METHODOLOGY
The ReCapacity Standard Model 47 assumptions, fully visible.
Recruiting capacity includes substantial work and operational friction that ATS activity counts never show. The Standard Model makes that work measurable: 14 ATS activity drivers, 14 non-ATS workload categories and 19 operational delays.
A · 14 ATS ACTIVITY DRIVERS
The effort behind each ATS event
Standard minutes of recruiter effort for every event the ATS records.
| Activity | Standard default | What it represents |
|---|---|---|
| Req Assigned (Intake Meeting) | 45 minutes / event | Reviewing the job, running the intake meeting with the hiring team, agreeing the sourcing approach and preparing the posting. |
| Req Posted | 10 minutes / event | Publishing the requisition and checking the posting is live and correct. |
| Candidate Review | 1 minute / event | Opening a profile and reading enough to decide whether to move the candidate forward. |
| Candidate Review (Rejected) | 30 seconds / event | A quick review that ends in a rejection recorded in the ATS. |
| Candidate Screened (Submitted) | 45 minutes / event | A screening conversation, notes and the write-up that accompanies a submission to the hiring manager. |
| Candidate Screened (Rejected) | 30 minutes / event | A screening conversation that ends in a rejection, including notes and closing the loop. |
| HM Review | 5 minutes / event | Packaging a shortlist for the hiring manager and handling the review step. |
| Interview 1 | 15 minutes / event | Recruiter coordination around a first interview: preparation, logistics and follow-up. |
| Interview 2 | 15 minutes / event | Recruiter coordination around a second interview. |
| Interview 3 | 0 minutes / event | Recruiter coordination around a third interview. Zero in the standard; companies with a third round set their own value. |
| Verbal Offer Extended | 20 minutes / event | Preparing and delivering a verbal offer and handling the first response. |
| Written Offer Extended | 15 minutes / event | Preparing and sending the written offer. |
| Written Offer Accepted | 10 minutes / event | Confirming acceptance and updating records. |
| Hired | 10 minutes / event | Closing the requisition and completing the hire record. |
B · 14 NON-ATS WORKLOAD CATEGORIES
Recurring work the ATS never records
Standard per-recruiter time for work that happens around the ATS.
| Category | Standard default | What it is and why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Email Responses | 5 hours / week | Candidate questions, hiring-manager threads, scheduling exchanges and internal follow-ups.Most of this correspondence never becomes an ATS event, yet it is a large share of a recruiter's week. |
| Administration | 30 minutes / day | Forms, approval paperwork, expenses and internal process handling.Administrative load competes directly with candidate-facing time. |
| Calendar Management | 15 minutes / day | Managing interview slots, reschedules and diary conflicts.Scheduling friction consumes time even when no interview takes place. |
| Candidate Management | 3 hours / week | Keeping candidates informed, prepared and engaged between stages.Candidate care protects acceptance rates but is rarely logged. |
| Stakeholder Engagement | 5 hours / week | Updates, alignment and expectation-setting with hiring managers and HR partners.Stakeholder work shapes every hire but leaves almost no ATS trace. |
| Team Collaboration | 30 minutes / day | Working with other recruiters, coordinators and HR colleagues.Collaboration is necessary capacity that activity counts ignore. |
| Team Meetings | 1.5 hours / week | Recurring recruiting team meetings and stand-ups.Fixed meeting time reduces the hours available for requisitions. |
| Reporting | 20 minutes / day | Preparing pipeline updates, trackers and status reports.Reporting is often manual and a common candidate for automation. |
| Realtime Movement (ATS) | 30 minutes / day | Moving candidates through stages and keeping ATS records current.System upkeep takes time beyond the events it records. |
| Sourcing (ATS) | 5 hours / week | Searching for and engaging potential candidates.Sourcing effort is not proportional to the applications an ATS counts. |
| Ad Hoc | 30 minutes / day | Unplanned requests and interruptions.Interruptions fragment the day and reduce effective capacity. |
| Headhunting (Outside ATS) | 0 hours / week | Direct search conducted outside the ATS.Zero in the standard; organisations that headhunt set their own value so this hidden work is counted. |
| Hiring Events | 0 hours / week | Career fairs, campus days and recruiting events.Zero in the standard; event-heavy teams calibrate it so event time is visible. |
| Planning Activities | 0 hours / week | Workforce and hiring planning work.Zero in the standard; teams that plan headcount with the business add their own value. |
C · 19 OPERATIONAL DELAYS
Where time is lost between steps
The standard threshold beyond which waiting time is treated as friction, with the recovery lever the methodology assigns to it.
| Delay | Standard threshold | Recovery lever | What it measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intake Call | 3 days | Manager Intervention | Time to hold the intake call after a requisition is assigned. |
| Requisition Approval Chain | 5 days | Process Overhaul | Time for a requisition to clear its approval chain. |
| Posting (Optional) | 2 days | Automation | Time between approval and the job going live. |
| HM Shortlist Review | 2 days | Manager Intervention | Time for the hiring manager to review a submitted shortlist. |
| Candidate Screen Response | 3 days | Automation | Time for a candidate to respond to a screening invitation. |
| HM Interview Scheduling Response | 4 days | Manager Intervention | Time for the hiring team to offer interview availability. |
| Candidate Interview Scheduling | 4 days | Automation | Time for a candidate to confirm an interview slot. |
| HM Interview Feedback | 2 days | Manager Intervention | Time for interviewers to return feedback. |
| Candidate Quality | 10 days | Process Overhaul | Delay caused by a shortage of suitable candidates. |
| Multi-approver Bottlenecks | 5 days | Process Overhaul | Delay where several approvers must sign off in sequence. |
| Offer Generation | 2 days | Automation | Time to produce the offer documents. |
| HRBP / Comp Approval | 2 days | Process Overhaul | Time for HR business partner or compensation sign-off. |
| Leadership Offer Approval | 3 days | Process Overhaul | Time for leadership to approve an offer. |
| Candidate Verbal Offer Acceptance | 3 days | Manager Intervention | Time for a candidate to accept a verbal offer. |
| Candidate Written Offer Acceptance | 5 days | Manager Intervention | Time for a candidate to sign the written offer. |
| Background Check / References | 7 days | Process Overhaul | Time to complete background checks and references. |
| Notice Period / Start Date | 30 days | Process Overhaul | Time between acceptance and the start date. |
| Onboarding Handoff | 3 days | Automation | Time to hand a new hire over to onboarding. |
| System / ATS Lag | 3 days | Automation | Delay caused by system or ATS processing. |
CALIBRATION
ReCapacity Standard → Your Company
Companies adjust the standard to match how they work. The standard values below are real; the company values are illustrative.
| Assumption | ReCapacity Standard | Your Company (illustrative) | Why it might differ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Req Assigned (Intake Meeting) | 45 minutes / event | 60 minutes / event | Executive searches with longer intake briefings. |
| Reporting | 20 minutes / day | 10 minutes / day | Pipeline reporting already automated. |
| HM Shortlist Review | 2-day threshold | 1-day threshold | Hiring managers committed to next-day review. |
| Hiring Events | 0 hours / week | 4 hours / week | Graduate programme with regular campus events. |
- A healthcare network with mandatory credential checks lengthens its background-check threshold.
- A technology team with a third technical interview sets a value for Interview 3.
- A volume-hiring team with templated screening shortens screening time per candidate.
- An organisation with a single approver shortens its requisition approval expectation.
- A team that sources mainly through referrals lowers its weekly sourcing hours.
Illustrative examples only. These are not observed customer data and do not change any calculation.
TRANSPARENCY
How to read the Standard Model
Why assumptions are necessary
An ATS records events, not the effort behind them. Assumptions translate each event and each recurring task into time, so workload can be measured as capacity.
Why companies calibrate
Every organisation hires differently. The standard is a starting point; companies adjust values to reflect how their teams actually work.
Modeled versus observed
A Company Model uses structured company inputs and these assumptions. Connected ATS evidence uses observed activity. Reports always state which one they are built from.
Projections are not savings
Estimated or projected capacity is not realized capacity. Recovery depends on action, and constraints outside your control stay visible as constraints.
One model behind both products
Capacity Intelligence measures today with these assumptions. Simulation Lab adjusts them in a scenario to model tomorrow, without changing your main settings.
See how the model is used in Capacity Intelligence, Simulation Lab and ReCapacity 360.
See the model applied to your team
The free report runs your inputs through the Standard Model.