If your FMCG recruitment process feels slow or inconsistent, look at what happens before the role goes live. A vague brief, an unprepared hiring manager or an unplanned interview schedule can all hold a hire back. And candidates are assessing you just as closely as you assess them.
This piece draws on Fix the Process, Win the Talent, a CTF session from July 2025 with Aiden Wynn and Chris Dickenson of Advocate Group, with CTF member contributions.
Brief the role before you advertise it
A good briefing meeting should end with shared decisions about the role and the process. It should do more than pass on a job description.
Start by unpacking broad requirements. If the brief asks for stakeholder management, ask whether that means negotiation, influencing or building relationships. Then agree what evidence would show it.
Next, challenge the wish list. What must be in place on day one, and what can someone learn? Ask whether a specific competitor, category or customer background really matters. Separate the must-haves from the nice-to-haves and from skills a person could build.
Finally, agree the assessment. Decide which stage tests each requirement, who assesses it and what good evidence looks like. Confirm the pay range, who makes the final call and when people can interview, before you go to market.
Prepare hiring managers to assess well
Hiring managers do two jobs in an interview. They assess the candidate, and they represent the business. Both take preparation.
Before the first interview, walk each manager through the brief and the evidence you agreed for each requirement. Use the same core questions for every candidate, and judge each answer against the brief rather than against the last person you met.
Leave room for the candidate's questions too. A good interview is a two-way conversation, and it should help the candidate decide whether the move is right for them.
Managers also need the material and confidence to explain why someone should join the team. Turn your employer value proposition into specific reasons to join this team and do this work.
Take the delays out of the FMCG recruitment process
Delays are easier to fix once you can see them. So map every step, from brief and advert to shortlist, interview, decision and offer. Give each step a purpose and an owner.
Check interview dates, holidays and who can make decisions before the shortlist is ready. That way, nobody waits without warning. Agree realistic timings for CV review, feedback and decisions. Then track where delays happen and whether the cause is process, availability or a hard search.
Start with the delay that comes up most often, and fix that one first.
Communication is part of what you offer. So tell people how many stages to expect and when they will hear back. If a decision is taking longer, give a real update rather than leaving them to chase.
Reach people beyond the applicant inbox
An advert can bring in useful candidates, but it will not reach everyone who could do the role. Passive candidates are people who are not currently applying for jobs, so you have to go and find them.
Map the relevant market, including people outside the obvious competitors or categories. Revisit good candidates already in your applicant tracking system. Record their skills and interests so you can think of them for future roles. Tagging records in a CRM helps you keep a relationship going. On its own, it is not an attraction plan.
Then give people a specific reason to move. Be clear about pay, benefits, flexibility, projects and development. Keep that message the same through interviews and into new starter onboarding.
Some questions to take into your next briefing:
- Which requirements are essential, and which could someone learn in the role?
- Could each hiring manager explain why someone should join their team?
- Where did your last few hires stall, and why?
- Which earlier candidates could you approach before you advertise?
Acas also explains how employers should recruit fairly, from the advert to the offer.
The full session
Members can watch the full recording and download the slides in the CTF Session Library. The member ebook adds two practical worksheets. One helps you audit your recruitment process, and the other helps you run a better role brief. If you want to compare notes with peers who hire in consumer businesses, apply to join or see what membership includes.
