recruitment-strategy

Benchmarking Time to Hire: How Does Your Recruitment Process Compare?

Benchmarking Time to Hire: How Does Your Recruitment Process Compare?
HireHive Team

HireHive Team

HireHive

Hiring top talent isn’t just about finding the right person - it’s about doing it fast. The longer you take, the more likely it will be that your ideal candidate accepts another offer. That’s why tracking Time to Hire is crucial. But how does your company compare to industry benchmarks? Are you ahead of the curve or lagging behind?

What is the Average Time to Hire?

Every company wants a quick and efficient hiring process, but in reality, filling a position takes time. According to our 2024 research study, here’s how long it typically takes to hire someone:

  • 2-4 weeks – 9%
  • 4-8 weeks – 64%
  • More than 8 weeks – 27%

That means nearly two-thirds of companies take between 4 and 8 weeks to fill a role. If your process is longer than that, it might be time to re-evaluate your approach.

Why Does Time to Hire Matter?

A slow hiring process isn’t just frustrating - it’s costly. Here’s why it’s important to keep your Time to Hire in check:

  • Top candidates don’t wait – The best talent is off the market in as little as 10 days. If your process drags on, you’re losing out.
  • Vacancies cost money – Every unfilled role impacts productivity and puts pressure on existing teams.
  • A drawn-out process hurts your employer brand – Candidates talk. A long, complicated hiring process can damage your reputation.

How Can You Reduce Time to Hire?

If your hiring process is taking longer than the industry average, here are some quick wins to speed things up:

  • Use AI-powered recruitment tools (like HireHive) to automate job postings, candidate screening, and interview scheduling.
  • Streamline your interview process – Are you conducting too many rounds? Look for ways to consolidate steps.
  • Improve hiring manager collaboration – Delayed decision-making often adds weeks to the process.
  • Build a talent pipeline – Having a pool of pre-vetted candidates means you’re not starting from scratch every time.

Success in Action: The Water Project Case Study

One organisation that successfully improved its Time to Hire is The Water Project. By using HireHive, they streamlined their recruitment process and significantly reduced hiring delays. With automated job postings and a structured approach to candidate engagement, they were able to secure top talent faster - helping them focus on their mission rather than getting stuck in hiring bottlenecks.

Read the full case study to see how they transformed their recruitment process.

Final Thoughts

Benchmarking your Time to Hire helps you understand where you stand—and where you need to improve. If your process is taking longer than 8 weeks, you’re at risk of losing great talent to faster-moving competitors.

Want to speed up your hiring process? HireHive can help you cut down on wasted time and secure top talent faster.

Benchmark Other Areas of Your Hiring Process

Time to Hire is just one piece of the puzzle. For a full picture of how your hiring process stacks up, download our Recruitment Trends in 2025 report. You’ll gain insights into the latest hiring trends, benchmarks across various recruitment metrics, and expert strategies to stay ahead of the competition.

Download the report here and future-proof your hiring strategy today.

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“HireHive makes the team a lot more productive. We’d be lost without it. Team Leaders can do it all themselves if needed or jump in at the right time and know exactly where everything is and what’s happening.”

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Hilary Dempsey Head of HR at Life Credit union

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