HR: SOPs
Six procedures covering role definition, screening, structured interviewing, the bias audit, learning paths and the workforce plan.
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SOP 1: Define the role before searching#
Run: before any role opens.
| Field | Rule |
|---|---|
| What the person will do | Actual work in the first six months, not a list of responsibilities |
| Must-have skills | Three at most. A list of ten is a wish, and it filters out good people |
| Nice to have | Explicitly separate, and never used to reject |
| How each is assessed | Written before anyone applies |
| Who decides | A named person |
Criteria written before applications arrive. Criteria written afterwards are criteria fitted to the candidate someone already likes, and that is where bias enters legitimately-run processes.
SOP 2: Screening#
Run: on every application.
- The agent ranks against the written criteria. It orders a queue and does nothing else.
- A person reviews every rejection, including the lowest-ranked. Slower on purpose.
- Score against the role's criteria, never against similarity to current employees. The second reproduces whoever we happened to hire before.
- Any candidate can ask why, and receives a real answer.
SOP 3: Structured interviewing#
Run: every interview.
Same questions, same order, same rubric, scored independently before discussion. Unstructured interviews predict performance poorly and predict likeability well, which is the problem.
Notes record what was said. No inference about the person beyond the evidence, and nothing from video analysis of expression, tone or affect, which is unreliable and in several jurisdictions unlawful.
SOP 4: Quarterly bias audit#
Run: quarterly. Never deferred.
Selection rates by group at each stage: applied, screened, interviewed, offered, accepted.
| Finding | Action |
|---|---|
| A gap appearing at one stage | That stage is where to look. Usually the criteria or the ranking |
| A gap at every stage | The sourcing pool, upstream of the process |
| No gap | Record it. A clean audit is evidence, and evidence needs a date |
Audit outcomes, not inputs. Removing names does not remove bias when postcode, university or a career gap carries the same signal.
SOP 5: Learning paths#
Run: per person, reviewed quarterly.
Built from three inputs: the role, current skills, and where the person says they want to go. The third is asked, not inferred, and it is what makes the path get used.
Skills gaps identified in aggregate feed hiring and training plans. Never used to identify individuals for removal.
SOP 6: Workforce plan#
Run: quarterly, with the CEO and the PMO.
- Critical skills held by one person. This is the most common structural risk in a company this size and the cheapest to fix early.
- What the roadmap needs in six months that does not exist yet.
- Sustained capacity above 90%, which is not efficiency but absence of slack.
- Where automation is changing what people do. This arrives from AI Strategy before it is scheduled, not after.
Escalation#
| Situation | Goes to |
|---|---|
| A bias audit gap that cannot be explained | CEO and Legal, same week |
| Any complaint about a person | HR lead directly. Never handled inside the team involved |
| A critical skill with a single holder and no plan | Workforce plan, with a date |
| Automation changing a role | HR and the CEO before scheduling, never after |