Workforce Strategy
A Job Requisition Is Not a Business Case
Before approving new headcount, leaders should define the work, the outcome, the alternatives, the full cost, and the evidence that will prove the investment is working.
By Mandi Libby · 5 min read
A manager submits a request for a new role. The justification is familiar: the team is stretched, the work is growing, and a strong candidate could start next quarter. The request moves through approvals, and a few months later there is a new person on the team.
Sometimes that is exactly right. Often, though, nobody paused to ask whether a new hire was the best answer to the underlying problem. A requisition describes a role. A business case describes a decision.
A request for headcount is not automatically a case for hiring.
Start with the work, not the title
The most useful first question is not “what role do we need?” but “what work needs to be done, and what outcome will change if it is done well?” Titles carry assumptions about level, scope, and cost. Work can be examined, divided, redesigned, or removed.
Consider the full set of options
Hiring is one of at least six ways to meet a capability need. Before approving a new role, leaders should be able to explain why hiring is better than the alternatives:
- Build: develop the capability in someone already on the team.
- Borrow: use a contractor, advisor, or internal rotation for a defined period.
- Buy: purchase a service or tool that does the work.
- Automate: remove manual effort with technology.
- Redesign: change the process so less of the work is needed.
- Stop: decide the work is not worth doing at all.
Price the decision honestly
The cost of a hire is not the base salary. It includes benefits, recruiting effort, equipment, onboarding, manager time, and the months before the person is fully productive. It also includes the cost of leaving the role vacant, which is sometimes higher and sometimes much lower than people assume.
Define how you will know it worked
A strong business case names the evidence that will show the investment is paying off at 90 and 180 days. If nobody can describe what success looks like, the organization is not ready to hire for it, and the new employee will struggle to succeed.
Make it a shared decision
The best workforce decisions are made jointly by the business leader, Finance, and People, using the same priorities and the same numbers. That shared discipline does not slow organizations down. It prevents the far slower cost of hiring the wrong role, at the wrong time, for the wrong reason.
For a practical way to pressure-test your next request, use the free guide The Workforce Decision Check.
Mandi Libby is a senior Talent and People executive focused on executive hiring, workforce strategy, organizational effectiveness, and the systems that help organizations scale with clarity and humanity.