Develop the Role
Whether you’re preparing to open a new role, further developing an existing role, or backfilling a recurring role, the first phase of recruiting is critical to every step that follows.
Laying the Groundwork for Role Creation and Approval
Creating a new role within your organization is about more than just filling a vacancy; it’s a strategic process that demands careful planning and alignment (often with a variety of stakeholders).
In this chapter, we’ll lay the groundwork for the foundational hiring stage of role development and approval across a number of key stakeholders.
Keep scrolling to explore resources on:
- When to create new roles, whether driven by budgeting cycles, backfills, or strategic growth.
- How to define role objectives and requirements, ensuring it directly supports your business goals.
- How to navigate the approval process, including identifying key stakeholders and building a compelling business.
“We spend a lot of time doing what we call a hiring workshop, where we’re working through job [development]. It’s never just the hiring manager saying, ‘Let’s reopen the job’ or ‘I pulled a job.’ This allows us to have a really focused conversation about what [they’re] looking for, and what the requirements of the role are.
This is before the recruitment kickoff.
It’s always ‘let’s define this role and success in the role first’, and then we have an actual recruitment kick-off with the strategy, and we really do interview against that [predefined] job description.”
People and Culture Leader
Best Practices
Budgeting and Preparing for a New Role
Establish Regular Budgeting and Planning Cycles
Implement structured budgeting and planning cycles to proactively anticipate hiring needs and align role development with financial resources. This ensures strategic allocation of funds and prevents reactive hiring where the appropriate funds may not be available as needed.
Categorize and Analyze Hiring Patterns
Develop a system to categorize and analyze hiring patterns throughout the year, distinguishing the needs between backfills (for voluntary, involuntary, and confidential reasons) and new roles. This allows for targeted recruitment strategies and proper resource allocation without feeling like you’re starting from scratch every time.
Proactively Plan for New Growth-Driven Roles:
For organizations experiencing expansion, begin to establish best practices for role creation based on this growth. This includes:
- Conducting strategic workforce planning to anticipate future needs.
- Developing clear criteria for role justification based on growth projections.
- Establishing flexible hiring processes to adapt to rapid expansion.
Defining Role Objectives and Getting Approval
Strategic Alignment: Always evaluate if the proposed role directly supports both short-term business objectives and contributes to long-term organizational impact.
Clearly Define the Role: Determine and articulate role responsibilities, required skills, and measurable success criteria. Clarity at this stage minimizes future misunderstandings and ensures effective recruitment all the way through onboarding your new hire.
Financial Planning: Conduct comprehensive compensation research and collaborate with internal financial stakeholders to ensure budgetary alignment. This prevents downstream issues and demonstrates responsible budgetary management.
Stakeholder Alignment: Identify all key stakeholders and approvers, beyond your financial team. Proactive engagement streamlines the approval process and fosters buy-in early so you can avoid abrupt stops later in the process.
Comprehensive Business Case: Develop a robust business plan that addresses all potential questions regarding the necessity and anticipated impact of the role. A well-constructed case eliminates ambiguity and facilitates informed decision-making.