A vacancy is more than a job description. It is a decision about how work gets done, what the organisation needs next, and where capability must sit.
When a role becomes vacant or a team struggles to deliver, the instinct is often to recruit. Sometimes that is exactly the right decision. But before committing time and money to a search, leaders should understand the business problem the appointment is expected to solve.
Start with the outcome, not the title
A job title describes a position; it does not fully explain the result the organisation needs. Is the team trying to improve service, increase production, strengthen compliance, support growth, deliver a transformation, or reduce a persistent operational bottleneck?
Define the outcomes first. Clarify what must be different in six or twelve months, how progress will be measured, and what authority and resources the role will have. This makes it easier to distinguish essential capabilities from a wish list of qualifications and responsibilities.
Investigate why the work is not getting done
A performance gap can have several causes. The organisation may genuinely lack a specialist skill. It may also be dealing with unclear ownership, inefficient processes, uneven workloads, outdated systems, insufficient decision-making authority, or a structure that no longer fits the work.
These are possibilities to investigate, not conclusions to assume. Speak with the people closest to the work, examine available operational evidence, and identify what is known, what is uncertain, and what still needs to be tested.
Consider more than one intervention
Recruitment is one option in a wider set of business decisions. Depending on the evidence, an organisation may need to:
- Build: develop capability within the existing team through training, coaching or structured experience.
- Buy: recruit when sustained work and required capabilities justify a permanent appointment.
- Borrow: bring in a contractor, consultant or interim specialist for a defined need.
- Redesign: change the role, workflow or operating model so that work can be delivered more effectively.
- Redistribute: clarify responsibilities or rebalance work across the team.
- Investigate: gather more evidence when the cause of the problem is not yet clear.
These options are not interchangeable in every situation. Each has costs, risks, time implications and conditions for success. The aim is not to avoid recruitment; it is to choose the intervention that best addresses the real need.
Make the vacancy realistic and accountable
Once the organisation has defined the problem, review the proposed role. Do the responsibilities match the outcomes? Are the required skills genuinely necessary? Does the person have the authority, budget, tools and support needed to succeed? Are expectations realistic for one position?
Where reliable market evidence is available, use it to inform the brief. Avoid presenting assumptions about salary, talent availability or competitor activity as established facts. Good decisions make the strength and limits of the evidence visible.
A better decision begins with better questions
Before approving a vacancy, leaders can ask:
- What business outcome must this role improve?
- What evidence shows that the problem exists?
- Why is the work not being delivered today?
- Which capabilities are essential from day one, and which can be developed?
- Would building, buying, borrowing, redesigning, redistributing or investigating best address the need?
- How will we know the chosen intervention has worked?
At Govel Fraser, we believe sound talent decisions begin with understanding the business context, not simply filling a seat. Recruitment remains an important solution, but it is strongest when the organisation understands what it is hiring for and why.
Govel Fraser — Talent. Performance. Advisory.
Turning Potential Into Performance.
Unlocking Dignity Through Opportunity.