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      Innovative Approaches to Acquiring Talent, Creating Change in TA, & More: Talk Talent to Me December ’23 Recap

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      We wrapped up 2023 with some fantastic episodes from December of the Talk Talent to Me podcast. Catch up on these episodes!

      Relationship-building in recruiting with Tammy Dain, CEO of Rabble Recruiting 

      Innovative approaches to acquiring talent with Collin Russell, VP of People at Heyday

      Creating change in TA with Ty Beasley, Chief Talent Officer at RSM US LLP 

      1. Tammy Dain, CEO of Rabble Recruiting 

      Creating deep, meaningful relationships is often pushed aside in the world of recruiting but the truth is, these relationships lead to better success in talent acquisition. Tammy joins to discuss her unique recruitment model. Hear all about how she fell into recruiting, the balance between being ready for a new opportunity and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, and why Rabble’s approach is so different from other recruitment agencies. 

      “I think, more often than not, the embedded approach to delivering recruiting services in HR is so much more effective.”

      Listen to the full episode.

      2. Collin Russell, VP of People at Heyday

      Collin discusses redefining traditional HR approaches and his focus on practical, hands-on training. Collin boasts a wealth of experience as an HR and organizational development expert, with a track record marked by successful talent management and impactful operational enhancements. Hear about Collin’s unconventional path to his current role, the unique qualities he brings to HR, and the value of pre-training. He explains his innovative approach to acquiring top talent, creating effective training content, and how he handles large amounts of applications. Collin also shares his advice for creating effective recruitment funnels and what HR should do differently. 

      “If you hire great people but you don’t give them the right training to be successful in their roles, then they are eventually going to leave or become disengaged.”

      Listen to the full episode.

      3. Ty Beasley, Chief Talent Officer at RSM US LLP 

      Ty shares how a non-traditional background can help break barriers to creating change in talent acquisition. Focusing on careers and culture, Ty orchestrates an environment where individuals thrive, fostering their passions and professional growth while advocating for inclusivity at every level. His approach reflects a blend of professional prowess, a commitment to fostering a vibrant workplace culture, and a zest for life. Ty discusses his career trajectory and how his unique perspective has helped transform the talent experience at the company. He also shares how inexperience proved beneficial, his approach to nurturing talent, and how he embraces innovation for success.

      “The ultimate value I bring to the talent organization is not operating in the guts of it. It is leadership.”

      Listen to the full episode.

      Want more insights into recruiting tips and trends?

      Tune into Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, to learn about the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry—straight from top experts themselves. More

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      Recruiter Capacity Model Checklist

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      A recruiter capacity model is a data-driven approach to determine the optimal number of requisitions (open positions) a recruiter can handle within a given timeframe effectively. It takes into account various factors such as the complexity of roles, hiring process duration, candidate sourcing channels, and recruiter workload. By establishing a well-defined capacity model, organizations can enhance their recruitment strategies, improve candidate experience, and ensure efficient resource allocation.

      Why is a recruiter capacity model important?

      Enhanced efficiency: By understanding their capacity, recruiters manage their workload more effectively. This leads to quicker and more efficient hiring processes.

      Quality hiring: It reduces recruiter burnout and ensures each candidate and role receives the attention it deserves, leading to higher quality hires.

      Data-driven decisions: It offers a framework to make informed decisions about staffing their recruitment teams and allocating resources.

      Scalability: Organizations can better scale their recruitment efforts in line with business growth. This ensures the recruitment team’s size and capabilities are always aligned with company needs.

      Ready to start developing your recruiter capacity model? Access the full checklist. More

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      Reverse Interview Prep Checklist for Tech Hiring Managers

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      While a traditional interview places candidates in the spotlight, a reverse interview turns the tables. Here, candidates or even current employees can ask questions, diving deep into the aspects of the company, culture, and role that matter most to them.

      This is a more formal part of the interview process, not a quick “Do you have any questions for me,” in the last five minutes. Interviewers need to offer time during each interview or stage for questions, but a reverse interview is planned. It signifies the importance of a good match for both parties.

      When should you use reverse interviews?

      Reverse interviews are ideal in a final round or post-offer but pre-acceptance. It’s a time when candidates consider their options and need deeper insights to make an informed decision.

      Why should you use reverse interviews?

      This approach empowers candidates, ensuring they comprehensively understand their prospective role and the company. It’s a tool to ensure fit and boost commitment, as employees feel more invested when they know exactly what they’re walking into. Besides, it allows everyone to focus on the long-term aspects of job satisfaction and employee loyalty, instead of dollar signs and benefit packages. More

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      Firstup Puts People First to Help Companies Speed Up

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      First in the Tech Employers Leading the Way Series

      Editor’s Note: This blog kicks off a new series, Tech Employers Leading the Way, which recognizes companies that innovate and work to improve the hiring experience for both their hiring managers and the tech candidates they seek. In this series, we’ll dive into what works for them, and what they’ve learned, and share it with our readers. Sharing these stories and learnings supports our company vision to make hiring more equitable, efficient, and transparent.

      Hired’s list of 2023 Top Employers Winning Tech Talent highlighted companies across a variety of segments and industries creating tech hiring processes and experiences embracing principles such as equity, efficiency, and transparency. 

      Among those leading the way is Firstup, an organization transforming the digital employee experience. Sabra Sciolaro, Chief People Officer, shares how Firstup creates an impactful tech recruiting strategy and nurtures exceptional candidate experiences.  

      About Firstup

      From the beginning, Firstup founders and employees understood that the problem of disengaged workers and disconnected tech was a huge opportunity for positive change. We built a platform that could reach and engage employees not just anytime and anywhere, but at the optimal time — inside the software they were already using. That’s how we became the world’s first intelligent communications platform, serving 40 percent of the Fortune 100.

      Today, we are the communication pipeline for the world’s workforce, connecting tens of millions of employees globally. We’re using that unique position to help employers better understand and support their people at every moment of the employee journey. That vision and mission, provide a positive vision for the future that we are all working together to achieve. 

      Our vision is to make work better for every worker and our mission is to improve the employee experience at every moment that matters, large and small. 

      This mission and vision translate internally too. We want to make the employee experience exceptional at Firstup for our employees. Empowered by the belief that each team member holds a stake in the company, Firstup cultivates an environment of creativity, accountability, and connection. 

      As a virtual workforce, we exemplify how distributed teams can harmoniously unite, achieving remarkable outcomes through unwavering collaboration and a shared sense of ownership. A core value at Firstup is we win as a team. 

      Tell us about a process you implemented to improve candidate experience and the hiring process

      We are very proud of the recruiting and onboarding process we created. A positive experience for the candidate starts from the moment they interact with our company. First, we worked to improve our LinkedIn Belonging pages, Firstup careers page, and Comparably pages. That way, candidates could find cultural and benefits information on the company, including authentic employee testimonials. 

      Next, the People Ops, Talent Acquisition, and Communications Teams worked together to outline the recruiting process at Firstup through a program we created called Firstup Select. This program outlines the step-by-step process to align the TA, People Ops, and hiring manager. 

      This ensures the job descriptions are well-written and accurate, the interviews are organized with measurable interview questions, and the experience is cohesive and seamless for the candidate. 

      Spending the time to outline the process, create templates (job description, rating scales, interview questions, etc.), and train employees on Firstup Select truly up-leveled our recruiting process – and it shows through the top-notch employees we have hired.

      Once the employee signs the contract, our best-in-class preboarding and onboarding experience kicks off! 

      What are some of Firstup’s strategies for maintaining a strong employer brand?

      We believe in authentic employee voices. At the heart of powerful talent marketing are employees That is why our talent marketing strategy focuses on our talented employees through the following initiatives:

      Featuring employee videos, testimonials, employee gathering pictures, and Comparably data on our social media so people get an inside look at our company culture.

      Honoring and celebrating our current employees with anniversaries or those who have won awards on our social pages. It is important to showcase the talent of our current employees. 

      Conducting a monthly brand advocacy program. This program provides employees with a variety of company content that they can choose to share externally to their professional networks. This includes hot jobs, employee thought leadership, Firstup events, awesome customer examples, and more. Our advocacy program is also contest-based to get people excited to share and extend their own thought leadership. 

      Encouraging employees via an automatic journey on their anniversaries and QR codes on their welcome box to share to LinkedIn that they started at Firstup or it is their anniversary.

      Our talent marketing social content outperforms the other content because it is fun and authentic. It gives top tech talent a true insight into our company and employees. 

      How has collaboration between hiring managers and TA teams improved efficiency?

      At Firstup, the Talent Acquisition Team partners closely with hiring managers to find top tech candidates for our open positions. To help guide them through the process, we created the Firstup Select program which outlines the hiring process and resources and provides hiring and interview best practices. 

      This five-step process is available on our Firstup intelligent communications platform to offer People Leaders easy access to the guides and other manager resources, including rating scales, job description templates, intake meeting discussion guide, intake meeting form, interview tips, and a brand guide to help hiring managers confidently talk about Firstup. 

      Managers can access this content at any time and meet with their recruiter regularly throughout the process to ask questions and align. 

      As businesses evolve, talent strategies do too. How have your strategies shifted in the last 12 months? How do you plan to shift your strategies in 2024? 

      In 2022, we were using a lot of agencies for recruiting. However, insourcing our TA function has been a key priority, and as such, we have invested heavily in our own talent function. This has included additional training for both recruiters and hiring managers, investing in best-in-class TA technology and resources (like Hired.com), and streamlining processes.

      This shift supported our awesome and capable recruiting team to better leverage their company and brand knowledge to recruit talent. In 2023, we reduced spending with agencies where necessary and utilized our recruiters to hire those top tech candidates. 

      This has proven worthwhile because they have first-hand company experience, can speak to the brand well, and provide examples. 

      We still utilize agencies where necessary for specific skill sets. One area we are looking to expand (started in 2023 but more in 2024) is partnering with an agency(ies) to specifically help us recruit diverse tech candidates and improve our DEIB analytics we are tracking for a diverse and inclusive workforce. All data shows that a more inclusive workforce equals more innovation and diversity of thought. 

      In 2023 we also focused on increasing talent marketing. We developed a plan to better highlight open jobs through social media, enhanced our employee referral program, and created a Hot Jobs channel in our Firstup communications platform where the recruiters posted job openings internally to help with referrals and internal mobility.  We also created a talent marketing plan that highlighted our employee voices so that our amazing Firstup culture speaks for itself. 

      As an intelligent communication platform, we must utilize technology, specifically our platform, to improve the hiring process. 

      When we created the Firstup Select recruiting process, we posted it on our internal communication platform. We created an HR Hub for People Leaders with a recruiting page specifically targeted to hiring managers with the Firstup Select recruiting process, links to templates, and other technologies/tools used in the recruiting process.

      When an individual contributor is promoted to a manager, or a new manager begins at Firstup, they join a “new manager onboarding journey.” This journey sends a series of communications about what to do in your first 90 days as a new manager. 

      As part of that journey, one of the communications focuses specifically on the recruiting/Firstup Select process. It provides a high-level overview of our strategy and process and educates new hiring managers on where to find materials when they are ready to hire. 

      What’s cool about this journey is it automatically kicks off when there is a new manager, so the HR team “sets it and forgets it” and it automatically sends it. It is a great way to educate the new leaders on our hiring process.

      Within our communication platform/modern intranet, employees also will see hot jobs to share and with the click of a button, can easily post the job to their social networks. 

      We also have a robust Comparably page and have integrated our recruiting platform, Lever, into Comparably so that when prospective candidates are perusing Comparably data, they can also see our job openings.

      Finally, we created a profile on Hired to connect directly with growing tech teams. Hired has helped us market to and recruit top tech talent since they are the go-to company for sourcing the best tech talent.  More

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      Productivity Monitoring in the Workplace: Best Strategies for Managers

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      15 guidelines and strategies for leaders to employ

      Implementing productivity monitoring tools to complement good management practices rather than replacing them requires a thoughtful approach. Here are 15 strategies and guidelines for achieving this balance as a people leader.

      1. Set clear objectives

      Clearly define the objectives and goals of using productivity monitoring tools. Ensure that these tools align with the company’s broader mission and objectives.

      2. Transparency and communication 

      Communicate openly with employees about the purpose and use of these tools. Make it clear that the goal is to enhance productivity, not to spy on employees. Encourage feedback and address concerns.

      3. Focus on employee development 

      Use the data collected to identify areas where employees may need additional support or training. Encourage managers to provide coaching and resources to help employees improve their skills.

      4. Collaborative goal setting 

      Involve employees in setting performance goals and targets. When employees have a say in their goals, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged in achieving them.

      5. Privacy and data security

      Ensure that the tools comply with all relevant privacy and data security regulations. Protect employee data and provide transparency about how data is collected, stored, and used.

      6. Regular performance reviews 

      Continue to conduct regular performance reviews and one-on-one meetings between managers and employees. Productivity monitoring tools should complement these discussions, not replace them.

      7. Customization 

      Tailor the monitoring tools to the specific needs of different teams or departments. What works for one group may not work for another, so flexibility is crucial.

      8. Training and education 

      Train managers and employees on how to use the tools effectively and ethically. Ensure that they understand the purpose of the tools and how they can benefit from them.

      9. Avoid micromanagement 

      Encourage managers to use productivity data as a high-level overview rather than a means to micromanage employees. Trust your employees to manage their time and tasks effectively.

      10. Aim for continuous improvement 

      Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of the monitoring tools and adjust them as needed. Seek feedback from both managers and employees to make improvements.

      11. Balance quantitative and qualitative metrics 

      While quantitative data is valuable, don’t overlook the qualitative aspects of employee performance. Encourage managers to consider factors like creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork.

      12. Recognize and reward productivity 

      Implement a system for recognizing and rewarding employees who consistently perform well. This can motivate employees to maintain or improve their productivity levels.

      13. Regularly review policies 

      Ensure that company policies related to productivity monitoring are up-to-date and aligned with best practices and legal requirements.

      14. Ethical use 

      Encourage ethical behavior among managers and employees when using monitoring tools. Emphasize that these tools are meant to foster productivity, not to create a culture of surveillance or mistrust.

      15. Employee feedback loop 

      Establish a feedback mechanism where employees can express their concerns, suggest improvements, or report any misuse of monitoring tools without fear of retaliation. Understanding the current status informs your plan and inspires confidence. You can use surveys to collect employee feedback. In your messaging, be clear of your intent to listen thoughtfully and action on the data as needed.

      Conclusion: productivity monitoring is an exercise in trust

      By following these strategies and guidelines, a company can ensure that productivity monitoring tools are used as a supportive tool to enhance management practices rather than a replacement for them. It promotes a positive and collaborative work environment where productivity and employee well-being can coexist.

      If you have roles to fill in tech or sales, we’re ready to help you with better ROI! Request a demo and see the products and solutions Hired offers to help talent acquisition teams, people and DEI leaders, and hiring managers stay on target. More

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      Need a Better Recruiter Capacity Model? Here’s How to Build One

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      In the fast-paced world of tech and sales recruitment, understanding and optimizing your recruiter capacity is crucial for hiring success. Firms are grappling with the twin pressures of speeding up hiring timelines and upholding the quality of hires. It’s about striking the right balance, and ensuring your team is fully utilized without being overwhelmed. So, how can you craft a better recruiter capacity model that hits the sweet spot for your team?

      Use our eBook and checklist to ensure you don’t miss a step and unlock your recruitment team’s potential. But first, let’s review what’s involved in the recruiter capacity model, including what it is.

      What is a recruiter capacity model?

      A recruiter capacity model is a data-driven approach to determine the optimal number of requisitions (open positions) a recruiter can handle within a given timeframe effectively. It takes into account various factors such as the complexity of roles, hiring process duration, candidate sourcing channels, and recruiter workload. By establishing a well-defined capacity model, organizations can enhance their recruitment strategies, improve candidate experience, and ensure efficient resource allocation.

      Why is a recruiter capacity model important?

      Enhanced efficiency: By understanding their capacity, recruiters manage their workload more effectively. This leads to quicker and more efficient hiring processes.

      Quality hiring: It reduces recruiter burnout and ensures each candidate and role receives the attention it deserves, leading to higher quality hires.

      Data-driven decisions: It offers a framework to make informed decisions about staffing their recruitment teams and allocating resources.

      Scalability: Organizations can better scale their recruitment efforts in line with business growth. This ensures the recruitment team’s size and capabilities are always aligned with company needs.

      The impact of recruiter capacity on hiring success

      Managing recruiter capacity is a balancing act that directly affects your hiring outcomes. An overloaded recruiter can find themselves on a fast track to burnout, compromising their well-being and the caliber of their work. On the flip side, an underutilized recruiter may not be tapping into their full potential, leading to operational inefficiencies and potential delays in filling roles.

      Finding the right balance is key. At Hired, we’ve seen how this balance can transform the recruitment process, resulting in faster hires with longer tenures, satisfied recruiters, and a smoother workflow.

      Making projections based on previous recruitment funnel numbers allows for the construction of a recruiter capacity model that can prescribe the ultimate number of hires. More than just informing your team on the numbers they need to hit to reach their goals, it’s ammunition for dealing with hiring managers making unreasonable headcount requests.

      What are the key aspects of a recruiter capacity model?  

      In a past episode of Talk Talent To Me, Director of Talent Acquisition at Tanium Jeff Schlosser outlined key components of crafting a recruiter capacity model and how having one can get talent acquisition leaders the proverbial seat at the table.

      Analyzing the role complexity

      Certain positions may require a higher level of expertise, involve intricate skill sets, or demand specialized industry knowledge. By categorizing roles based on complexity, recruiters allocate their time and resources accordingly. This ensures the most critical positions receive the necessary attention.

      Collaborate with hiring managers for a deeper understanding of roles. By examining job descriptions, conducting role-specific interviews, and reviewing past hiring experiences, you identify the level of complexity associated with each position. This info serves as a foundation for determining the number of reqs you can effectively handle.

      Determining the hiring process duration

      Some positions might require extensive screening, multiple interview rounds, or specialized assessments. By analyzing historical data and evaluating the average time it takes to fill different positions, you allocate resources more effectively. This ensures timely hiring while maintaining the quality of candidates.

      By examining the time taken at each stage, such as resume screening, phone interviews, in-person interviews, and background checks, recruiters identify potential bottlenecks and areas for improvement. This analysis helps set realistic expectations for the number of requisitions you can handle without compromising the quality of the hiring process.

      Understanding recruiter workload

      Analyzing metrics such as time spent per requisition, the number of candidates screened, and the average time per interview provides insights into recruiter productivity. This data allows for a fair distribution of workload among the team. It also helps identify potential areas where additional resources might be needed.

      Regularly track and monitor workload metrics for a clear understanding of capacity and efficiency. By evaluating workload, you identify areas where you might need additional support. That may be through hiring additional recruiters or implementing tools like Hired to streamline tasks. A balanced workload not only enhances productivity but also enables recruiters to focus on building relationships with candidates to deliver a positive candidate experience.

      Start developing your recruiter capacity model

      Ready to craft your recruiter capacity model? Use this eBook and the checklist inside to:

      Navigate recruiter capacity in the tech recruitment scene

      Decipher the nuts and bolts of your recruiter’s capacity

      Get a step-by-step tutorial on building a recruiter capacity model

      Decode and gauge the efficiency and impact of your recruiter’s work More

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      Relationship Building in HR, Interview Styles, & More: Talk Talent to Me November ’23 Recap

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      Keep up with the November episodes of Hired’s Talk Talent to Me podcast. We’re sharing insights from founders and talent pros with insights into the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry. 

      Relationship building with Karen Weeks, CHRO at Obviously

      Working with earlier-stage clients with Lorraine Buhannic, Head of Talent at Juxtapose  

      The evolving importance of DEI with Gary Davis, Sr DEI Business Partner at Adobe

      The four interview styles with Anna Papalia, Founder of Interviewology 

      1. Karen Weeks, CHRO at Obviously

      In this episode, Karen discusses the changes she hopes to make to Obviously’s onboarding process, why she prioritizes relationships above all else, and how she builds them in a new environment. She also shares how to gently rock the boat at a new job while “proving yourself” as a new employee. Karen also believes you can’t be interviewed without asking questions. She outlines some of the top ones that potential recruits should be asking. 

      “I always want people to be running towards something, whether that’s an internal opportunity, staying where you are and re-engaging, or changing jobs. Doing it before you’re at the breaking point is actually the healthier time to do it.” 

      Listen to the full episode.

      2. Lorraine Buhannic, Head of Talent at Juxtapose  

      Lorraine shares why she loves working with earlier-stage clients, how to be more deliberate in career decisions, and what her career planning coaching process is like. She also discusses what people going through career transitions ask most often before explaining the Juxtapose model. Finally, Lorraine dives into the challenges she expects talent leaders to face in the future.

      “Hiring needs to be priority number one because, at the end of the day, if you don’t have the right people, it’s going to be really hard to scale the organization.”

      Listen to the full episode.

      3. Gary Davis, Sr DEI Business Partner at Adobe

      Gary discusses the evolving importance of DEI, what it means to shrink gaps in equity and inclusion, and how to determine the way people experience your company culture. You’ll also hear Gary’s thoughts on the two-way street of recruitment, valuing transparency, and why it’s important to solve problems specific to Gen Z.

      Related: Revolutionizing Recruitment: Walking the Tech Hiring Tightrope (VIDEO)

      “The throughline for any work that I’ve ever done has been about designing programs and products that create spaces for people from excluded groups; women, people of color, and folks with disabilities.” 

      Listen to the full episode.

      4. Anna Papalia, Founder of Interviewology 

      Anna discusses the evolving world of interviewing from both sides of the table. In her recently published book, Interviewology: the New Science of Interviewing, Anna explains four different interview styles and how to get the best out of each. Get a sneak peek of pertinent insights from her book in this episode, especially if you’re looking to improve the interview process. 

      Anna also details her own career and how she made the leap from a comfortable role at an insurance brokerage to a career in empowering candidates and interviewers through the hiring process. She tells listeners how to know when it’s the right time to make a change and what typically keeps people from listening to their intuition.

      “If you’re trying to build an organization that’s diverse – in gender, race, and thought, it starts at the interview table.”

      Listen to the full episode.

      Want more insights into recruiting tips and trends?

      Tune into Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, to learn about the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry—straight from top experts themselves. More

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      Evaluating Recruiting Metrics: “Time to Fill” vs. “Speed to Hire”

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      Are you tracking time to fill or speed to hire? Well, you should be tracking both. Together they provide insights into different aspects of hiring – from the broader view of the recruitment lifecycle to the specifics of candidate engagement. Tracking these metrics is key to developing an efficient and candidate-friendly hiring process.

      Hired’s Senior Internal Recruiter Jules Grondin says, “Determining which metric to look at more closely depends on what matters most to the company at that moment. 

      Do you want to look at time to fill to determine the cost per req for recruiter hours? 

      Do you want to know the efficiency of their processes when the right candidate does entire the pipeline? 

      Are recruiters interviewing the right talent? Are market trends affecting the pipeline?”

      In this blog, we differentiate speed to hire and time to fill, why both are essential to a strategic hiring process, and when one might be more relevant than the other. 

      What does speed to hire mean?

      At Hired, we define speed to hire as the total time the candidate spends in the hiring funnel from initial sourcing to offer acceptance. It’s the average time it takes you to hire an individual candidate. Viewing the candidate lifecycle in terms of this window is important primarily because it’s the part of the hiring process where the recruitment team can have the most impact.

      Speed is key because it:

      Considers how quickly candidates are actioned and scheduled for interviews

      Proves delivery of great fit candidates who are bullish about the organization

      Illustrates a streamlined offer letter composition and negotiation process

      Lowers the likelihood of losing top talent to competitive offers

      Speed to hire matters to candidates too

      Jules adds, “Candidates like speedy processes. It shows a company’s process is tightly kept and they are in full alignment for what they want in a hire. It’s a good statistic to share with active candidates because they will likely be more eager to engage in your process.”

      The metric as a measure of success: 

      During Hired’s webinar, Raise the Bar in 2023: Strategies from Top Employers Winning Tech Talent, Reece Batchelor, R&D Talent Manager at Tray.io weighed in on hiring metrics. He says:  

      “It depends on what your company’s goals are. You need to find the right balance. When you only track [speed to hire], it could push you toward neglecting other metrics. We track time to hire because as a recruiter you want to fill a role as quickly as possible. But it’s not the most simple metric. We would rather hire someone exceptional in three months than someone okay in one month. That’s what we really value. 

      I think a better metric to track when you’re trying to determine how efficient the process is the time spent in each stage of the interview process. That drives us to book people in quickly, gain feedback, and give feedback as quickly as possible. If you prioritize something like that to ensure your process is efficient, you understand what great looks like for your hiring managers. Then, you give an excellent candidate experience and time to hire comes naturally.”

      How to optimize speed to hire recruiting metrics

      On board with speed to hire, right? Swell! Time to optimize this puppy. Toward the end of the hiring cycle, as candidates start to look better and better, there’s an opportunity to compress steps together in the interest of saving time.

      For example, start conducting reference calls as soon as a candidate makes it to the final round of interviews. Scheduling and completing these calls sometimes drags, so getting a head start often shaves a few days off your total speed to hire. For extra credit, use these conversations to uncover material for your interviewing team to follow up on as they make their final assessment.

      To further cut down on speed to hire, set reasonable timelines for offer evaluation. Ask your candidate how long they think they’ll need to make a decision.

      What is an exploding offer? 

      An exploding offer is one with an expiration date, typically short, within a few hours or days. It’s designed to force a quick decision, without the opportunity to compare options, procure counsel, or engage in negotiation.

      Avoid having offers floating in limbo and perhaps agree on three to five days maximum. Be proactive when talking about offer evaluation: ask the candidate what they need to consider before making a final decision. This allows you to tweak the offer if necessary, and in some cases, may help them realize they’ve already made their choice.

      Related: 3 Ways You Should Use C-Suite to Recruit Tech Talent (+ Free Templates) 

      What does time to fill mean?

      Time to fill measures the total time between an opened and closed req. It’s vital to gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of the recruitment process. While time to fill gives a broad overview of the hiring cycle, speed to hire offers a more focused insight into the candidate engagement phase.

      Time to fill is key because it:

      Helps organizations understand how quickly they can fill positions and adapt their recruitment strategies accordingly

      Supports in planning and forecasting future hiring needs and timelines

      Improves candidate experience (as a prolonged hiring process might deter top candidates)

      Allows organizations to benchmark their hiring efficiency against industry standards or past performance

      When to use time to fill vs. speed to hire

      It’s important to keep your finger on the pulse of time to fill as it can provide some organizational insights. For example, total headcount projections will be important to your finance team. Further, time to fill is a good measure of how strategic your team is about opening new requisitions. Roles should be opened in the interest of being closed, and if reqs go unfilled for a lengthy amount of time, there is most likely a misalignment of priorities.

      Even in these cases, time to fill isn’t as simple as the average number of days from job open to job close. Break it down both by department and level of seniority, as the variation here can be so vast that a single high-level metric isn’t illustrative of an organizational hiring rate.

      When this metric is applied to clusters of employees more likely to have reliable times to fill, it provides a more accurate projection of when executives can expect desks to be filled.

      As far as calculation goes, you may have to roll up your sleeves to get granular. Find the relevant dates in your ATS, plug them into an easy calendar tool like this one, and you’re all set.

      Jules explains, “Time to fill is an effective metric to see how well recruiters are performing, if they’re recruiting the right talent, and how the market may be affecting this statistic. 

      The longer a role is open, the more a company may need to dig into:

      Which recruiter is running the search

      If you’re recruiting candidates who don’t align with the role

      How your compensation resonates and compares to market rates

      How many inbound applicants you’re getting from the first opening to engagement from the recruiter to process/offer”

      Balancing time to fill and speed to hire

      Both time to fill and speed to hire are crucial for a successful recruitment strategy. The key is to find a balance. A rapid hiring process is desirable, but not at the expense of hiring quality. By tracking and optimizing these metrics, you’ll speed up the hiring process and improve the quality of hires. 

      Originally written by Matt Hughes in July 2017. Updated by the Hired Content Team November 2023. More