If your organization is struggling to find and recruit top talent, you’re not alone. In fact, filling a new position takes an average of 44 days, with more specialized roles taking as long as multiple months. But with the right approach, your business can improve its hiring efforts and strengthen the teams. Find out more about the role of recruitment marketing in building a strong and happy workforce.
What is Recruitment Marketing?
Recruitment marketing refers to the efforts made to promote a brand as an appealing place to work. Throughout the recruitment process, a business should continue to emphasize the advantages of working there through discussions of the core mission, vision, and values, as well as the overall culture. Using this strategy can boost brand awareness and encourage top talent with shared values to join the team.
What’s the Difference Between Recruitment Marketing and Recruiting?
Recruiting is the process of finding and screening candidates to fill job vacancies. It’s something that happens in nearly every organization that has employees, as people leave and their roles must be backfilled. Additionally, small businesses may invest in the recruiting process when experiencing growth that requires the addition of staff.
By contrast, recruitment marketing is the process of targeting people who might be interested in working for the organization, whether now or at some point in the future. Through the use of tools like employer branding and awareness, targeted ads, and social media platforms.
Goals of Recruitment Marketing
As you consider incorporating recruitment marketing into your hiring strategy, think about the goals you may be able to achieve.
Increase the number of applicants for job listings: With more applications to consider, it becomes easier to find well-qualified individuals for open positions.
Improve applicant quality: The quality of the people who apply for jobs determines the success of the hiring process. Improve applicant quality by casting a wider net and reinforcing the appeal of working for your organization.
Support nurturing efforts for candidates: Candidates need to feel supported and nurtured throughout the process, whether they receive an offer or not. Maintaining these efforts when filling positions can also generate more positive awareness around your organization as a supportive and appealing place to work.
5 Advantages of Investing in Recruitment Marketing
As mentioned, it can take a long time to fill an open position. With every day that goes by, the team members of that unfilled role are likely taking on additional tasks and responsibilities, potentially increasing the risk of burnout and declining morale. Reducing the time it takes to hire can make a big difference in overall satisfaction while keeping costs under control.
Lower cost-to-hire
Speaking of reducing costs, recruitment marketing can also aid in lowering what your organization spends on bringing on new hires. As you create a framework for the hiring process, you can reduce the time and money typically spent on various efforts that become obsolete. Additionally, getting employees involved in building the brand doesn’t cost a lot, yet can have a significant impact on the overall success of finding top talent.
Encourage engagement
Beyond just those directly involved in the hiring process, recruitment marketing encourages the entire employee base to get involved with recruitment efforts. Employees can serve as brand ambassadors, sharing their experiences with the organization to encourage others to apply for open positions. You can also request feedback and insights from employees, using this information to market the employer brand more effectively.
Improve candidate quality
Candidate quality is a key factor in hiring top talent. When you don’t have high-quality candidates applying for open roles, you can’t bring on the best people. But utilizing recruitment marketing tactics allows a company to seek candidates who already have similar experience and may be good cultural fits. As a result, you can target better candidates who may not be actively searching for jobs, yet open to better opportunities that come along.
Build diverse teams
Diversity in the workforce contributes to enhanced opportunities for solving problems and responding creatively to challenges. Additionally, a diverse group of people is able to pull information from a wider range of experiences and sources, leading to educated decisions that benefit the organization as a whole.
With recruitment marketing efforts, your business can target specific individuals to fill open roles. Doing so can aid in building more diversity across departments.
Technology for Recruitment Marketing Efforts
Access to the right technology can make a big difference in your company’s efforts to find and bring on skilled individuals, as well establish the organization as a welcoming and supportive place to work. As you think about how you can increase the number of applications and generate a wider talent pool, consider the following tools and resources:
Job board listing management tools
Candidate management technology
Text-to-recruit capabilities
Content creation and graphic design tools
Recruitment Marketing Tactics to Consider
Wondering how to make the most of this process? Check out these tips:
Make the most of job posting sites: Job boards are among the first places people go when looking for new opportunities. Make sure all open roles with your organization are accessible across a variety of boards, including those targeted to specific groups and niches.
Utilize online paid advertising to recruit: It may be worth putting some money behind your efforts, as paid advertising can get your message in front of a wider audience. Some options allow your business to target those in specific locations or with unique skills. Consider sponsoring or boosting job listings to reach more potential applicants.
Use traditional advertising channels: Similar to other marketing efforts, your organization should utilize traditional channels when getting the word out about the employer brand.
Develop a social media recruitment strategy: Social media has skyrocketed in the recruiting world, so get your piece of the pie by developing a strategy that utilizes the top platforms. Advantages of this tool include the option for two-way communication, an easy option for brand ambassadors to share information about open roles, and a wider reach.
Rely on employees in recruiting efforts: Include your current team members in efforts to find and bring on talent. Employee referrals tend to be higher-quality candidates, and current team members may be able to reach passive candidates who aren’t currently looking for work yet would be excellent fits in specific roles.
Showcase talent and subject matter experts: Think about how to incorporate your existing talent and subject matter experts in your efforts to find talented individuals.
Utilize customer base as recruiting source: Use every resource available to you when seeking to fill open positions, including reaching out to your customer base. You never know who may be open to changing roles or knows of someone who would align well with the organizational culture.
You could also look into video recruitment marketing tactics, such as creating video-based employee testimonials or interviews with brand ambassadors and including the media on your hiring page or recruitment ads. Other options include offering virtual office tours, showing remote work setups, and providing a “day in the life”, behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to be an employee of your organization.
Recruitment Marketing Metrics: Measuring Your Efforts
After you take steps toward creating and implementing a recruitment marketing plan, it’s essential to keep an eye on the success. Metrics like time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, and how long an employee sticks around can indicate how well your efforts are working and what you can change to make the process even better for all involved.
Other metrics to look at for online channels include:
Content impressions
Click volume
Click-through rate (CTR)
Cost-per-click
Cost-per-application
Cost-per-hire
Application rate
Even offline channels have metrics that your hiring professionals can keep an eye on to determine what works and what doesn’t. These include:
Phone calls
Landing page visits
Cost-per-application
Cost-per-hire
Use your data to identify the top candidate sources and measure the effectiveness of new tactics. You can also use the information to determine what your company is spending, on average, to bring on a new hire and whether it’s more worthwhile to hire and promote from within or seek out external talent.
Invest in Your Hiring Efforts with ApplicantStack
ApplicantStack is an all-in-one hiring and onboarding platform that can aid in your efforts to bring on top talent. You can easily use the system to create and post open jobs across hundreds of job boards, as well as connect with social media platforms for a wider reach. Plus, you can maintain your company’s transparency with consistent communication, like email notifications and texting, to hire the best candidate with less effort. Try it for free today to learn how it can complement your plan to invest in recruitment marketing and build a stronger employer brand.
Over a 20-year period prior to February 2021, the monthly resignation rate in the U.S. never rose above 2.4 percent. During the first two months of 2022, that national rate spiked to nearly 3 percent. In some states, the resignation rate shot up over 4 percent during the year. This time was referred to as “The Great Resignation,” and it left businesses of all sizes reeling.
But while things seemed to have settled at least somewhat, employees will continue to leave their roles in search of other opportunities. We’ve covered the hiring and onboarding process extensively on our blog, but what happens when someone leaves? That process is called offboarding, and it’s just as important. Explore why offboarding matters to your company and its impacts on future hiring efforts. We’ll also cover a few tips to improve the way your organization conducts offboarding interviews and practices.
What is Offboarding?
Offboarding is the process of transitioning an employee away from the organization. It should take place whether the employee chooses to leave or the separation is involuntary. But the steps should create a graceful and consistent process for any employee who will no longer work in their role.
Why Does Offboarding Matter?
Although it’s just as valuable as onboarding, offboarding tends to get overlooked. Management might feel uneasy about consulting with unhappy employees or simply want to move on to the new hire. But here’s what you’re potentially missing out on by skipping the offboarding steps:
A graceful separation between the former employee and organization
Protection from legal issues and other problems that may arise after termination
An easier transition within the role
The potential for growth and improvement within the impacted department and company overall
Plus, proper offboarding can provide insights into what changes can be made when seeking to fill the vacated position.
Leaving things on a positive note with a soon-to-be-former employee may also create a better experience. Current and past employees serve as brand ambassadors, whether positive or negative, so do what you can to push for the former.
What to Avoid when Offboarding an Employee
While the above points are strong evidence for the benefits of offboarding, it’s also important to remember what to avoid. The aim of offboarding isn’t to criticize an employee who has chosen to leave or been involuntarily terminated. Instead, its purpose is to create a friendly and mutually beneficial transition.
All involved in the offboarding process should show respect, particularly for the department employee. It should also serve as a tool to protect the company from potential legal concerns and explore what could have been done differently.
5 Tips to Improve Offboarding Practices
Whether your managers are currently following offboarding practices or you’re starting from square one, these tips can improve the process exponentially.
Follow a consistent process
Consistency is key when it comes to interacting with departing team members. If one employee feels they had a different experience than another, they may take legal action against the organization, claiming discrimination or unfair practices. Create a checklist and follow the relevant steps with each employee who chooses to leave or is terminated.
Assess the reasons for exit
While it’s vital to maintain consistency in the offboarding process, certain steps may need to shift based on the reasons for an employee’s departure. If someone is retiring, they will likely have different insights than someone who is choosing to seek employment elsewhere. Employees who are involuntarily terminated or laid off also require additional steps for legal protection.
Create an open line of communication
Although it can feel uncomfortable to communicate openly with an employee who is leaving the organization, it’s essential to do your best to keep the line of communication open. When company leaders avoid talking about the departure or try not to speak to the person leaving, these behaviors create a breeding ground for gossip.
Regardless of the reason, it’s always better to be as honest as possible about a resignation or termination. Of course, you don’t have to get into unpleasant details, but you can at least give as much warning as possible and discuss what the remaining team members can expect.
Aim for a successful transfer of knowledge
One of the overall aims of offboarding is to secure a successful knowledge transfer. Leaders and team members can use the information gleaned to keep up on projects and create an accurate job description when filling the vacated role.
When consulting with an employee during the offboarding process, request the following information:
What the daily routine looked like
What files and systems were used by the employee
The process for prioritizing and accomplishing assigned and ongoing tasks
Who the employee interacts with regularly
What type of training may be necessary
An employee departing amicably may be willing to create a document with all this information, which is very useful for someone filling their role.
Protect your organization
Your company needs to protect itself from legal issues as well as the risks associated with the loss of sensitive data or proprietary information. As soon as possible, secure all company assets and revoke access to private information. Ask for all company equipment back and prevent the former employee from accessing their business email inbox, social media profiles, and other systems used for client data or sensitive information.
With the right approach, an offboarding process can go from awkward to seamless. And the information gleaned in each step is invaluable for a company as its leaders seek to understand the reasons for departure, how to support the employees, and create a positive culture for all.
In the fast-paced world of talent acquisition, building a team that aligns with your organization’s values and mission is crucial. One key element in this process is implementing a robust background screening strategy. To help you seamlessly integrate this essential step into your recruitment and onboarding journey, Verified First and Swipeclock’s solution, ApplicantStack, have collaborated to bring you this ultimate guide. Let’s dive into background screening steps that will elevate your hiring process to new heights.
1. Building Clear Screening Policies: Transparency is Key
Transparency is paramount in any background screening process. Develop clear screening policies that outline disqualification criteria and exceptions. This not only sets expectations for your candidates but also ensures consistency in your decision-making process.
2. Setting the Foundation: Establishing Screening Criteria
Before you embark on the background screening journey, it’s crucial to define the unique screening needs for each position with your organization. This ensures that your screening efforts are targeted and aligned with the responsibilities and access levels associated with each role.
3. Crafting Your Screening Package: A Tailored Approach
Just as each role in your organization is unique, so should be your screening package. Your screening provider should provide a comprehensive suite of screening solutions that can be seamlessly integrated into the ApplicantStack platform. Customize your screening package based on the nature of the role and responsibilities.
4. Prioritizing Compliance and Data Security
Navigate the complex legal landscape of background screening by staying informed about relevant employment laws and regulations, with a particular emphasis on adhering to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Ensure your background screening not only complies with these regulations but also prioritizes data security by choosing solutions committed to the highest standards, such as SOC2. Trust is built on a foundation of security, and during the screening process, prioritize information security diligently to ensure the safeguarded and confidential handling of sensitive information without the need for time-consuming manual audits.
5. Open Communication with Candidates: Enhancing the Candidate Experience
Clearly communicate the background screening steps during the recruitment phase, provide necessary disclosures, and obtain (electronically) written consent. This open communication fosters trust and ensures a positive candidate experience.
6. Integration Excellence: Elevating Your Hiring Flow
Seamlessly elevate your hiring workflow with the integration of Verified First and ApplicantStack. Experience an efficient, automated background screening process that eliminates manual tasks and ensures a smooth transition from screening to subsequent hiring steps. ApplicantStack becomes the central hub for post-screening actions, streamlining the experience for both the hiring team and candidates. Enjoy a cohesive one-click screening workflow, allowing you to focus on securing top talent swiftly and seamlessly.
7. Continuous Improvement: Learning, Growing and Making Informed Decisions
The journey extends beyond a successful hire. Collect feedback from the screening process, learning from insights gained to continuously optimize and enhance background screening procedures. Upon receiving screening results, focus on specific details, such as the nature and severity of incidents, time elapsed since incidents, and overall candidate history. This high-level of visibility enables informed decisions aligned with organizational values and requirements, ensuring a discerning selection process.
Conclusion: Elevate Your Hiring Experience
Integrating Verified First’s background screening within ApplicantStack empowers you to build a safe, reliable, and high-integrity workforce. As you embark on this journey, remember that the end goal is not just screening applicants but creating a robust and secure recruitment and onboarding experience.
Ready to Elevate Your Screening Process?
Unlock the full potential of your recruitment and onboarding process by integrating Verified First with ApplicantStack. Join the community of organizations that prioritize trust, security, and efficiency in their workforce. Start your journey today, and experience the power of the Verified First and ApplicantStack collaboration.
Learn more about Verified First’s integration with ApplicantStack.
Want your FREE background screening checklist? Click here!
Pay transparency laws are popping up in states and cities throughout the U.S., forcing employers to take a look at their job listings. Find out what you need to know about pay transparency, including what it means and aims to achieve, how to comply with applicable laws, and the tools built into ApplicantStack that support these needs.
What is Pay Transparency?
Pay transparency is a term referring to the disclosure of compensation standards for employees. It may refer to information being shared internally, as well as externally. In recruiting discussions, the concept often comes up when talking about whether salary ranges should be included in listings. But overall, transparency in compensation is a spectrum, so employers often choose just how open they are with what employees can expect in terms of pay.
Pay Transparency vs. Pay Equity
In conversations around pay transparency, the concept of pay equity may come up. The two differ, as pay equity is the concept that those performing equal work deserve equal pay, regardless of the age, gender (or gender identity), race or religion of the individual in the role.
The Equal Pay Act, which went into effect in 1963, legislated the concept of pay equity, yet organizations may still pay different wages for individuals. Pay transparency can serve as a mitigator to unfair compensation practices, as employees have a better idea of what they can expect to be paid in a specific role.
Pay Transparency Laws
In some areas, pay transparency laws are in effect, requiring eligible organizations to disclose how much an employee will be paid in a specific role. Some states have laws requiring the provision of pay ranges for every position posted, while others require pay ranges to be furnished upon request or by a specific point in the interview process.
Although no federal law is currently in place, multiple states have laws focused on pay transparency.
Alabama: An employer may not refuse to interview, promote or hire/employ an applicant based on the individual not providing pay history.
California: Private and public employers may not seek candidate pay history, and employers with 15+ employees must include pay ranges in all job postings.
Colorado: Employers may not seek candidate pay history or use past information to determine wages. Employers must disclose salary or hourly compensation (or a range) and a general description of benefits and other compensation in all job postings.
Connecticut: Employers may not seek candidate pay history and must disclose the pay range for a position upon applicant request or when an offer is extended to an applicant. For internal employees, employers must provide pay ranges upon request or when a change in position occurs.
Delaware: Employers may not seek candidate pay history, although they may confirm the information after extending an offer.
District of Columbia: Government agencies may not seek candidate pay history.
Georgia: City agencies in Atlanta may not seek candidate salary history on an employment application.
Hawaii: Employers may not seek candidate pay history and employers must provide the hourly rate or salary range for advertised positions.
Illinois: Employers may not seek candidate pay history, although they may discuss expectations. Employers with 15+ employees must include pay ranges in all job postings. In Chicago, city departments may not request salary history.
Kentucky: In Louisville, city agencies may not request salary history. No statewide law is in effect.
Louisiana: In New Orleans, city employers may not request salary history or screen applicants based on prior or current pay, benefits or other compensation. No statewide law is in effect.
Maine: Employers may not seek candidate pay history until an offer has been extended.
Maryland: Employers may not seek candidate pay history but can confirm this information voluntarily provided by an applicant after extending an offer. All employers must also provide a pay range to an applicant. Montgomery County further restricts the county government from relying on salary history as a factor in hiring or establishing the pay rate for an applicant.
Massachusetts: Employers may not seek candidate pay history but may confirm the information after an offer has been extended or the applicant provides it voluntarily.
Michigan: State departments may not seek pay history until a conditional offer has been extended.
Mississippi: In Jackson, city agencies may not seek candidate pay history. No statewide law is in effect.
Missouri: In St. Louis, city departments may not seek candidate pay history. In Kansas City, employers with six or more employees may not ask for or rely on salary history when offering employment or determining salary, benefits or other compensation. No statewide law is in effect.
Nevada: Employers may not seek candidate pay history and employers must provide the hourly rate or salary range for advertised positions. They must also provide the pay range for those eligible for promotion or transfer within the organization.
New Jersey: Employers cannot screen applicants based on pay history. In Jersey City, employers with five or more employees must disclose the salary or hourly range and benefits for all job listings and promotion and transfer opportunities.
New York: Employers may not seek candidate pay history, and employers with four or more employees must provide the hourly rate or salary range for advertised positions. Specific counties and cities have additional stipulations in place around these laws.
North Carolina: State agencies may not seek candidate pay history.
Ohio: Employers with 15+ employees in the cities of Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo may not seek candidate pay history. Those in Cincinnati and Toledo must also share the pay scale for all open positions.
Oregon: Employers may not seek candidate pay history until an offer has been extended.
Pennsylvania: Employers may not seek candidate pay history at any stage during the hiring process. All postings must also clearly disclose pay scale and range.
Rhode Island: Employers may not seek candidate pay history or rely on this information when considering making an offer or determining pay. Employers must provide the pay rate or range to an applicant upon request, as well as to an employee upon request throughout their employment.
South Carolina: In Columbia and Richland County, city and county agencies may not seek candidate pay history. No statewide law is in effect.
Utah: City agencies in Salt Lake City may not seek candidate pay history. No statewide law is in effect.
Vermont: Employers may not seek candidate pay history.
Virginia: State agencies may not seek candidate pay history.
Washington: Employers may not seek candidate pay history. Employers with 15+ employees must disclose the salary range or wage scale and a general description of all other compensation and benefits in every job posting.
The states not on this list do not currently have pay transparency laws in place.
The Benefits of Embracing Pay Transparency
Jobseekers are often looking for transparency to avoid wasting their time applying for positions that don’t align with their financial expectations or needs. Additionally, companies can protect themselves and support their team members by demonstrating a commitment to fair pay practices in all positions. Building trust is another advantage, as an employee is more likely to feel like they can trust an employer with honest and open practices around compensation.
According to an article recently published by SHRM, pay transparency may play a role in reducing employee turnover. The article outlined research performed by Payscale, a compensation software firm based out of Seattle, Washington. This information indicated that the intent to quit declines by 30 percent among employees working for companies that offer pay transparency. Open communication around pay and the potential for growth are essential in demonstrating a forward-thinking and supportive atmosphere, making your company one that jobseekers want to work for.
Using ApplicantStack to Ensure Transparency in Open Positions
With the right hiring and onboarding software, maintaining compliance with pay transparency regulations is easier. ApplicantStack is an excellent tool for businesses of all sizes, offering integrations with top job boards. You can even use the Indeed integration to review salary ranges for similar positions and incorporate pay data into your listing templates. Hire faster and better while building trust and transparency as an employer.
Bringing a new hire onboard is an exciting time for any organization, but it can also come with some stress. Knowing how to onboard an employee effectively is a must, and this guide to onboarding planning ensures a more effective and efficient process.
What is Onboarding?
Onboarding refers to the process of bringing a new staff member into a role within an organization. It often includes a variety of steps that begin when an individual accepts a job offer with your business. Part of the onboarding process includes collecting vital information, often through the completion of required forms and documents. But that’s not all onboarding involves, and failing to see the big picture can increase your company’s risk of high turnover and poor retention rates.
What is Onboarding Planning?
Onboarding planning involves creating a detailed plan for how the process will look every time you bring on a new hire. While some of the steps in the process will remain the same across all departments and roles, others may need to change to accommodate different responsibilities and needs.
4 Steps to Develop an Onboarding Plan
Follow these steps to engage in onboarding planning in a way that will benefit your organization and workforce.
Know your employee onboarding goal
The first step is identifying at least one goal of the onboarding process. This often includes what a new hire should be able to accomplish by a set date. In order to achieve that goal, what needs to happen? Maybe the employee needs specific training or education, or perhaps they need to do certain tasks to become more familiar with them. With a goal in mind, it becomes easier to establish an onboarding process that includes the steps needed to achieve it.
Create your onboarding training team
Another vital aspect of onboarding planning is deciding who will take part in each step. Who is helping throughout the process? In most cases, the employee’s supervisor will take an active role in bringing them onboard and up to speed on their tasks and responsibilities. But you may also have others involved, such as those working in human resources and IT. Make sure you know who is part of the onboarding team and keep them informed as to their role.
Invest in the right tools
Invest in the tools needed to manage the onboarding process more effectively. A simple option is to create a checklist with all the tasks that need to happen before the employee begins working on their own. You could also use a timeline that emphasizes when each step will be completed and what the new hire can expect.
Technology tools are also vital in ensuring a consistent and highly efficient process. The days of filling out forms by hand are long gone, and it’s time for every organization to say goodbye to this manual and hand-cramping process. Choose an HR system that includes vital documentation with electronic completion capabilities. You can also look for onboarding tools available within your hiring platform, or an all-in-one solution that keeps all data in a single place.
Map your onboarding steps
Map out the steps of the onboarding process to ensure that everyone in the organization is on the same page. You can also provide a copy of the timeline or checklist to your new hire to keep them apprised of what to expect during their first few weeks or months on the job.
Understanding the Stages of Onboarding
We cover the stages of onboarding in detail on our blog, but here’s a brief overview of what each time period should include:
During the hiring process: Collect personal and contact information from the new hire to make follow-up communication easier.
During the offer stage: When making an offer, stay in contact with the individual and answer any questions they may have.
1-2 weeks before new hire’s first day: Before they come onboard, send a welcome message and any new hire paperwork they can complete prior to starting.
Day before first day: Provide details around their first-day schedule, work location, and expectations so they know where to go and what to bring.
On the first day: On day one, make sure to greet the new hire and show them around (if in person), as well as provide all necessary tech tools to do their job.
During employee’s first week: Throughout the first week, a new hire should have someone they can count on to answer their questions and provide assistance. This may be their supervisor or a co-worker.
During first three months: Over the first 90 days, assign the employee small tasks to build their confidence and skills, set aside time for regular check-ins, and request feedback on the process.
Onboarding FAQ
If you have questions about onboarding planning and the process of bringing on new hires, we may have an answer for you below.
How long should the onboarding process take?
The timeline for onboarding often depends on the role and experience level of the new hire. But for most positions, it should last for at least a few weeks. You can also review our blog post that covers this question in more detail.
An onboarding checklist is a document used to track the process and ensure that no steps are overlooked. You can review templates and examples to build your own that aligns with the needs of your employees.
With ApplicantStack, onboarding planning doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort. With onboarding tools built right into the platform, clients can easily find and bring on top talent. Learn more or try it for free today!
The recruiting process is much more in-depth than it appears on the surface. Recruiters and HR professionals are often measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) behind the scenes to optimize processes, increase candidate engagement and boost the quality of their potential hires.
Further, tracking metrics, such as time-to-fill, helps recruiters communicate the value of what they do and the effectiveness of an employer’s investment in recruiting activities, improving the hiring processes over time.
As one of the more popular recruiting KPIs to measure, time to fill sounds and feels similar to other important metrics. Here, we’re defining what time to fill means, how to calculate it, how it’s different from time-to-hire and more.
What Is Time-to-Fill and How Do You Measure It?
In simple terms, time-to-fill is a recruitment KPI that measures the average amount of calendar days it takes your organization to fill an open role with a new candidate. The measurement generally starts when you get job requisition approval and/or actually post the listing, and ends when a new hire accepts your job offer.
Some organizations may choose a slightly different starting point based on their unique circumstances, but measuring from the date when the role is first advertised is the most standard, and a bit easier to manage.
What Impacts Time-to-Fill?
There are quite a few factors that can affect time-to-fill, most of which are outside of an organization’s control or are simply a product of the role itself. Components that can alter time-to-fill include:
The role itself, i.e., its complexity or what’s being asked of candidates
The job market
The quality of candidates that apply
Your organization’s hiring process
As an example, if the open role requires highly specialized skills, it can take longer to find a suitable candidate. Similarly, if your interview process includes multiple rounds of interviews or requires candidates to submit a video, the time to fill will be longer.
For reasons like these, it often makes sense for employers to measure time-to-fill by department or role. Doing so can help clean up the numbers and leave you with an even more accurate snapshot of time-to-fill metrics throughout the organization.
How To Calculate Time-to-Fill
Calculating time-to-fill is fairly straightforward. To determine it, sum the number of calendar days for each position you filled during a specific timeframe (i.e., a year or a quarter) and divide that sum by the number of hires during that time.
For example, if you hired three new employees in a year, spending 10, 15 and 20 calendar days respectively to move from requisition to offer acceptance respectively, here’s what the formula would look like:
10 + 15 + 20 / 3 = 15
In this case, your average time to fill is 15 days.
Time-to-Fill vs. Time-to-Hire
A similar-sounding recruitment metric, time-to-hire is often confused with time-to-fill and vice versa. However, the two KPIs are distinct and serve separate purposes.
Here’s a brief comparison:
Time-to-fill measures the average number of calendar days between an organization deciding to open a new job position or posting the listing, and having a candidate accept the job offer.
Time-to-hire highlights the amount of time between when you receive an application for a role (i.e. when a candidate enters the funnel) and when a job offer is accepted.
Same endpoint, different starting point.
Why Is Time-to-Fill Important?
Beyond the more tangible benefits that will be outlined below, there are a few additional reasons why measuring time-to-fill is important for your organization:
It provides a quick reference point: If you find that your time-to-fill is significantly higher than industry benchmarks, which in 2023 is an average of 44 days, it’s a pretty clear sign that making a change may be a good, strategic play.
It helps you evaluate the effectiveness of your recruitment strategy: Striking a balance between too short and too long a time-to-fill is essential. Measuring your recruiting KPIs can give you insight into what’s working well and what needs to change to optimize the candidate experience.
It can help gauge changes in the labor market: The economy is in constant flux, which means the labor market is, too, influencing recruiting and hiring trends. If you historically have had a low time-to-fill and you notice it trending upwards, you can better prepare for changes and take proactive steps to optimize your hiring process.
But what about more tangible benefits?
The Benefits of Measuring Time-to-Fill
Recruitment metrics, in general, help recruiters optimize their organization’s hiring process by highlighting areas for improvement, identifying practices that are working well and more.
Time-to-fill specifically, however, offers a few unique advantages for employers.
Streamlined Hiring
Tracking time-to-fill helps organizations identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in their recruitment process. By pinpointing where delays occur, companies can take corrective actions to streamline hiring procedures.
Common recruiting bottlenecks include:
Indecisive or overly critical hiring managers
Too many unqualified applicants
Manual candidate screening
If you notice that your time-to-fill is stretching out longer than you’d hoped, you can dig into your processes and make amends where necessary to bring the number down.
Cost Savings
Lengthy recruiting often results in higher costs. Advertising a job post on third-party boards and websites is not free. In fact, some job boards can cost as much as $500 per month to advertise a listing. Optimizing your time-to-fill means less money spent on advertising.
In the same vein, if your company holds in-person interviews for an open position, you may have to reimburse interviewees for travel expenses, including transportation, food and lodging. The sooner you can find a suitable candidate, the less money you’ll need to spend.
Gain an Edge Over the Competition
Having a long time-to-fill not only puts strain on your organization but impacts the candidates involved in the process. The longer it takes to make a hiring decision, the more likely candidates are to walk away from the opportunity. In fact, 62% of professionals start to lose interest in a job if they don’t hear back within two weeks (10 business days).
A faster hiring process produces better chances of maintaining interest from top talent and securing those candidates before your competitors.
Enhanced Decision-Making
Collecting time-to-fill data using an applicant tracking system enables organizations to analyze historical trends and make data-driven decisions about resource allocation, staffing levels and recruitment strategies.
Reduce Your Time-to-Fill With ApplicantStack
Applicant-tracking software like ApplicantStack automates integral portions of your talent acquisition process to help reduce time-to-fill, find the right candidates more quickly and even aid with employee onboarding for a more seamless experience.
Our software operates on a recruit, screen, select workflow with intuitive tools for:
Creating and publishing job postings online
Functional recruiting where you may be most likely to find the right candidate, like social media
Creating questionnaires and scoring applicants
And much more
The platforms help talent acquisition teams streamline and automate essential recruiting checkpoints, such as pre-screening, pre-employment assessments and candidate nurturing to boost engagement and reduce your time-to-hire.
Start a free trial today and discover how ApplicantStack can help you make better hiring decisions, quicker.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OK
