Recruitment and hiring process
Unstructured hiring is slow, inconsistent, and hard to defend. The same role gets assessed differently by each interviewer, notes are not comparable, and the decision comes down to whoever spoke most confidently in the debrief. Structure fixes all three, and it makes the process faster rather than slower.
- 1
Hiring Manager obtains headcount approval and records the budget, level, and whether it is a replacement or an addition.
Hiring Manager
Approval first. Interviewing candidates for a role that is not funded wastes their time and damages your reputation for hiring.
- 2
Hiring Manager writes the scorecard: what the person must be able to do, and how each will be assessed.
Hiring Manager
The scorecard before the job advert. Writing what you will assess forces clarity about what the role actually needs, rather than listing every desirable trait.
- 3
Recruiter publishes the role and confirms every interviewer knows which part of the scorecard they own.
Recruiter
Divide the scorecard between interviewers. Four people all assessing general impression produces one opinion repeated four times.
- 4
Recruiter screens applications against the must-have criteria only, and records the reason for each rejection.
Recruiter
Must-haves only at screening. Screening on nice-to-haves is where good candidates are lost and where inconsistency creeps in.
- 5
Interviewer conducts their assigned section using the same questions for every candidate, and scores against the scorecard.
Interviewer
Same questions, so answers are comparable. An interview that goes wherever the conversation leads produces a feeling, not evidence.
- 6
Interviewer records their scores and evidence before hearing anyone else's view.
Interviewer
Before the debrief, without exception. Once scores are shared they converge on the first or loudest opinion, and the independent signal is gone.
- 7
Hiring Manager holds a debrief where each interviewer presents scores and evidence against their section.
Hiring Manager
Candidate meets the bar: go to step 8
No suitable candidate: go to step 11
- 8
Hiring Manager completes reference or background checks to the extent your policy and local law require, before the offer is confirmed.
Hiring Manager
Checks satisfactory: go to step 9
Concerns raised: go to step 7
- 9
Recruiter makes the offer, confirms it in writing, and records the response.
Recruiter
Accepted: go to step 10
Declined: go to step 12
- 10
Hiring Manager triggers the onboarding procedure as soon as the start date is confirmed.
Hiring Manager
Trigger onboarding at acceptance, not at start. Pre-start access provisioning is what makes day one useful rather than administrative.
Onboarding started: the procedure ends
- 11
Hiring Manager decides whether to continue sourcing, revise the scorecard, or close the role, and records the decision.
Hiring Manager
If two rounds produce nobody who meets the bar, the scorecard is usually the problem, not the market.
Continue sourcing: go to step 3
Scorecard revised: go to step 2
Role closed: the procedure ends
- 12
Recruiter records the decline reason and feeds it back, since compensation, timeline, and process pattern are all actionable.
Recruiter
Declines are data. Three candidates declining on compensation is a pay-band problem, not bad luck.
Recorded, next candidate: go to step 8
No other candidate: go to step 11
Change these before you use it
- Write the scorecard per role. A generic scorecard defeats the entire purpose of having one.
- Confirm what background and reference checking is lawful and required where you hire. This template deliberately specifies none, and the rules vary significantly by country.
- Add your equal opportunity and record-keeping obligations, which differ by jurisdiction and are not covered here.
- Set how long candidate records are retained and confirm it against your privacy policy.
- Connect step 10 directly to your onboarding procedure so the handover is a trigger rather than an email.
This is a starting point, not compliance advice. It is written to be adapted, and a procedure that touches access, money, or customer data needs to match how your business actually operates and whatever rules apply to you. Use it as a first draft to edit, not a policy to adopt.
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