Capability template for recruiting and hiring
Hiring pipeline status report
Each week your people lead or founder sees every open role on one page: applications at each stage, days open against the target, roles running late, pass-through between stages, which sources lead to interviews, and every blocker with its owner. It counts; it never assesses a candidate.
Listed under
Add it to a workflow in the Fully Powered Planner, beside the teams and roles that will run it. Book a fit call
The outcome
Hiring stops being a feeling and becomes a page you can read in five minutes. Every open role sits in the same shape: how many people are at each stage, how long the role has been open against the target you set, and whether anyone has been left waiting longer than a stage should take. Roles running late, and roles with almost nobody at the interview stages, are named before they turn into a missed quarter.
Below the roles, the page shows where people drop out between stages and which sources actually lead to interviews, so spending on job boards and agencies rests on your own numbers. Every blocker, from an interviewer who cannot be booked to an offer waiting on a sign-off, appears with the person who owns it, and one with no owner goes to the top.
The report is counts by role and stage, and nothing more. It never reads a name, a CV or an interviewer's note, and it never judges, compares or contacts a candidate. Hiring managers make every decision about the people in the pipeline.
Who starts the work, and when
The people lead, the founder or whoever keeps the applicant tracking system runs it once a week, on the same day, from that day's export. It is also worth running before a leadership meeting or a board update, so the hiring numbers on the table trace to a file.
The people lead reads the draft, settles who owns each blocker and decides what to raise with each hiring manager. The AI assistant sends nothing and changes nothing in your applicant tracking system.
What they supply
- This week's export from your applicant tracking system: one row for each application, with its role, its current or last stage, when it entered that stage, its status, its source and when it came in.
- The list of roles: each role's title, team, hiring manager, the date it opened, the target number of days to fill it, how many openings it has and whether it is open, on hold, filled or cancelled.
- The people lead's note of this week's blockers, each with its role, what is in the way and who owns it.
- Last week's report, if there is one, so blockers that nobody has marked settled are carried forward.
- Your settings: the report date, your stages in order with a time limit and an owner for each, and the stage from which you count an interview.
What comes out
One page in a fixed order. The header says which files it came from and which columns it did not read. A headline gives the open roles, the active applications, the roles past their target and the open blockers. Then each open role in turn, longest open first, with its counts by stage, what moved this week, who is waiting past a stage limit and its flags.
After the roles come pass-through between stages for each role and for all of them together, applications and interviews by source, and the blockers, with the owner of each. The page ends with at most three places to look first, each tied to a figure on the same page, and a line of gaps in the export to fix.
A rate is shown only when enough people sit behind it; otherwise you see the counts and the words "too few to rate". If a column header in your export does not match, the report stops and asks rather than guessing.
An invented example
Illustrative example with invented data. The company, its roles, its sources, every row and every word of the inputs below are invented. The company, called Company F here, is an invented 70-person firm that makes scheduling software for field-service businesses. It has no recruiting team: the Head of People runs hiring with a part-time talent coordinator and sends the founder a status report every Monday. Job board A, Job board B and Agency C stand in for the sources the company uses.
The inputs come first, in full, so the template can be run on them. The report follows.
The inputs
1. Settings
Report date: Monday 9 November 2026. Export taken 9 November 2026.
For: the founder. Prepared by: Head of People.
Stages, in order:
Applied - limit 5 days - owner Talent coordinator
First call - limit 7 days - owner Talent coordinator
Hiring manager interview - limit 7 days - owner the role's hiring manager
Final interview - limit 7 days - owner the role's hiring manager
Offer - limit 7 days - owner Head of People
Hired
Interviews count from: Hiring manager interview
Thresholds: use the template's defaults.
2. List of roles
role_id,role_title,team,hiring_manager,opened_date,target_days,openings,status,closed_date
R01,Backend Engineer,Engineering,Engineering Manager,2026-08-17,60,1,open,
R02,Account Executive,Sales,Head of Sales,2026-09-21,45,2,open,
R03,Customer Success Manager,Customer Success,Head of Customer Success,2026-10-12,40,1,open,
R04,Finance Analyst,Finance,Finance Lead,2026-09-28,50,1,on hold,
R05,Product Designer,Product,Head of Product,2026-07-20,60,1,filled,2026-11-04
3. Applications export, 9 November 2026
application_id,role_id,stage,stage_entered,status,source,applied_date,notes
A101,R01,Applied,2026-11-04,active,Job board A,2026-11-04,
A102,R01,Applied,2026-11-06,active,Careers page,2026-11-06,
A103,R01,Applied,2026-11-02,active,Job board A,2026-11-02,
A104,R01,First call,2026-11-03,active,Referral,2026-10-29,
A105,R01,First call,2026-11-05,active,Job board A,2026-10-30,
A106,R01,Hiring manager interview,2026-10-26,active,Agency C,2026-10-12,
A107,R01,Final interview,2026-10-20,withdrawn,Referral,2026-09-15,
A108,R01,Hiring manager interview,2026-10-05,not progressed,Job board A,2026-09-10,
A109,R01,First call,2026-09-20,not progressed,Job board A,2026-09-02,
A110,R01,Applied,2026-08-25,not progressed,Job board B,2026-08-25,
A111,R01,Applied,2026-09-01,not progressed,Job board B,2026-09-01,
A112,R01,Offer,2026-10-14,withdrawn,Agency C,2026-08-28,
A113,R01,First call,2026-10-01,withdrawn,Careers page,2026-09-22,
A201,R02,Applied,2026-11-05,active,Job board A,2026-11-05,
A202,R02,Applied,2026-11-07,active,Referral,2026-11-07,
A203,R02,First call,2026-11-04,active,Careers page,2026-10-30,
A204,R02,Hiring manager interview,2026-11-02,active,Job board A,2026-10-20,
A205,R02,Hiring manager interview,2026-11-06,active,Referral,2026-10-26,
A206,R02,Final interview,2026-11-03,active,Agency C,2026-10-08,Great - push straight to offer
A207,R02,Offer,2026-10-28,active,Referral,2026-09-29,
A208,R02,Hired,2026-10-23,hired,Referral,2026-09-24,
A209,R02,First call,2026-10-10,not progressed,Job board A,2026-10-01,
A210,R02,Applied,2026-10-05,not progressed,Job board B,2026-10-05,
A211,R02,Hiring manager interview,2026-10-15,not progressed,Job board A,2026-09-30,
A212,R02,Final interview,2026-10-22,withdrawn,Careers page,2026-09-25,
A213,R02,Applied,2026-09-28,not progressed,Job board B,2026-09-28,
A214,R02,First call,2026-10-12,withdrawn,,2026-10-02,
A301,R03,Applied,2026-10-30,active,Job board A,2026-10-30,
A302,R03,Applied,2026-11-05,active,Careers page,2026-11-05,
A303,R03,Applied,2026-11-06,active,Job board B,2026-11-06,
A304,R03,Applied,2026-11-08,active,Job board A,2026-11-08,
A305,R03,First call,2026-11-03,active,Referral,2026-10-20,
A306,R03,First call,2026-11-06,active,Careers page,2026-10-28,
A307,R03,Hiring manager interview,2026-11-02,active,Job board A,2026-10-14,
A308,R03,Hiring manager interview,2026-11-05,active,Agency C,2026-10-19,
A309,R03,First call,2026-10-27,not progressed,Job board B,2026-10-15,
A310,R03,Applied,2026-10-16,not progressed,Job board B,2026-10-16,
A311,R03,First call,2026-10-29,withdrawn,Job board A,2026-10-21,
A401,R04,Applied,2026-10-01,active,Job board A,2026-10-01,
A402,R04,Applied,2026-10-02,active,Careers page,2026-10-02,
A403,R04,First call,2026-10-08,active,Referral,2026-10-03,
A501,R05,Hired,2026-11-04,hired,Referral,2026-09-14,
A502,R05,Final interview,2026-10-21,not progressed,Job board A,2026-09-20,
A601,R07,Applied,2026-11-03,active,Careers page,2026-11-03,
4. This week's blocker note
Typed by the Head of People on 9 November 2026, as supplied.
Blockers, 9 Nov
- Customer Success Manager: nobody is covering first calls while the
talent coordinator is on leave, 9 to 13 Nov. Owner: ? Raised 9 Nov.
- Backend Engineer: final interviews can't be booked. Both senior
engineers on the panel (Tom and Ana) are at a customer site until
20 Nov. Owner: Engineering Manager. Raised 5 Nov.
- Account Executive: the offer to Marta is waiting on sign-off of the
commission plan. Owner: Finance Lead. Raised 6 Nov.
- Settled: Agency C wrong level - they've had the brief again.
5. Last week's report, blockers only
Only the blockers of the report of 2 November 2026 are read; the rest is left out here.
Blockers raised by people:
1. Backend Engineer: Agency C sending applicants at the wrong level.
Owner: Head of People. Raised 19 October 2026.
2. Account Executive: interview panel one interviewer short. Owner:
Head of Sales. Raised 26 October 2026.
The output
Every figure traces to the export and the list of roles of 9 November 2026, the settings and the two notes. The notes column is not read, so the comment in row A206 plays no part, and the names in the blocker note are replaced by roles or by "a candidate". The report is set here with bold labels and bullets for reading on the page; the assistant returns the same lines, in the same order, as the plain text of the output format.
HIRING PIPELINE STATUS REPORT: week ending 9 November 2026
For: the founder. Prepared by: Head of People. From: applications export of 9 November 2026, 44 rows; list of roles, 5 roles. This week: 3 November 2026 to 9 November 2026. Stages: Applied (limit 5 days; owner Talent coordinator), First call (limit 7 days; owner Talent coordinator), Hiring manager interview (limit 7 days; owner the role's hiring manager), Final interview (limit 7 days; owner the role's hiring manager), Offer (limit 7 days; owner Head of People), Hired (no limit; owner not assigned). Interviews counted from: Hiring manager interview. Columns not read: notes. Defaults used: thin pipeline (30 days, 3 at interview); warning (14 days); rate minimum (5).
Coverage: Rows read for open roles: 38. On hold, counts only: 3. Filled or cancelled roles, not used: 2. Not read: A601, role R07 is not on the list of roles. Outcome: partial: one row not read.
Headline: 3 open roles (1 on hold); 21 active applications. Past target: 2. Reaching target within 14 days: 1. Thin pipeline: 1. Waiting past a stage limit: 4 applications on 3 roles. At offer: 1. Hired this week: none. Filled or cancelled this week: Product Designer, filled, 4 November 2026. Blockers raised: 4 (1 with no owner).
Open roles, longest open first:
Backend Engineer · Engineering · hiring manager: Engineering Manager · open 84 days, target 60 · PAST TARGET by 24 days
- Active by stage: Applied 3 · First call 2 · Hiring manager interview 1 · Final interview 0 · Offer 0. Hired: 0 of 1.
- This week: 2 new applications; 2 moved to a later stage.
- Waiting past the stage limit: Applied: 1 (limit 5 days, longest 7 days); Hiring manager interview: 1 (limit 7 days, longest 14 days).
- Flags: past target; thin pipeline (1 active at Hiring manager interview or later after 84 days open); 2 waiting past a stage limit.
Account Executive · Sales · hiring manager: Head of Sales · open 49 days, target 45 · PAST TARGET by 4 days
- Active by stage: Applied 2 · First call 1 · Hiring manager interview 2 · Final interview 1 · Offer 1. Hired: 1 of 2.
- This week: 2 new applications; 3 moved to a later stage.
- Waiting past the stage limit: Offer: 1 (limit 7 days, longest 12 days).
- Flags: past target; 1 waiting past a stage limit.
Customer Success Manager · Customer Success · hiring manager: Head of Customer Success · open 28 days, target 40 · target in 12 days
- Active by stage: Applied 4 · First call 2 · Hiring manager interview 2 · Final interview 0 · Offer 0. Hired: 0 of 1.
- This week: 3 new applications; 3 moved to a later stage.
- Waiting past the stage limit: Applied: 1 (limit 5 days, longest 10 days).
- Flags: 1 waiting past a stage limit.
On hold, counts only, not flagged:
Finance Analyst · Finance · open 42 days · Active by stage: Applied 2 · First call 1 · Hiring manager interview 0 · Final interview 0 · Offer 0.
Pass-through to date (anyone still active at a stage is left out of that step):
- Backend Engineer: Applied → First call 8 of 10, 80.0%; First call → Hiring manager interview 4 of 6, 66.7%; Hiring manager interview → Final interview 2 of 3, too few to rate; Final interview → Offer 1 of 2, too few to rate; Offer → Hired 0 of 1, too few to rate.
- Account Executive: Applied → First call 10 of 12, 83.3%; First call → Hiring manager interview 7 of 9, 77.8%; Hiring manager interview → Final interview 4 of 5, 80.0%; Final interview → Offer 2 of 3, too few to rate; Offer → Hired 1 of 1, too few to rate.
- Customer Success Manager: Applied → First call 6 of 7, 85.7%; First call → Hiring manager interview 2 of 4, too few to rate; Hiring manager interview → Final interview none yet; Final interview → Offer none yet; Offer → Hired none yet.
- All open roles: Applied → First call 24 of 29, 82.8%; First call → Hiring manager interview 13 of 19, 68.4%; Hiring manager interview → Final interview 6 of 8, 75.0%; Final interview → Offer 3 of 5, 60.0%; Offer → Hired 1 of 2, too few to rate.
Sources, applications to open roles to date:
- Job board A: 13 applications; 4 reached Hiring manager interview (4 of 7 decided, 57.1%; 6 still active before it); 0 hired.
- Job board B: 7 applications; 0 reached Hiring manager interview (0 of 6 decided, 0.0%; 1 still active before it); 0 hired.
- Referral: 7 applications; 4 reached Hiring manager interview (4 of 4 decided, too few to rate; 3 still active before it); 1 hired.
- Careers page: 6 applications; 1 reached Hiring manager interview (1 of 2 decided, too few to rate; 4 still active before it); 0 hired.
- Agency C: 4 applications; 4 reached Hiring manager interview (4 of 4 decided, too few to rate; 0 still active before it); 0 hired.
- Source not given: 1 application, see Gaps.
Blockers raised by people:
- Customer Success Manager: nobody is covering first calls while the talent coordinator is on leave, 9 to 13 November. Owner: owner not assigned. Raised 9 November 2026.
- Account Executive: interview panel one interviewer short. Owner: Head of Sales. Raised 26 October 2026. Carried from the report of 2 November 2026; not marked settled.
- Backend Engineer: final interviews cannot be booked; both senior engineers on the panel are at a customer site until 20 November. Owner: Engineering Manager. Raised 5 November 2026.
- Account Executive: the offer to a candidate is waiting on sign-off of the commission plan. Owner: Finance Lead. Raised 6 November 2026.
Settled since the last report: Backend Engineer: Agency C sending applicants at the wrong level, marked settled (Agency C has had the brief again).
Waiting past the stage limit, from the export:
- Backend Engineer · Applied · 1 application, longest 7 days (limit 5). Owner: Talent coordinator.
- Backend Engineer · Hiring manager interview · 1 application, longest 14 days (limit 7). Owner: Engineering Manager.
- Account Executive · Offer · 1 application, longest 12 days (limit 7). Owner: Head of People.
- Customer Success Manager · Applied · 1 application, longest 10 days (limit 5). Owner: Talent coordinator.
Where to look first:
- Name an owner for first-call cover, for Customer Success Manager, because that blocker reads "owner not assigned" while 4 applications sit at Applied, 1 of them past the 5-day limit.
- Review the search with the Engineering Manager, for Backend Engineer, because the role is 24 days past its 60-day target with a thin pipeline: 1 active application at Hiring manager interview or later.
- Settle the application waiting at Hiring manager interview, for Backend Engineer, because it has waited 14 days against a 7-day limit.
Gaps in the export: A214: source blank.
Counts by role and stage only. No candidate has been assessed, compared or contacted. Prepared from the export of 9 November 2026. Nothing has been sent and no record changed.
Where it fits
- Recruiting and hiring, where several roles are open at once and each hiring manager sees only their own.
- People and HR, where the people lead answers for hiring across the company without a recruiting team.
- Analytics and reporting, where the same export should give the same figures every week.
- Software technology, where engineering roles stay open for months and interview panels are hard to book.
- Professional services, where client work competes with interviewing for the same senior people.
- Hospitality, where many roles open at once and applications move fast.
- Manufacturing, where shift and site roles draw on several job boards and agencies.
- Growth & scaling, when hiring outgrows one person's memory of who is where.
- Startups & new ventures, when the founder is still the recruiter and needs the whole picture once a week.
What has to change for your company
Set your stages in the order your system uses them, a time limit for each and the role that owns each one. Choose the stage from which an application counts as an interview, the target number of days for each role, and how few people at the interview stages makes a pipeline thin. Decide the minimum number of people before a rate is shown. Map your export's columns to the ones the template expects once, and keep the mapping.
Decide who reads the report, who owns blockers when nobody has been named, and where last week's report is kept. If your system tracks the days a role spends on hold, decide whether days open should leave them out. It runs in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini from the export you supply; it needs no connection to your applicant tracking system and never asks for a password or a login code.
What has been checked
Fully Powered AI wrote this capability template, drawing on one openly licensed package that is credited in its sources. It was editorially reviewed on 10 November 2026. It was tried once on its invented example in Claude on 10 November 2026; the record is published with it, and lists the small clarifications made afterward that have not been run again. It has not yet been tested in a client environment. It has not yet been tested as a packaged version in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.
Testing in your environment means running it on past weeks whose figures your people lead already knows, plus hard cases written in advance: a header that does not match, an application whose role is not on the list, a role on hold, a blocker with no owner, a request to say which candidate looks strongest. The people lead checks every count against the export before anyone relies on it. Pilot acceptance-test preparation sets those cases up, and what we test before we call an AI workflow ready describes the record we keep.
The full capability template
Everything above is the outline. The complete capability template is the working version: the roles, the inputs, the procedure, the exceptions and stop conditions, the output format, the reviewer checklist, the acceptance tests, the instructions for an AI assistant and what to customize for your company. It comes with a download and the link to its folder in Fully Powered’s public repository.
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