Planning for new hires, whether hiring replacements for departing employees or creating a new position, begins with defining the position. In the case of replacement employees, employers might assume that the position is already well defined — and it might be, but if the job description has not been updated for several years, or if the replacement employee will have different duties than the former employee, then the responsibilities and expectations of the position will still need to be defined.

The job description is typically a good starting point, and can be used to help create postings or advertisements for the position. But before a company begins to consider hiring, it must determine if hiring is the best option