Plan

Overview

Planning to hire new team members involves activities such as mapping the role to a job series and grade or band level, detailing its main functions, responsibilities, and required skills, and providing the tools, performance goals, and training they’ll need to be set up for success.

Timeline Expectations

The planning phase can take a couple of weeks to a couple of months depending on whether or not you’re starting from scratch. Most processes contain an element of building out the plan and materials while you’re actively delivering on the process. Work with your HR partners to understand and build out as much as you can before posting the role will help ensure a smooth experience for all.

Sketch Out the Job Profile

Hiring Managers and HR partners typically work together to develop a job analysis, and position description before it is sent for classification. Hiring Managers can accelerate that process by informally sketching out the job profile ahead of time. What are the key responsibilities? What are the required and desired skillsets? In certain instances, the subject matter expertise for the role lies outside of the hiring manager’s purview. In such cases, hiring managers should consult with subject matter experts (SMEs) who have sufficient knowledge about the role.

Sketch Out the Recruitment and Hiring Process

It’s useful to sketch out the hiring process prior to posting the role in case you are required to disclose how candidates will be evaluated in the job announcement.

When planning this out work with your SMEs you should identify at a minimum:

If you are using SMEs to review resumes and accompanying application submissions, who will you assign and how many will you need?

• The estimated time to review and rate a resume is 5 minutes.

• We recommend assigning two SMEs to each resume for calibration. If the ratings are not aligned, bring in a third to act as a tiebreaker.

How many interview rounds will you use to assess the candidate?

• We recommend 2-3 rounds depending on the level to provide ample time for your questions, and theirs. Unless for an executive role, any more than 3 rounds is burdensome for all involved and does not typically reveal new insights.

Will you include a technical exercise as part of the candidate assessment process?

• Technical exercises can help hiring teams assess candidate skills and behaviors in a way that is equitable and accessible. At the same time, it often requires unpaid labor from the candidate. Think through the pros and cons and make a call.

Who will be your candidate guide?

• This is the person(s) who communicates with candidates throughout the interview process and who may also oversee scheduling logistics.

Will you set an application limit? If yes, is it beneficial to activate recruitment and amplification strategies prior to posting?

• If you and your HR partners anticipate receiving a high-volume of applications, you may want to set an application limit. In that scenario, you’ll want to alert your target talent pool that the announcement is coming and it’s best to get their resumes ready to apply close to the posting date. You can do this by sharing a “save the date” type of public announcement on LinkedIn, or by reaching out directly to individuals who look like a fit for the role. More on that in the Post, Source and Amplify section.

Create Position Descriptions & Job Announcements

For guidance and examples, navigate to the Position Descriptions & Job Announcements page.