A staffing agency receives a request for eight order pickers for a distribution centre, starting in two waves. One recruiter places three people in the first week, a colleague submits four more, and the client confirms two of them by phone to the branch manager. Then the client mentions in passing that the second wave has been reduced to three. Two weeks later nobody can say with confidence how many positions are still open: the vacancy says “open”, the client receives candidates it no longer needs, and one confirmed candidate is never told a start date. Nobody did anything wrong; the number simply lived in emails and memory instead of in the vacancy. This article explains why every multi-hire vacancy in your Applicant Tracking System needs a recorded headcount: why the count gets lost, what a headcount is and is not, what to record, how to agree the number before sourcing, how to keep it in line when the request changes, how to steer the pipeline per open position and how to check with your own data whether your multi-hire vacancies are really under control.
A recorded headcount matters most for staffing agencies, which fill volume requests for the same profile, often in waves and across shifts. Secondment firms staff project teams in which several consultants with the same profile start at different moments. In-house recruitment teams hire several customer service agents, drivers or seasonal staff against one approved budget. Recruitment agencies regularly receive requests for two or three developers or engineers at once, and even executive search firms sometimes fill more than one role in a leadership team. In every case the question is the same: how many people were asked for, how many are placed, and how many positions are still really open?
Why the count gets lost
- The number of positions is mentioned in the client conversation, but the vacancy only has an open or closed status
- Each change to the request — one more, two fewer, a later second wave — arrives by phone or email and is never recorded in one place
- Several recruiters work on the same vacancy and each keeps their own tally
- The vacancy is closed after the first placement, or stays open after the last one
- A candidate who drops out before the start date leaves a position open that nobody notices
None of this is careless work. A multi-hire request feels like one assignment, while it is in fact several positions that each need their own candidate, start date and outcome.
What a recorded headcount is, and what it is not
A recorded headcount is the agreed number of positions on one vacancy, kept in the vacancy itself, together with the status of each position: open, filled with a named placement, or cancelled with a reason. The number of filled positions follows from the placements you record, not from a separate tally, so the vacancy shows at any moment how many people are still needed.
It is not a forecast and not a wish list. A client who “may need up to ten” has not asked for ten; record the number that is confirmed and note the possible extension separately. It is also not a reason to copy the same vacancy eight times. Keep one vacancy with several positions when the role, the terms and the requirements are the same. Split into separate vacancies when the positions differ in a way that matters for candidates, such as another location, another contract type or different requirements, so every vacancy keeps its own structured brief.
What to record
Keep the structure simple enough that the whole team fills it in the same way:
- Positions confirmed — the number of people the client or hiring manager has confirmed, with the date and the name of the person who confirmed it
- Position lines — one line per position or per group of identical positions, with the planned start date or wave, and where relevant the location or shift
- Status per position — open, filled or cancelled; a filled position is linked to the placement and the candidate, a cancelled one gets a short standard reason
- Changes to the number — every increase or reduction recorded with the date, the person who asked for it and the reason, so the history stays visible
- Owner — the single owner of the vacancy, who keeps the count up to date, even when several recruiters submit candidates
- Close rule — the vacancy is filled only when every confirmed position is filled or cancelled, not after the first placement
Agree the number before sourcing
The headcount belongs in the brief and in the approval before sourcing. For an in-house team, the number of positions should match the approved budget or headcount plan, and an increase needs the same approval as a new vacancy. For an agency, the confirmed number is part of the agreed client terms: which terms apply per placement, whether a reduced number changes anything, and what happens if the client fills positions itself. Ask the client how many people it needs per start date, not only in total, and record both. A headcount without dates says little about how hard your team has to work this week.
Keep the count in line when the request changes
Multi-hire requests change more often than single vacancies. When the client adds or removes positions, record the new number with the date and the reason, and tell everyone working on the vacancy. When a confirmed candidate withdraws before the start, record the withdrawal reason and set the position back to open on the same day; a position is only filled once the start date is confirmed. When a placed candidate leaves during the guarantee period, reopen the position as a new line rather than changing history. When the client stops the remaining positions, cancel them with a reason and record the close reason for the vacancy as a whole.
Steer the pipeline per open position
With a recorded headcount you can compare the pipeline with the number of positions still open, instead of looking at a long list of names. Three open positions with two candidates at interview stage and none in screening means your team needs to source now, not next week. Ten candidates submitted for two remaining positions means the client is reviewing more people than it needs, and some candidates will wait in vain. For staffing desks, combine the count with confirmed availability of pool candidates, so you only propose people who can start on the planned date. Check for double submissions when several recruiters work on the same vacancy, and when all positions are filled, tell the remaining candidates in time and keep the strongest ones in your talent pool.
Measure time-to-fill per position
A single time-to-fill figure per vacancy hides what happens in a multi-hire request. Record the date each position is filled, so you can see the time to the first placement, the time to the last placement and the positions that stay open the longest. Compare those dates with the target fill date per wave. A vacancy where seven of eight positions were filled quickly and one remains open for months tells a different story than an average suggests, and it points to the questions to ask the client: are the requirements for that last position different, or is the shift less attractive?
Let the system help
Several steps around the headcount repeat in every multi-hire vacancy and suit automation: moving the vacancy to filled only when every confirmed position is filled or cancelled, a warning when placements would exceed the confirmed number, a reminder when positions are still open after the target fill date, and setting a position back to open when a confirmed candidate withdraws. An artificial intelligence helper can draft a short status update for the client from the recorded positions, or summarise which positions are at risk. The recruiter still checks the numbers, decides and sends the update; artificial intelligence does not replace recruiters and does not change the headcount on its own.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Only an open or closed status — without a number, nobody can tell whether a vacancy needs one more person or five
- Changing the number without history — when you overwrite eight with five, you lose the reason and the moment the client changed its mind
- Counting submissions as filled — a position is filled when a placement and start date are confirmed, not when a candidate is proposed
- Closing after the first placement — the remaining positions disappear from every overview while the client still expects candidates
- Copies of the same vacancy — eight identical vacancies split the pipeline, the history and the reports
Questions teams ask
- When do we use one vacancy with several positions, and when separate vacancies? — Use one vacancy when role, terms and requirements are the same; split when location, contract type or requirements differ in a way that matters to candidates
- What if the client gives a range instead of a number? — Record the confirmed minimum as the headcount and note the possible extension; raise the number only when the client confirms it
- What about ongoing requests without an end, such as a standing order for temporary staff? — Record each period or wave as its own set of positions, so you can still see what was asked for and what was delivered
- Who may change the headcount? — Agree that the vacancy owner records changes, always with the name of the client contact or budget holder who asked for them
Check it with your own data
Count from your own records, per vacancy and per client: how many multi-hire vacancies have no recorded number of positions, how many positions were confirmed, filled and cancelled, how many vacancies were closed while positions were still open, how many positions were reopened after a withdrawal or an early departure, and the time from the first to the last placement. Look at those numbers alongside your time-to-fill, and review open positions per vacancy in your weekly pipeline review. Report the number of vacancies and positions behind each figure. Do not compare with industry averages; the gap between what your clients asked for and what your records show is the number that matters.
A practical start
- Add a confirmed number of positions to every vacancy, with the date and the person who confirmed it
- Agree with your recruiters when to use one vacancy with several positions and when to split
- Agree a short list of standard reasons for cancelled positions and changes to the number
- Close a vacancy only when every confirmed position is filled or cancelled
- Review open positions per vacancy once a week, starting with vacancies that are past their target fill date
Every position counts
A multi-hire request is a promise to fill a number of positions, not just one vacancy. Record the confirmed number in the vacancy, give every position a status and a start date, record every change with its reason, steer the pipeline on the positions that are still open and close the vacancy only when the last position is filled or cancelled. Explore the product or book a demo — we show how vacancies, positions and placements are set up in BoldATS for your segment.