Open IT roles cost more than recruiting time. Check when the IT capacity you need can realistically become productive, what economic consequences a vacancy can have, and which capacity model fits your need and timeframe.
Delvera · Engineering Capacity
How long until your new IT hire is productive?
Analyse the time from internal approval to productive contribution - including an IT market comparison and a breakdown of the individual process phases.
The six phases (calendar days)
Preset, freely adjustable model assumptions - not scientific benchmarks.
Internal approval & preparation15 days
From identified need to publishing the role.
Sourcing & shortlisting22 days
From publishing to the first interview.
Interviews & technical assessment35 days
From first to last interview.
Decision & contract30 days
From last interview to signed contract.
Time between contract and start date90 days
From the signed contract to the first working day. Default: 90 calendar days. The actual duration depends in particular on the notice period, the timing of the resignation and the agreed start date.
Onboarding to first productive contribution20 days
From first working day to productive contribution.
Total time to first productive contribution
212 days · approx. 7.0 months
Recruiting process (job publication → signed contract)87 days
Total time to first working day192 days
Market comparison recruiting process
Your process: 87 daysXING orientation value IT: ~87 days
Within the XING orientation value IT range.
Largest phase (excl. time to start date): Interviews & technical assessment - 35 days.
Timeline to productive contribution
Share of each phase in the total duration.
152235309020
0106 days212 days
Internal approval & preparation 15Sourcing & shortlisting 22Interviews & technical assessment 35Decision & contract 30Time between contract and start date 90Onboarding to first productive contribution 20
Can your project wait that long?
If the required capacity needs to be available sooner, external IT capacity can bridge the time until the new hire is productive.
How is this calculated?
- Recruiting process: Sum of sourcing & shortlisting, interviews & technical assessment, and decision & contract. Only this window is compared to the XING orientation value IT - not internal approval, the time to the start date or onboarding.
- XING orientation value IT: ~87 days (86.8) for IT & software development per the XING application report 2025 (DACH). XING measures from job creation to the ATS status “hired” - which does not exactly match the window job publication → signed contract, so comparability is limited. Germany overall: 72 days per the XING application report 2026.
- Total time to start date: Internal approval + recruiting process + time between contract and start date.
- Total time to productive contribution: Plus onboarding to first productive contribution - the decisive figure for IT leaders. Months at ~30.4 calendar days.
- Largest phase: Largest phase excluding the time to the start date. That period is considered separately because it is often contractually fixed and only partly controllable. Deliberately neutral - a longer technical assessment can be sensible.
- Model assumptions: All phase values are preset, freely adjustable assumptions. The time between contract and start date is set at a flat 90 calendar days; the actual duration depends in particular on the notice period, the timing of the resignation and the agreed start date.
Sources (excerpt): XING Application Report 2025 (whitepaper, PDF) · XING Application Report 2026 (federal states comparison)
Delvera - Recruiting check for IT roles