An Employee Request Template is an internal document or form used to request adding a new employee or opening a job vacancy. It is often filled out by the direct manager or department head in need of additional staff, and later approved by senior management or HR.

Its importance lies in:

• Providing an organized way to justify the need for a new hire
• Defining role details (title, department, contract type)
• Controlling budget by ensuring the hire aligns with business planning
• Standardizing recruitment processes and facilitating communication between departments

Without such a template, requests may be made in an unstructured way, or hires may be made outside the plan, raising costs and hurting operational efficiency.

Many HR professionals confuse the two, but there’s a clear distinction:

• Employee Request Template: an internal tool to inform HR of the need for a new hire. It includes justification (e.g. workload increase, expansion, employee resignation).
• Job Description: an external/internal document used to attract candidates. It contains tasks, responsibilities, and qualifications required.

In other words, the request template triggers the hiring process; the job description markets the position to candidates.

Some of the essential components are:

• Job title requested
• Department or division
• Contract type (full-time, part-time, temporary)
• Justification of the request (growth, replacement, new project)
• Budget allocation or salary range
• Required skills or qualifications
• Approval signatures (direct manager – HR – finance)

Including these elements ensures clarity and reduces confusion between departments.

When each hiring request is tied to budget and workforce planning, HR and finance can better monitor costs. For example:

• Prevent ad hoc hiring or out-of-plan recruitment
• Compare expected hiring cost against projected return (ROI)
• Link hiring to real business needs rather than individual managers’ decisions

This turns recruitment into a strategic, aligned process rather than an ad hoc activity.

• Time-to-Hire: when the request is approved via the template, timing starts from approval to contract signing. A clear template reduces delays in approvals and accelerates hiring.
• Cost-per-Hire: the template includes budget data, enabling tracking of expenses linked to hires.
• Quality of Hire: by requiring detailed skills and justification, the template helps target better candidates.

• Small companies: template is often simple and approved directly by top management, serving basic organization.
• Large companies: template is more detailed, involves multiple levels of approvals (HR, finance, leadership), often integrated into HRMS for electronic workflows.

The larger the organization, the more important such a template becomes to avoid chaos in recruitment.

Integration turns the template from a document into a digital process:

• Submit request electronically via the system
• Automatic notifications sent to managers for approval or rejection
• Link the request directly to job posting
• Generate reports on number of requests, approval rates, and processing times

This integration saves time and enhances transparency.

• Clarity: avoid vague or overly complex fields
• Alignment with company culture: design template aligned with internal workflows
• Flexibility: allow customization per department or role
• Digital approval: use HRMS or e-signature tools to speed up the process
• Documentation: keep records of accepted and rejected requests for future analysis

Yes. When tied to workforce data, the template can help management identify roles with high turnover or urgent needs, thus:

• Predict future staffing needs
• Prepare internal candidates as alternatives
• Reduce dependence on emergency hiring

• Lack of clear justification
• Missing information (e.g., salary range or department)
• Delays in approvals due to no digital system
• Using the same generic template across all departments

Avoiding these mistakes enhances process efficiency.

Though internal, it influences the candidate’s experience indirectly:

• Precise requests lead to clearer job descriptions
• Less delay in posting or responding to candidates
• The candidate’s expectations align more closely with the actual role

Thus, the quality of internal process reflects on external experience.

Over time, management can derive useful insights:

• Departments requesting most hires
• Average replacements per role
• Hiring cost per department
• Timing trends in hiring demand

This data supports strategic HR planning.