BrandsLumen The cost of an open role

What’s an empty seat costing you?

Put in your own numbers. You’ll see the value your business planned on and isn’t getting yet. It’s an illustrative model, not a prediction.

Your numbers

Sets currency, working days and the local time-to-fill reference. No currency conversion, so nothing goes stale.

Sets a starting value multiplier based on how roles in that sector usually earn. It is a starting point, not a benchmark. Change it to fit the role.

Start here
₹

Value each role produces
1.5×

How much value the role produces, as a multiple of its salary. It’s a planning estimate, not an accounting figure. If your team absorbs most of the work while the seat is empty, set it lower. To ground it in your own books, switch to revenue per employee.

%

Use your own rate if you track it. For reference, Gartner’s latest published figure is 48% of candidates accepting their most recent offer, down from 54% a year earlier. Source: Gartner, June 2026.

Unrealised value while these roles stay open
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Illustrative model, not a prediction
That is a big number, and big numbers are easy to dismiss. For a CFO conversation, run your single most critical role first. One believable figure beats a large one.
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per day, across every open role
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expected value lost to declined offers
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a year, if you always carry this load
What closing the gap is worth

You already know empty seats hold the business back. The question is what a faster, surer hire is worth to you. Set the improvement yourself.

10
+10
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Take it into the budget meeting
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How this is calculated

Daily value of one open role = salary × multiplier ÷ 248 working days. If you choose revenue per employee: annual revenue ÷ headcount ÷ working days.

These figures are opportunity cost: value the business planned on and hasn’t received. They are not cash spent or P&L expenses. This is gross value. A stricter view subtracts the salary you are not paying while the seat is empty: salary × (multiplier − 1) ÷ working days.

What closing the gap is worth = the value of the days you take off, plus the declined-offer cost you avoid at the higher acceptance rate. You set both improvements. Nothing here promises them.

Total = daily figure × days open × roles. Annual = daily figure × working days, if the load stays constant.

Declined offers: at an acceptance rate p, expect (1 − p) ÷ p declines per role you fill. Each one is assumed to send the search back to day one. With a strong runner-up, the real cost is lower.

  • Method follows the cost-of-vacancy convention popularised by Dr John Sullivan. Sector starting multipliers are BrandsLumen conventions mapped to the four tiers, not published benchmarks. The revenue-per-employee basis and the stricter view follow Built In's cost-of-vacancy method.
  • Working days in 2026: Australia 249 (Payly; Victoria and the ACT 247), United States 250 (261 weekdays minus 11 federal holidays), India 248 (varies by state and sector, commonly 245 to 252).
  • Time to fill: Australia median 32 days (SmartRecruiters Recruiting Benchmarks 2025–2026, the latest edition). United States median 39 calendar days for non-executive roles (SHRM 2026 Recruiting Benchmarking, 4,600+ organisations). India: there is no free, independently published national benchmark yet, so enter your own.
  • Offer acceptance: 48% in 4Q25, 54% in 4Q24 (Gartner, June 2026).
Every number here is yours to change. If one is not real, change it. That is the whole point.

The question isn’t what employer branding costs. It’s what the empty seat is worth.