Greenhouse: Time-to-Fill & Cost per Hire

Key insights

• The video teaches how to build three core recruitment metrics in Power BI using DAX: Time to Fill, Cost per Hire, and Offer Acceptance Rate.
  It pairs each formula with practical, measurable insights you can use in dashboards.
• Time to Fill — measures days from requisition open to candidate acceptance.
  The presenter uses date-difference logic (for example, DATEDIFF or row-level averages) and recommends slicing by role, location, and recruiter to spot bottlenecks quickly.
• Cost per Hire — totals recruiting spend divided by hires in a period.
  Calculate this in DAX with summed recruiting costs over hires (use DIVIDE to avoid errors) and compare internal fills versus external hires to find savings opportunities.
• Offer Acceptance Rate — accepted offers divided by offers made, shown as a percentage.
  Track this by source and cohort to diagnose declines, then act on compensation, timing, or candidate experience to raise acceptance.
• Segmentation and Trend analysis — the video emphasizes slicing metrics by department, job level, sourcing channel, and rolling periods.
  Use moving averages and trend visuals to detect seasonal patterns and set thresholds for automated alerts.
• Actionable next steps: combine these metrics with Retention and Quality of Hire to prioritize fixes — for example, long time-to-fill plus high cost signals process redesign; low acceptance suggests employer-brand or compensation work.
  Set targets, monitor changes over time, and use the dashboard to drive hiring process improvements.

Introduction: Video Overview and Purpose

The YouTube video by Fernan Espejo of Solutions Abroad explores three core recruitment metrics and how to implement them in Power BI using DAX. The presenter frames the session as practical and hands-on, with timestamps that focus on Time to Fill, Cost per Hire, and Offer Acceptance Rate. Furthermore, the video includes demo files and step-by-step guidance to help viewers reproduce the measures in their own dashboards. Consequently, the video aims to move viewers from concept to action with clear formulas and visual examples.

The video targets HR analysts and BI professionals who need measurable hiring insights rather than high-level theory. In addition, Espejo emphasizes reproducible DAX patterns so teams can adapt the measures to their own data models. Importantly, the content balances formula detail with practical interpretation of results. Therefore, viewers can both build the metrics and understand what the numbers mean for decision-making.

Time to Fill: Measuring Speed and Context

Espejo opens the metrics section with Time to Fill, explaining how to calculate average days from requisition to acceptance using date logic in DAX. He demonstrates common pitfalls such as missing dates and how to handle partial or ongoing vacancies, and he shows how to make the measure robust to those exceptions. Moreover, he highlights the importance of consistent definitions across systems so teams compare apples to apples when tracking trends. As a result, the metric becomes a reliable signal rather than a noisy snapshot.

While speed matters, Espejo warns against optimizing for time alone at the expense of candidate quality and fit. For example, faster hires can reduce vacancy costs but may increase turnover if the selection process is rushed. Therefore, the video suggests pairing Time to Fill with quality indicators like retention and performance to avoid misleading conclusions. In practice, this dual view helps HR leaders trade off speed and long-term outcomes more wisely.

Cost per Hire: Calculating and Interpreting Expenses

The segment on Cost per Hire walks through standard and expanded cost categories, including agency fees, advertising, recruiter time, and onboarding costs. Espejo writes DAX measures that aggregate direct and indirect costs to produce a unit cost per hire, and he explains how to handle seasonal hiring patterns. Additionally, he suggests normalizing costs by role level or department to reveal where investments produce better returns. Consequently, the metric can guide budgeting and sourcing strategy when used thoughtfully.

However, the video stresses tradeoffs in choosing what to include in the denominator and numerator of the calculation. For example, including internal development costs or excluding passive sourcing time changes the story your dashboard tells. Therefore, teams must document assumptions so stakeholders understand the scope of the measure. This transparency prevents confusion and supports meaningful comparisons across periods and teams.

Offer Acceptance Rate: Candidate Experience and Signals

Espejo closes the technical examples with Offer Acceptance Rate, a metric that reveals how often candidates accept first offers and how frequently offers are declined. He demonstrates a DAX approach that separates first-offer acceptances from later-stage acceptances to provide a clearer signal of employer competitiveness. In addition, the video links acceptance trends to candidate experience factors like interview timelines and compensation alignment. Thus, the measure works as both a quality indicator and an early warning system for recruitment friction.

Still, interpreting acceptance rates requires context: a low rate may reflect market competition, unrealistic salary bands, or poor candidate fit. Espejo recommends pairing acceptance data with qualitative feedback such as candidate surveys or exit conversations. By combining quantitative and qualitative inputs, teams can prioritize actionable fixes rather than chase raw percentages.

Balancing Metrics and Implementation Challenges

The video emphasizes that no single KPI should drive hiring decisions; instead, a balanced dashboard helps reconcile speed, cost, and candidate experience. Espejo explains how to design dashboards that surface tradeoffs, such as faster hires that raise cost or higher acceptance rates that extend time-to-fill. Furthermore, he shows how filters and slicers in Power BI can help stakeholders explore those tradeoffs across teams, roles, and time windows. Consequently, dashboards become tools for discussion rather than binary scorecards.

Implementation challenges include data quality, differing definitions across HR systems, and the need to align finance and HR on cost treatments. The video offers practical tips to clean and standardize records and to version measures openly so teams can trace changes. Moreover, Espejo highlights ongoing governance: measures must evolve as hiring models or business priorities change. Ultimately, a living approach to metrics ensures relevance and trust over time.

Conclusion: Practical Takeaways for BI and HR Teams

Overall, the video by Fernan Espejo provides clear, reproducible steps to build three foundational recruitment metrics in Power BI with DAX, while stressing the need for context and governance. It supplies both technical patterns and strategic guidance so teams can deploy dashboards that support better hiring choices. In short, viewers gain formulas, interpretation tips, and pointers for balancing competing goals. For teams aiming to move from intuition to evidence, the video serves as a practical starting point and a reminder that metrics must be paired with conversation and continuous improvement.

Keywords

recruitment metrics, time to fill, cost per hire, acceptance rate, hiring analytics, recruitment KPIs, candidate sourcing metrics, recruitment process optimization