What term describes the amount of money needed to recruit a new employee, including advertising, recruiting fees, referral fees, travel expenses, and relocation costs?

What term describes the amount of money needed to recruit a new employee, including advertising, recruiting fees, referral fees, travel expenses, and relocation costs?

• A. Time to hire
• B. Time to fill
• C. Recruitment cost per hire
• D. Cost per hire

Answer: (D)

The key idea here is measuring the financial investment needed to bring a new employee onboard. This is captured by the term cost per hire. It accounts for all recruiting-related spending—advertising, recruiting agency fees, referral bonuses, travel expenses, relocation costs, and similar items—and is calculated by dividing the total recruiting costs by the number of hires. This metric focuses on dollars rather than time, so it informs budgeting and the return on recruiting efforts. Time-to-hire and time-to-fill, by contrast, measure how long it takes to fill a position, not how much it costs. While you might see “recruitment cost per hire” used in some contexts, the standard labeled measure is cost per hire.

The key idea here is measuring the financial investment needed to bring a new employee onboard. This is captured by the term cost per hire. It accounts for all recruiting-related spending—advertising, recruiting agency fees, referral bonuses, travel expenses, relocation costs, and similar items—and is calculated by dividing the total recruiting costs by the number of hires. This metric focuses on dollars rather than time, so it informs budgeting and the return on recruiting efforts. Time-to-hire and time-to-fill, by contrast, measure how long it takes to fill a position, not how much it costs. While you might see “recruitment cost per hire” used in some contexts, the standard labeled measure is cost per hire.