Guide

Hiring Process Flowchart Template

The complete hiring pipeline from job brief to first day. Each stage includes the owner, key activities, and a recommended SLA. Use this as your team’s shared reference or adapt it to your process.

How to use this flowchart: Share it with your hiring team before each new role opens. Assign owners to each stage, agree on SLAs, and track against them. The stages below represent a best-practice process — adapt the stage names and SLAs to match your actual workflow.

SLA Summary — Target Time-to-Fill: 30–45 days

1–3d
Job Brief
2–5d
Approval
3–5d
Job Posting Live
2–3d
CV Review
5–7d
Phone Screens
5–7d
HM Interview
5–7d
Assessment
3–5d
Final Interview
1–2d
Offer
#StageOwnerKey ActivitiesSLAOutput
1
J
Job Brief
 Hiring Manager
HR supports
  • Define role title, level, reporting line
  • Write must-have vs. nice-to-have requirements
  • Agree success criteria for first 90 days
  • Set salary range and equity (if applicable)
  • Define target start date
 1–3 days Signed job brief document
↓
2
A
Job Approval
 Finance / Leadership
HR coordinates
  • Submit headcount request with business case
  • Finance approves budget
  • Leadership approves role and level
  • HR confirms salary band compliance
 2–5 days Approval confirmation in writing
↓
3
P
Job Posting
 Recruiter
HM reviews JD
  • Write job description using approved brief
  • HM reviews and approves JD
  • Post to company career page
  • Distribute to job boards (Indeed, LinkedIn, etc.)
  • Share internally for employee referrals
 3–5 days Live job posting with tracking links
↓
4
S
CV Screening
 Recruiter
  • Review applications against minimum criteria
  • Move qualified candidates to phone screen
  • Send rejection to clearly unqualified (with feedback where possible)
  • Send acknowledgment to all applicants
 2–3 days/batch Qualified shortlist (top 10–15%)
↓
5
Ph
Phone Screen
 Recruiter
  • 30-min screen: motivation, logistics, salary expectations
  • Verify experience matches the CV summary
  • Assess basic communication ability
  • Explain the process and next steps
  • Submit scorecard within 24 hours
 5–7 days Shortlist of 4–8 for HM interview
↓
6
HM
HM Interview
 Hiring Manager
Recruiter schedules
  • 60-min structured interview
  • Behavioural and situational questions
  • Candidate questions about the role and team
  • Submit scorecard within 48 hours
  • Recruiter sends outcome to candidate within 3 days
 5–7 days 2–4 candidates advance to assessment
↓
7
As
Assessment
 Technical Lead / SME
Recruiter coordinates
  • Role-specific assessment (technical test, case study, work sample)
  • Assessor submits evaluation within 48 hours
  • Candidates notified of outcome within 3 days
 5–7 days 1–3 finalists
↓
8
Fi
Final Interview
 Panel (HM + 2 peers)
Recruiter facilitates
  • 60–90 min panel: values, culture, open questions
  • All panellists submit scorecards independently
  • Debrief meeting within 24 hours of last interview
  • Hire/No-hire decision made at debrief
 3–5 days Hire decision + ranked candidates
↓
9
Ref
Reference Check
 Recruiter / HR
  • Request 2–3 references from candidate (at least one direct manager)
  • Conduct reference call using structured questions
  • Flag any concerns to HM before offer
 2–3 days Reference check report
↓
10
Of
Offer
 Recruiter / HR
HM approves terms
  • Verbal offer call from recruiter or HM
  • Written offer letter sent within 24 hours
  • Allow reasonable negotiation window (2–3 days)
  • Counter offer if applicable — one round maximum
  • Collect signed offer letter
 1–2 days Signed offer letter
↓
11
Ob
Pre-boarding
 HR
IT, manager support
  • Send welcome email with start date logistics
  • IT provisions accounts and equipment
  • Manager prepares 30–60–90 day plan
  • Set up payroll and benefits enrolment
  • Send onboarding checklist to new hire
 Before Day 1 New hire starts Day 1 prepared
Most common bottlenecks in this process: (1) Stage 2 — approval delays when headcount process is unclear. (2) Stage 6–7 — calendar coordination for HM interviews. (3) Scorecard submission — interviewers who delay submitting evaluations. In Treegarden, stage-change automations and deadline reminders eliminate most of these bottlenecks without manual follow-up.

Automate your hiring workflow in Treegarden

Configurable pipeline stages, automated SLA reminders, integrated scheduling, and blind scorecard submission — all in one platform.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the stages of the hiring process?

A complete process has 8–10 stages: job brief, headcount approval, job posting, CV screening, phone screen, hiring manager interview, skills assessment, final panel interview, reference checks, and offer. Each stage has a defined owner and SLA.

What is a reasonable SLA for each hiring stage?

Job brief to posting: 3–5 days. CV review: 2–3 days per batch. Phone screen to scheduling: 5 days. HM interview: within 7 days of screen. Final panel: within 7 days of assessment. Offer delivery: within 2 days of decision. Total time-to-fill target: 30–45 days for most roles.

Who owns each stage of the hiring process?

Job brief and interviews: Hiring Manager owns. CV screening and phone screen: Recruiter owns. Technical assessment: Technical Lead or SME owns. Job approval: Finance/Leadership owns. Offer and pre-boarding: HR/Recruiter owns. Onboarding: HR owns, Hiring Manager participates.

How do I reduce time-to-fill without reducing quality?

Six practices: (1) Write the job brief before posting. (2) Pre-schedule interview panels before candidates arrive. (3) Use structured scorecards so interviewers are prepared. (4) Set a 48-hour scorecard submission deadline. (5) Make the verbal offer within 24 hours of final decision. (6) Use an ATS that automates scheduling, reminders, and stage transitions.