What is Cost of Vacancy?

Cost of Vacancy (COV) calculates the daily financial loss incurred by an organization for every day a key role remains unfilled. It includes lost productivity, revenue, and the strain on existing teams, often exceeding the cost of hiring itself.

Cost of Vacancy (CoV)

Cost of vacancy (CoV) is the economic value an organisation loses for every day a revenue-generating or operationally critical role remains unfilled. Unlike cost-per-hire — which measures what it costs to fill a role — CoV measures what the organisation loses by not having someone in that role.

For senior and specialised positions, the daily CoV can easily exceed the daily cost of the hiring process itself, making time-to-fill a financially significant metric rather than just an operational one.