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Planning your recruitment

Vacancies arise for a number of reasons – a member of the team resigns, retires, goes on maternity leave, takes a career break, reduces their hours, gets promoted or is dismissed.
It is important to understand the reason why a vacancy has arisen in order to determine any changes that may need to be made to the role (for example to the job description or the working environment) and to determine how best to manage the recruitment process to find the right person for the role.
Alternatively a completely new role might need to be created. This could be for a number of reasons, including:
  • to cover increased work load
  • as a result of a restructure
  • as part of an expansion of the business
  • a change in technology
  • to meet a legal requirement
  • to work on a new project.
Because the organisations continually change it is important to consider whether a vacancy needs to be filled before starting the recruitment process.
You can work through the following points to assess a vacancy:
  1. Consider the reasons for the vacancy – for example has the current incumbent resigned or been promoted with the company? This will help to consider whether there need to be any changes to the role and how best to position the role with potential applicants.
  2. Review exit feedback – this will give a good indication of what is positive and what is negative about the job.
  3. Consider whether there is enough work to justify the role, in the short and longer term. It’s good to consider the view of the team and to consider feedback and future requirements based on changes in processes, organisations priorities and budget allocation.
  4. Review what the previous incumbent did and consider whether this is still required.
  5. Consider whether the role can be combined into another job description – this may be an opportunity to redesign jobs within the team, reallocate tasks and provide opportunities for development for existing employees.
  6. Revie the existing job description skills and experience required.
  7. Always review the workforce, resourcing or succession plans to determine whether replacing this role fits in longer term.

For new roles you should consider what value the new role will add, whether activity can be combined into other jobs and whether there is the need for a full or part time role.

You should also think about where the role fits within the team structure in terms of reporting lines, the level of the role and the impact on current roles and role holders. You should also consider if the new role fits in with longer term planning for the organisation.