At the start of the recruitment process, it’s helpful to collect baseline information about the vacancies you’re trying to fill. Creating a vacancy tracker helps everyone keep track of what posts are needed, where each role is in the recruitment process, and what progress has been made. A shared tracker gives the whole group a clear picture of the current situation, boosts accountability, and can lift morale when people can see updates in real time.
A vacancy tracker can help you:
See where each post is in the process — from planning, to advertising, to someone being in post.
Monitor vacancy rates — and review them monthly or every three months to see what’s changing.
Spot delays or issues — by having a comments section for notes about why someone withdrew, why a post is taking longer, or what barriers are affecting recruitment (e.g., lack of accommodation, waiting for PVG checks). These notes can highlight areas for the group to focus on.
A template vacancy tracker is available here:LINK TO VACANCY TRACKER TEMPLATE.
Identify Current Local Recruitment Processes
It’s important to understand how people in your local area currently find out about job vacancies. This helps identify what’s working, what’s missing, and where your community recruitment group can add value.
You can do this by:
Looking at how many enquiries each advertised job receives.
Tracking online activity, such as the number of hits on local websites or the number of shares and comments on social media posts.
Asking new recruits during induction where they first heard about the job.
Identifying ways the group could support or improve the recruitment process, based on what you learn.
Creating a short survey for new staff to complete around six weeks after they start, asking about their experience of the recruitment process.
