Recruiting team capacity
- Hires one recruiter can close a month
- 2.5
- Openings to fill
- 60
- Recruiters needed
- 4
- Recruiters you have
- 3
- Shortfall
- 1
- Team workload
- 133%
your figure
in 6 months
of current capacity
Recruiters needed4
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Recruiter Capacity Calculator
How many recruiters do you need to fill your open roles on time?
Enter the roles you need to fill, by when, and how many hires a recruiter closes a month. You get the recruiters you need, your shortfall and your team's workload.
How recruiter capacity is calculated
Capacity per recruiter per month is either your own figure or recruiting hours a month ÷ hours per hire. Recruiters needed = openings ÷ (capacity per recruiter × months), rounded up. Team workload = openings ÷ (current recruiters × capacity × months).
- Capacity
- Hires one recruiter can close in a month.
- Workload
- Openings as a share of what your current team can close in the period.
Recruiter capacity examples
Illustrative plans, worked out with the same formula the calculator uses.
| Plan | Capacity basis | Recruiters needed | Have | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 roles, 6 months | 2.5 hires / recruiter / month | 4 | 3 | Shortfall: 1 |
| 36 roles, 6 months | 40 h per hire, 120 h a month | 2 | 2 | Spare capacity: 0 |
| 200 roles, 12 months | 4 hires / recruiter / month | 5 | 5 | Spare capacity: 0 |
Capacity figures are examples, not benchmarks — use your own team's numbers.
Before you hire recruiters
- Capacity drops when roles are new to the team, senior or hard to fill.
- Ramp-up: a new recruiter won't run at full capacity in their first months.
- Agencies or job board reach can cover a short peak more cheaply than a new hire.
Frequently asked questions
How many recruiters do I need?
Recruiters needed = roles to fill ÷ (hires one recruiter closes a month × months available), rounded up. If you have 60 roles to fill in 6 months and a recruiter closes about 2.5 hires a month, you need 60 ÷ 15 = 4 recruiters.
How many requisitions can one recruiter handle?
It depends heavily on the roles: a recruiter filling high-volume retail or call-centre roles closes far more hires a month than one filling senior engineering roles. Use your own team's history — hires closed per recruiter per month over the last two or three quarters — rather than a generic figure.
What if I only know how long a hire takes?
Switch to 'Hours per hire'. Enter the recruiter hours one hire takes (sourcing, screening, scheduling, offers) and the recruiting hours each recruiter has a month after meetings and admin. Capacity = hours available ÷ hours per hire.
What does team workload mean?
It is the openings as a share of what your current team can close in the period. 100% means fully loaded; above 100% means you'll miss the deadline unless you add recruiters, an agency or more time.
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