Recruitment process automated, from request to decision

Recruitment requests were handled manually. A store that wanted to hire someone sent round an email or a document, which had to pass several managers and HR, and management as well when the budget was exceeded. Requests sat waiting, nobody knew who had a file and HR had no overview of what was open. The question: automate the whole process within the existing Microsoft environment, with the right approvals per store and per department, and with the certainty that a store manager sees only their own store.

Phased and deliberately small to start: first a working version for one pilot store, so the client saw the process running before we rolled it out to all stores and head office. The key design choice: not a separate flow per store, but one flow that looks up the right approvers in a central mapping list. A new manager or a reorganised store structure is then one field to edit, not the automation. The approval path follows the real decision structure of stores and head office, with an automatic extra step for requests outside budget, and every store manager sees only their own store. Delivered with a handover document and a test protocol, so the client adds stores and approvers themselves.

Every request is now traceable, lands automatically with the right person and no longer sits for days with someone who did not know it was their turn. HR has one status overview of all open recruitments, and the client applies organisational changes themselves. The project led to follow-up questions about the investment flow and the purchasing process.