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# How to Manage Headcount Requests and Approval
- URL: https://blog.jestor.com/manage-headcount-requests/
- Published: 2026-09-17T22:40:52.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-17T22:40:52.000Z
- Author: Bruno Bannach

To **manage headcount requests**, treat a hire as a budget decision with a record. Headcount approved in a meeting is headcount nobody can trace back to a justification.

## Why hiring decisions go undocumented

They are made in conversation, often under pressure.

- Approval given verbally and acted on immediately
- No record of the justification presented
- Budget impact considered informally
- Requests made repeatedly for the same role

## What the request should carry

| Field                     | Purpose                         |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| **Role and department**   | Connected to the cost centre    |
| **Justification**         | Why now, stated in writing      |
| **Budget impact**         | Annual cost, as currency        |
| **Replacement or growth** | A materially different decision |
| **Decision and approver** | Recorded on the request         |

## How to set it up in Jestor

1. Build the headcount request form in **Jestor**, connected to the **cost center**.
2. Require a written justification and the annual budget impact.
3. Distinguish replacement from growth with a field, since the decision differs.
4. Route approval by value or by department as your policy requires.
5. Create the vacancy record automatically when the request is approved.

## Why choose Jestor for headcount control?

Because the approved request can trigger the vacancy record in **Jestor**, recruitment begins from the decision rather than from someone forwarding an email.

The justification and the approver stay on the record, which means a question about why a role was created has an answer a year later.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Can an approved request start recruitment?

Yes, by creating the vacancy automatically. See [jestor.com](https://jestor.com/?ref=blog.jestor.com).

### Why distinguish replacement from growth?

The decisions are materially different.

### Is the approver recorded?

Yes, on the request.

## Video Tutorial: Step by Step

Check out other practical tutorials on the Jestor YouTube channel.

## Get to know Jestor

With **Jestor**, you can automate workflows, connect teams, and build internal systems your way — all without code and powered by **AI**. Discover Jestor at [jestor.com](https://jestor.com/?ref=blog.jestor.com) and see how to take your company's operations to a new level of efficiency and control.