TTH is high, candidates are getting stuck in your process. Time can kill all deals. You’re likely doing too many rounds or hesitating at the finish line.
Speed alone still isn’t the goal. The goal is the best person possible in the job for the lowest cost, the highest speed. You want all three working together.
Benchmarks are rising. Your competitor still moves faster.
On average, global time-to-hire is around 44 days, and benchmarks are rising acrossnearly every job family. That’s the world we’re hiring in.
The spread is still massive. Some roles close in about 14 days. Other jobs sit open for 2 – 3 months or more.
Slow processes lose candidates. A CIPD survey found 59% of large organizations admit it. Even with about 2 applicants per job opening in that snapshot, top talent is usually passive and moving through networks.
How to cut time without lowering the bar
You speed up Time to Fill by fixing alignment. You speed up Time to Hire by fixing process. Then you protect retention with onboarding. That’s the loop.
Start with the business problem. Hiring is just business problems that need to be solved. Define the outcome and the timeline. If the business needs relief now, you might use contract or fractional help while you run a full search.
Keep the role real. When you cram three jobs into one, you’re either searching forever or paying for a unicorn. Be picky, but be specific on what’s truly required.
Then make the interview path a straight line. Every extra step adds delay and cost. Korn Ferry notes each interview can consume about 8 hours of internal time. And the average cost-per-hire gets quoted around $4,700. Extra rounds aren’t free.
Be honest early. Talk about the good, bad, and ugly. Everyone hates surprises, and surprises slow everything down.
When you assess people, I use TAG™ as the acronym: trust, attitude, grit. I also care a lot about potential. Plenty of founders over-index on past experience and miss what someone can do next.
And when you find the right person, close. “Hire slow, fire fast is one of the biggest lies ever told.” You don’t need to fire at all if you hire really well. Great hires can return three to five times their salary in value, so don’t lose them over small, fixable stuff.
If you’re leaning on job ads, use them smart. Indeed has shared that sponsored postings can shave about 5 days off hiring on average. Just don’t pretend job boards alone solve senior, high-impact hiring. The best people are usually off-market.
Onboarding decides if the hire sticks
I’ll say it the way I say it to founders: 90% of recruiting is the onboarding process.
Korn Ferry Institute reports that 29% of new hires quit in the first week and 70% leave within the first month. That’s wild. It also explains why “time-to-hire wins” can still turn into hiring failures.
We spend 90,000 hours of our time at work. Give your new hire a real plan for the first 30 days. Give them context. Give them feedback. That’s how you protect retention.
A simple dashboard for founders
If you only track a few things, keep it tight. Track Time to Fill, Time to Hire, offer acceptance rate, and early retention at 30/90/180 days. That’s enough to see where the bottleneck is and whether your hires stick.
At Linkus Group, we’ve built a high-touch model because speed without fit is useless. We’ve seen a 95% retention rate because we focus on alignment, transparency, and the long game. Measure the right clock, fix the right problem, and hiring becomes the most underrated way to excel your business.
FAQs
How much longer do specialized roles take to fill compared to the average?
Expect significant variance based on complexity. While the global average is 44 days, highly specialized sectors like Energy & Defense average 67 days, whereas Professional Services take about 47 days. If you are hiring for complex technical roles, budget these buffers into your roadmap to avoid unrealistic start dates.
Does paying for ‘sponsored’ job ads actually speed up the process?
It helps, but it isn’t a silver bullet. Data suggests that using ‘sponsored’ job ads can shave about 5 days off your hiring timeline compared to organic posts. However, for senior or high-impact roles, relying solely on job boards often yields volume over quality. Use sponsorship for speed, not for filtering.
What are the hidden costs of a slow interview process?
The real cost is your leadership’s focus. Beyond the estimated $4,700 hard cost-per-hire, each interview can consume ~8 hours of internal time from recruiters and managers. If your process has too many rounds, you are burning expensive executive capital that should be spent on business growth.
How many applicants should I expect per open role currently?
The market has tightened. As of mid-2023, the ratio sits at roughly 2 applicants per job opening, up from a 1:1 ratio in early 2022. While this means there is more talent available, volume does not equal fit. Founders must filter aggressively for Trust, Attitude, and Grit (TAG) to identify true potential.
Why do so many new hires leave in the first month?
They leave because onboarding fails. Shockingly, 29% of new hires quit within their first week, and 70% leave by the end of the first month. This proves that while speed gets them in the door, context and structure keep them there. You must give them a real plan for their first 30 days.
