Questions · design a specific process
headcount approval process / how to approve new headcount
Turn a business capacity or capability need into an explicit workforce decision before a role or requisition is opened. Choose and authorize the most suitable response to the work—redesign, automation, development, redeployment, external capacity, or employee hiring—using common evidence and clear decision rights.
draft reference — not a fitted standard
Process steps
- 01
Frame the business need
Define the work and required outcome before proposing a person.
- 02
Assess capacity and capability
Establish the size, duration, timing, and nature of the gap.
- 03
Generate response options
Prevent hiring from becoming the automatic answer to every work problem.
- 04
Evaluate economics, timing, and risk
Compare options on the same decision frame rather than preference or urgency alone.
- 05
Select the workforce response
Choose how the need will be met and make tradeoffs explicit.
- 06
Authorize and record the decision
Convert the recommendation into controlled authority to act.
- 07
Route, measure, and review
Start the correct downstream process and test whether the decision solved the need.
Related measures
cycle-time
Decision cycle time
How long does a complete request take to reach a decision?
quality
Decision completeness
Are decisions supported by the required evidence and rationale?
adoption
Connected handoffs
Do receiving processes use the approved decision?
exceptions
Unauthorized starts
How often does execution begin before the workforce decision?
outcome
Need resolution
Did the selected response close the stated capacity or capability gap?
guardrail
Work displacement guardrail
Did apparent capacity improvement displace work or risk elsewhere?