Time-to-hire rates at an all-time high

Time-to-hire rates have reached record levels, despite employers’ best efforts to attract new talent.

It now takes an average of 44 days to appoint people, up from 43 days a year ago, according to global research from the Josh Bersin Company and talent solutions business AMS.

The Global Talent Climate report showed that average time-to-hire rates for the first quarter of 2023 alone, had increased across all industries by one day. Across all industries, the research found a widening gap between “easy-to-fill” and “difficult-to-fill” roles.

While some jobs are filled in 14 days, many go vacant for 2-3 months or more The report suggests that the high number of days it takes to hire is unsustainable if companies are to keep pace with the fast-changing needs of their industry.

Josh Bersin, global HR research analyst and CEO of the Josh Bersin Company, said: “Whatever may be happening in the world economy currently, it is clear that supply and demand are not in sync in terms of the type of skills available and the gaps that need to be filled.

“The real trailblazers in HR and talent acquisition have recognised this, and are thinking outside the box when it comes to developing people, cross-pollinating roles from elsewhere, and actively keeping succession and new-role pipelines full.”

On a regional basis, 2023 time-to-hire projections show a significant increase in the longest hiring times for three out of four regions, suggesting that hiring in APAC, EMEA and Latin America will be increasingly difficult and volatile this year.

Energy and defence companies took over 67 days to replace a specialist in 2022, and time-to-hire is projected to be even slower in 2023. Professional services firms are well above the average time-to-hire at 47 days.

Pharma and life sciences’ time-to-hire rates are projected to improve in 2023, likely the result of the strategies put in place to increase hiring during the global pandemic

Investment banking has one of the widest ranges of time-to-hire, from 21 days to 60+ days. Employers in this sector should be prepared for extreme variability when hiring: role, skills and region will all impact hiring times.

The retail and consumer sector boasted the shortest time-to-hire rates in 2022, possibly a reflection of the global reopening of facilities and supply chains post-pandemic.

Tech and media companies had strong time-to-hire rates in the first half of 2022 as the sector swelled; the shortest hire rates hovered around 20 days, substantially below the global average, with competition at an all-time high. As the industry recalibrates in 2023, hiring rates continue to be low, but will likely stabilise to global averages by the year-end, said the report.

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Jim Sykes, global managing director of client operations at AMS, said: “As our data shows, time-to-hire has risen consistently for the last four years. Make no mistake, the hiring market is not going to get easier any time soon. HR and talent leaders will need to continue to innovate and transform their strategies for acquiring, developing and retaining talent. This report will give a perspective as to how those leaders are faring today against their competitors.”

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