OUR PERSPECTIVES
Purpose
This brief highlights the key findings from SHRM’s 2026 benchmarking data. These results provide key metrics pertinent to executives who manage recruiting functions for organizations. Given that over 2 in 3 organizations reported struggles with hiring for open positions in 2026, there remains a critical need to leverage data-driven strategies to enhance recruitment processes and invest in innovative solutions to attract top talent. This brief provides actionable data to help HR leaders optimize their recruitment strategies, allocate resources effectively, and address the challenges of a dynamic labor market.
KEY FINDING NO. 1
The Executive Cost-per-Hire Increased, While Nonexecutive Costs Remained Relatively Stable
The median cost-per-hire for executive positions in 2026 was $15,000, a considerable increase from $10,600 in 2025, $8,800 in 2022, and $5,000 in 2017. However, the median cost-per-hire for nonexecutive positions increased only slightly from $1,200 in 2025 to $1,300 in 2026. Overall, the cost-per-hire for nonexecutive positions has remained steady since 2017 ($1,600).
The significant increase in executive cost-per-hire aligns with the continued emphasis on leadership and managerial development, which remained the foremost priority for CHROs in both 2025 and 2026. Executive positions tend to be harder to fill. As such, organizations may be willing to pay a premium or invest considerable resources to attract quality leaders.
Takeaways & Implications
- The substantial increase in median cost-per-hire for executive positions reflects both a heightened organizational prioritization of securing high-quality leadership and the growing difficulty of filling senior roles in a constrained talent market. As CHROs have ranked leadership and managerial development as a top priority in 2025 and 2026, organizations may be more willing to absorb higher acquisition costs or invest more heavily across sourcing, recruiting, and assessment to secure the right leader.
- The median cost-per-hire for nonexecutive positions remains relatively stable, likely due to the cooling of the job market.
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KEY FINDING NO. 2
The Median Percentage of Nonexecutive Positions Filled Externally Increased Slightly From 93% in 2025 to 97% in 2026
In 2026, the median percentage of nonexecutive positions that were filled externally was 97%, compared to 93% last year, though this does not constitute a substantial increase. The median percentage of executive hire positions filled externally remained unchanged at 100%, but there were changes among organizations with 500 or more employees. For large organizations (500-4,999 employees) and extra-large organizations (more than 5,000 employees), the median percentage of executive positions that were externally filled increased to 100%, up from 75% and 50% in 2025, respectively. The increase in external hiring could be driving the rising cost-per-hire for executive positions.
Takeaways & Implications
- Large and extra-large organizations have shifted their hiring strategy toward external sourcing for executive positions. To mitigate costs in the future, organizations should focus on internal upskilling and leadership development for current employees.
- Additionally, organizations could consider offering internships to establish strong talent pipelines. Indeed, most HR professionals (77%) found internships somewhat or very effective at addressing talent shortages in their organization.
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KEY FINDING NO. 3
Time-to-Fill Has Decreased to a Median of 39 Calendar Days for Nonexecutive Positions, but the Time-to-Fill for Executive Positions Has Remained the Same As Last Year
The time needed to fill open positions has decreased to a median of 39 calendar days for nonexecutive positions in 2026, compared to 44 days in 2025. For executive positions, the median time-to-fill (45 days) is lower than in 2022 (60 days), though it remained unchanged from last year.
Recent SHRM research revealed that HR professionals most commonly use AI tools and technologies in recruiting, compared to all other HR functions. This suggests that the increased use of artificial intelligence to automate repetitive tasks may be contributing to reductions in time-to-fill for nonexecutive positions. This pattern is further supported by findings that organizations with the most effective recruitment practices in 2026 leverage advanced technologies, including AI, and are able to fill open roles five days faster than other organizations.
Takeaways & Implications
- The median time-to-fill for nonexecutive positions declined from 44 days in 2025 to 39 days in 2026, indicating improved hiring efficiency at the nonexecutive level. Executive time-to-fill also remains lower than in prior years, though it has stabilized at 45 days after a notable drop from 60 days in 2022.
- The reduction in time-to-fill may reflect the growing adoption of AI and other HR technologies in recruiting, which SHRM research identifies as the most common area of AI application across HR functions. By automating repetitive and administrative tasks, these tools may be enabling faster candidate screening, scheduling, and workflow coordination, contributing to shorter hiring cycles.
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KEY FINDING NO. 4
Extra-Large Organizations Experienced a 67% Increase in Median Requisitions per Recruiter in 2026
Recruiters’ workloads have increased in 2026, with a median of 25 requisitions per recruiter, up from 20 in 2025. This rise appears to be largely driven by extra-large organizations, where hiring demands are notably higher and the median number of requisitions per recruiter increased from 60 in 2025 to 100 in 2026.
This pattern may reflect differences in organizational structure, as larger organizations typically operate with fewer HR professionals relative to their overall workforce. Recent SHRM research shows that HR staffing ratios vary by organization size, with a median of 3.33 HR professionals per 100 employees in small organizations, compared to just 0.8 in extra-large organizations.
Takeaways & Implications
- Recruiter workloads have increased in 2026, driven primarily by extra-large organizations where requisitions per recruiter have risen sharply. This suggests that staffing pressures are becoming increasingly concentrated in the largest organizations, likely due to structurally leaner HR-to-employee ratios as organization size increases.
- The sharp rise in requisitions per recruiter at extra-large organizations raises concerns about the sustainability of these workloads. Recruiters in extra-large organizations may be at risk of burnout, as they are tasked with managing an increasingly heavy volume of requisitions. To mitigate this risk, extra-large organizations should consider strategies to alleviate recruiter workloads.
KEY FINDING NO. 5
Small and Extra-large Organizations Were Slightly More Likely to Measure the Quality of Hire Than Midsize and Large Organizations
Quality of hire is a critical metric for organizations as it provides insight into the effectiveness of their recruiting and hiring processes. Organizations that measure the quality of hire reported improved organizational fit of their new hires in the past 12 months, suggesting its utility. Despite this metric’s importance, only 1 in 5 (20%) organizations measure quality of hire in 2026, a figure that remains unchanged since 2025. Among those that do measure it, the top three metrics used are performance appraisal scores, retention rates, and post-hire interviews to evaluate performance.
The prevalence of measuring quality of hire varies by organization size. In 2026, 23% of small organizations and 23% of extra-large organizations measure quality of hire, compared to 19% of midsize organizations and 16% of large organizations. Extra-large organizations are more likely to measure quality of hire due to increased access to resources, including advanced talent analytics capabilities and dedicated teams that analyze recruitment data. However, it is notable that small organizations are equally likely to prioritize this metric. This could be due to smaller organizations relying more heavily on quality of hire metrics to ensure they are maximizing their often-limited recruiting budgets. Additionally, with fewer layers of bureaucracy, small organizations may have more agility to implement and act on quality of hire measurements, using the data to make immediate improvements to their hiring processes.
Takeaways & Implications
- Measuring the quality of hire is a critical method for organizations to assess the effectiveness of their recruiting efforts, yet few organizations currently track this metric.
- Surprisingly, small organizations were just as likely to measure quality of hire as extra-large organizations, suggesting that organizations with a lower headcount and possibly fewer resources can still measure quality of hire to strengthen their recruitment processes.
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CONCLUSION
The insights presented in this data brief offer a look into shifting dynamics within the recruiting landscape in 2026. Despite cost-saving efforts, organizations invested heavily in attracting quality leadership, as shown by the increased cost-per-hire for executive positions. Furthermore, organizations have streamlined recruiting operations, as evidenced by the reduced median time-to-fill for nonexecutive positions this year. And recruiters’ workloads have increased, particularly in extra-large organizations, where each recruiter managed a median of 100 requisitions in 2026.
Together, these benchmarks provide recruiting leaders with actionable insights to refine their strategies, allocate resources effectively, and address the complexities of today’s labor market. By leveraging these findings, organizations can better maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly dynamic and challenging environment.
How to cite this research: 2026 Recruiting Executives Benchmarking: Attracting Critical Talent, SHRM, 2026.
Definitions
Cost-per-hire: Cost-per-hire represents the costs involved with a new hire. These costs may include the sum of third-party agency fees, advertising agency fees, job fair costs, online job board fees, employee referral costs, travel costs of applicants and staff, relocation costs, recruiter pay and benefits, and talent acquisition system costs divided by the number of hires. This is reported separately for nonexecutive positions and executive positions.
Requisitions per recruiter: Requisitions per recruiter is the average number of requisitions a recruiter is responsible for in a year in organizations with at least one dedicated recruiter.
Positions externally filled: The percentage of full-time and part-time open positions in an organization that were filled with candidates not already employed by the organization. This metric is reported for nonexecutive positions and executive positions.
Positions internally filled: The percentage of full-time and part-time open positions in an organization that were filled with candidates already employed by the organization in other positions. This metric is reported for nonexecutive positions and executive positions.
Time-to-fill: Time-to-fill represents the number of days from the time the job requisition was opened to the time the offer was accepted by the candidate. This number is calculated using calendar days, including weekends and holidays. This metric is reported for nonexecutive positions and executive positions.
Percentage of organizations measuring quality of hire: The percentage of organizations that track the value a new hire provides to the organization.
Methods & Data
The following analyses highlight key insights derived from SHRM’s 2026 benchmarking data, which builds upon and refines SHRM’s prior benchmarking research. 2026 data was collected through an electronically fielded survey from a random sample of active SHRM Members from Nov. 24, 2025, to Jan. 23, 2026. Given the robust data collected in this research, an additional stratified sampling approach was implemented to oversample members who held a director or higher position within their organization. In total, 4,657 members responded to the survey. The data is not weighted, and respondents were not required to provide data on every metric, meaning the sample size for each individual metric may vary. Respondents represent a diverse range of industries, sectors, and organization sizes across the U.S.
The analyses in this brief use median values to define central tendency and identify trends in the data over time. Central tendency refers to a statistical measure that identifies the center point or typical value in a data series. The median is a commonly used measure of central tendency; it represents the middle value when the data is ordered from lowest to highest, helping to avoid the influence of extreme outliers that can have a greater impact on the average value. For example, if measuring a set of salaries, the median would be the salary that falls exactly in the middle of the range and avoids being skewed by very high or very low values. By using the median, we improve comparability across different time periods and account for changes in methodology and metric calculations. Additionally, using the median helps mitigate the impact of shifts in SHRM Membership used for this research over time, ensuring stronger consistency and reliability in the findings.
In all graphs, the axis labels denoting years (i.e., “2025” and “2026”) refer to the year in which the benchmarking reports were published. The data within those reports reflect figures from the 12 months prior to data collection. For example, any data labeled with “2026” reflects figures from the whole year preceding Nov. 24, 2025 (i.e., the start of data collection for the 2026 report).