# Stakeholder, Hiring Manager and Recruiter Responsibilities: practice workbook
Talent Engineering Academy | An education initiative by Vitae
Edition 2026.09 | Updated 2026-09-24
Course: https://talentengineering.org/courses/stakeholder-responsibilities

Create clear decision ownership, useful discovery conversations and a route through conflicting expectations.

## Your deliverable
A decision-rights map and hiring-manager working agreement.

Use fictional information. Keep your completed work in your own secure notes. Exercises and capstone work are self-directed, not independently assessed.

## 1. Decisions and accountable owner

Your notes:



## 2. Contributors and required evidence

Your notes:



## 3. Candidate communication owner

Your notes:



## 4. Escalation conditions and route

Your notes:



## 5. Meeting purpose and decision record

Your notes:



## 6. Commitments and review date

Your notes:



## Lesson exercises

### 1. Assign decisions rather than vague roles

Map decision rights for six decisions in a fictional search.

Your response:


Worked example: A fictional hiring panel has five members, each assuming someone else approves compensation. The revised map assigns approval to the budget owner, evidence recommendations to assessors and candidate communication to the recruiter.

Self-review guidance: Use one clearly accountable role per decision and describe the authority it actually holds. Separate recommending a candidate from authorising spend. Include a deputy or escalation route for absence.

### 2. Contract for a productive working relationship

Draft a six-point working agreement for a manager with limited availability.

Your response:


Worked example: A manager cannot review daily but can reserve Tuesday and Thursday decision slots. The recruiter batches evidence beforehand and tells candidates the expected timing. This is more useful than a nominal daily deadline nobody observes.

Self-review guidance: Include evidence format, review slots, decision owner, candidate updates, urgent escalation and the rule for changing requirements. Make each commitment observable and achievable rather than demanding instant responses.

### 3. Resolve disagreement through evidence

Write a facilitation script for two conflicting candidate recommendations.

Your response:


Worked example: One assessor calls a candidate too quiet while another values the candidate’s precise incident response. The chair asks whether verbal fluency is essential to the role and what evidence exists against the agreed communication criterion.

Self-review guidance: Ask for observations, criterion links and missing evidence before discussing the final recommendation. Record the owner’s decision and unresolved risks. Do not substitute consensus pressure for a reasoned judgement.

### 4. Maintain trust when priorities change

Prepare an internal decision note and a candidate update for a paused role.

Your response:


Worked example: A budget freeze pauses two searches. The recruiter confirms the decision, updates candidates promptly, records agreed follow-up preferences and closes obsolete scheduling tasks. It does not keep interviewing merely to maintain an activity target.

Self-review guidance: The internal note names the owner and dependency. The candidate update is clear about the pause, avoids confidential financial details and offers an honest choice about future contact. Neither implies that an offer is still imminent.

## Portfolio review
Check that your work is internally consistent, distinguishes facts from assumptions, names decision owners and explains its limitations. Revise gaps before using the method in real work.

## Further reading
- [CIPD: Recruitment](https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/factsheets/recruitment-factsheet/): Professional context for the recruitment lifecycle.

Original educational scenarios. References provide further reading and do not imply endorsement. Check current official rules and appropriate professional advice for real legal, financial or regulated decisions.