Measuring speed-to-contact: the metric most teams ignore

Most staffing dashboards track time-to-fill — a lagging metric that tells you what already happened. Speed-to-contact, the time between an application and the first live conversation, is the lever you can actually pull today.

Instrument the first touch

Start by logging a timestamp the moment an application enters your ATS and again when a candidate first speaks with a representative. The delta is your speed-to-contact. Segment it by source, shift, and role type to find where candidates go cold.

Set a target you can defend

For hourly and high-volume roles, a sub-five-minute target is realistic with automation in place. Treat anything over an hour as a leak in the funnel, and review it weekly alongside fill rate.