Time-to-fill vs time-to-hire — which one matters more?

Different audiences. Time-to-fill is what the CFO and hiring managers care about (cost of vacancy). Time-to-hire is what recruiters and candidate-experience teams care about (process quality). Track both.

What's the average time-to-fill?

30-45 calendar days for most knowledge-work roles. Engineering and specialist roles trend longer (60+); executive search 90-180. If your time-to-fill is over 90 days for non-leadership roles, the problem is usually upstream (vague req, wrong comp band, weak sourcing) rather than downstream.

How do I track time-to-fill in HourSquare?

Each requisition has an open date; the linked hire's contract has a start date and offer-accepted date. The system computes the metric automatically; the reports hub surfaces it alongside time-to-hire and offer-acceptance rate (AI summarization layer on the post-beta roadmap).

HR GLOSSARY · Analytics & reporting

Time-to-fill

Also known as: days-to-fill, fill velocity

Time-to-fill is the number of days from when a hiring requisition is approved (or a role is opened) to when an offer is accepted. It measures how fast vacancies close — the hiring manager's view of the process. Distinct from time-to-hire, which counts from when a candidate enters the funnel.

Time-to-fill is the cost-of-vacancy metric. Every day a critical role stays open has a real business cost — missed sales, blocked roadmaps, overworked teammates. Time-to-fill tracks how long that cost is bleeding. Together with time-to-hire (which measures candidate experience), it gives the full picture: are roles dying in the requisition queue, in sourcing, or in interviewing? Three different bottlenecks, three different fixes.

How to define it consistently

Start clock: requisition approved / role posted (NOT first candidate contact)
Stop clock: offer accepted (NOT first day of work)
Unit: calendar days, not business days
Track median + 90th percentile — averages hide stuck roles
Segment by department, seniority, and external vs internal

Common benchmarks (calendar days)

Engineering: 40-60 days, longer for senior or specialized roles
Sales: 25-40 days
Operations: 25-35 days
Executive search: 90-180 days
Internal transfers / promotions: 14-30 days

Time-to-fill vs time-to-hire

Both metrics measure different things and need both. Time-to-fill is the hiring manager's lived experience — "how long has this role been open?" Time-to-hire is the candidate's experience — "how quickly did this company move once they saw me?" A role can have a long time-to-fill (3 months of weak sourcing) but a short time-to-hire (the candidate that finally landed went through in 2 weeks). Look at both, and look at the gap between them.

How to shorten it

Pre-stage the candidate pipeline before requisitions open (talent communities, alumni networks)
Internal mobility programs — internal hires fill 30-50% faster than external
Structured interview rubrics so debriefs don't stretch decisions across days
Reduce interview rounds (4-5 max, not 7-9)
Auto-route applications by skills match instead of recruiter triage
Pre-commit interviewer time so calendars don't become the bottleneck

Frequently asked questions

Time-to-fill vs time-to-hire — which one matters more?: Different audiences. Time-to-fill is what the CFO and hiring managers care about (cost of vacancy). Time-to-hire is what recruiters and candidate-experience teams care about (process quality). Track both.
What's the average time-to-fill?: 30-45 calendar days for most knowledge-work roles. Engineering and specialist roles trend longer (60+); executive search 90-180. If your time-to-fill is over 90 days for non-leadership roles, the problem is usually upstream (vague req, wrong comp band, weak sourcing) rather than downstream.
How do I track time-to-fill in HourSquare?: Each requisition has an open date; the linked hire's contract has a start date and offer-accepted date. The system computes the metric automatically; the reports hub surfaces it alongside time-to-hire and offer-acceptance rate (AI summarization layer on the post-beta roadmap).