Dive Brief:

• Hiring managers say it takes an average of 11 weeks to fill a vacant role, according to the Jan. 30 results of a Robert Half survey conducted in Q4 2022. That’s up from seven weeks in 2021.
• Employers are “scrambling” to staff up despite market volatility, the consulting firm said. More than half of the hiring managers responding to the survey said their employers anticipate adding new roles during the first half of the year; nearly 40% expect to hire for vacated positions.
• Hiring managers indicated a disconnect between that urgency and the quality of their pipeline, however. Nine in 10 of the more than 2,000 respondents said it’s challenging to find skilled professionals.

Dive Insight:

“Time to fill” and “time to hire” remain important metrics for HR pros, and experts say they’re similarly important to candidates. Applicants use the hiring process to gauge an employer’s efficiency, sources recently told HR Dive.

To reduce those spans, employers can troubleshoot their recruiting processes, according to experts. Transparency is key, too; employers can communicate with applicants about the steps involved and the expected timeline.

Now may be the time to make those adjustments: "Hiring tends to pick up at the beginning of the year, as budgets have been approved and teams seek additional support for initiatives that will drive business growth and customer retention," Paul McDonald, senior executive director at the firm, said in a statement announcing the survey’s findings. "As job openings and turnover remain high, employers need to play offense — and be prepared to negotiate — in order to recruit and retain skilled talent.”