How to Build a TA Business Case

Author

Joe Atkinson
February 23, 2024

Quick one before we dive in…

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On with the wisdom! The below is taken from a Purpl learning session all about creating business cases. We’ve included a walkthrough + a free template so you can start influencing across the business.

When to use this template

A business case is a proposal that explains the benefits of a project and why it should be implemented.

It’s used to get the buy-in from relevant stakeholders before kicking off the project to showcase that the benefits outweigh the costs and will positively impact the organisation.

We can build these for any kind of problems we’re facing in talent acquisition, but especially when support from multiple teams is required for the project. Some examples:

✅ Increasing DEI representation at the top of the funnel

✅ Improving interviewer training to speed up the recruitment process

✅ Mitigating interviewer biases and any other bottlenecks

✅ Budget sign off for a new learning tool ( 👀 )

The aim of building a business case is to get the sponsors (e.g the leadership team) on board. If you can convey the vision and how you expect to deliver a set of outcomes you’re on the right track

To use this document effectively you will need to have identified a solution to a problem. Now it’s time to get buy-in from the wider business and create a document to support your project.

At the bottom of this email is a blank template. Below is a short guide on how to complete the document.

The guide includes a completed business case, based on the following example:

Despite ongoing efforts from the recruitment team, there is a problem in converting gender diverse candidates from passive to active.

Data shows the targeted talent pool is more likely to respond to outreach from senior leadership.

Therefore the recruitment team would like to propose senior managers send some outreach messages, to see if this can increase the positive response rate.

Drafting the Case Part 1: Project Summary

In this section you’re aiming to clearly summarise what your project is and why it’s helpful, covering:

  • Company Mission: Clearly state how this links to the company’s targets. If your project is about increasing diversity at the top of the recruitment funnel, remind everyone of the company-wide DEI goal

  • Context: Detail what measures have already been taken (by the TA team) to illustrate why this is now being escalated for wider support

  • Problem: State simply what you are solving for in this project

  • Data: Just before presenting your solution, provide some data that acts as context for why this is the chosen solution

  • Solution: State simply what you want to do

  • Goal: One long-term, big goal from the project

  • Deliverables: Smaller checkpoints that will allow you to reach the goal with matching timelines

  • Success Criteria: Some KPIs that you can measure (and communicate throughout the project). Add quantities which would show a meaningful change

A completed version of the business case document covering the project summary

Drafting the Case Part 2: The Delivery Plan

Here we’re looking to convey what’s needed for the project to be delivered and how progress will be communicated, covering:

  • Budget & Resources: Detail any financial cost of the project + what human resources are needed. These can be split into short & long-term

  • Communication: How and when will you report on the progress?

A completed version of the business case document covering the delivery plan.

Drafting the Case Part 3: Feedback

Last but not least, you can increase your chances of success by showing that you have already taken onboard feedback from other stakeholders / teams. Via short surveys or 1-2-1 you can collect:

  • Strengths: What do people like about the project

  • Weaknesses: What concerns do others have / where can they see this going wrong?

  • Improvements: How have you taken the concerns onboard & iterated on the project

An image of a completed business case covering stakeholder feedback.

✅ That’s it for this week, we hope this was helpful! Here is a blank template you can use for yourself. Just make a copy to start editing.

💬 Any feedback? We’d love to hear it. If you know anyone who would benefit from the newsletter, invite them here.

➡️ If you’d like to contribute to a future edition, please email [email protected] And if you’d like to continue learning from TA leaders, check out PURPL.