Recruitment brief for a staffing agency – what should it include?

“We need 20 production workers starting next Monday.” This message specifies the number of people and the start date, but it does not give the agency enough information to carry out the recruitment process. It is still unclear what tasks the workers will perform, under what conditions, on which shifts and which requirements are genuinely essential. A recruitment brief should describe not only the expected worker, but above all the actual job. With such a description, the agency can target the offer at the right group of candidates, clearly present the employment conditions and reduce the number of people who withdraw after learning the details of the position.

Table of contents

1. What is a recruitment brief?
2. Information needed before recruitment
3. Job duties and working conditions
4. Candidate requirements, schedule and pay
5. Recruitment briefs at Intraservis B.V.

1. What is a recruitment brief?

An overly general brief may look like this:

We need 20 production workers. Shift work. Starting Monday.

The agency knows the number of workers, the general job title and the start date. However, it does not know whether the work involves packing, assembly, quality control or operating a production line. Information about the workplace, project duration, shift times, physical requirements, pay and safety rules is also missing.

A more useful brief may look as follows:

We need 20 people to pack products at a production facility in Venlo. The project starts on 15 September and will last for at least three months. The work takes place from Monday to Friday in a three-shift system, eight hours per day. The duties include standing work at the production line, checking the quality of packaging and placing finished products on pallets. The position does not require previous experience or additional licences, but it does require manual dexterity and readiness to work at a temperature of approximately 10°C. Pay is determined in accordance with the relevant CAO and includes night-shift allowances and paid overtime. Before starting work, workers receive information about workplace risks, health and safety rules and the required protective equipment. The company provides protective clothing, gloves, housing and transport from the accommodation to the workplace.

Each of these elements helps the staffing agency assess who can realistically perform the job. It also allows candidates to understand the conditions before making a decision, rather than only after arriving at the workplace.

A recruitment brief should not be a list of traits describing an ideal worker. Its main purpose is to provide an accurate description of the staffing need, the position and the organisation of work.

2. Information needed before recruitment

In the Netherlands, some of the information provided to a staffing agency follows from obligations related to agency workers, working conditions and workplace safety.

The Netherlands Labour Authority states that both the company using agency workers and the staffing agency are responsible for their health and safety. The greatest responsibility, however, rests with the company where the work is actually performed.

The Labour Authority explains:

“Before the agency worker starts work, the user company must inform them about the work, risks and safety measures.”

This means that information about the work, the risks and the safety measures must be provided before a worker is assigned to the workplace. The user company must also provide the staffing agency with the relevant part of the Risk Inventory and Evaluation, or RI&E, relating to the specific position.

The brief should therefore include at least:

1. the number of workers required,
2. the type of work and the exact place where it will be performed,
3. the start date,
4. the expected duration of the project,
5. the number of working hours,
6. the schedule and shift times,
7. the required qualifications,
8. pay and the applicable employment conditions,
9. information about workplace risks,
10. the required protective equipment,
11. the rules that apply at the workplace.

This is the foundation needed to prepare the work properly. Formal compliance alone is not enough to select suitable candidates. The agency should also understand the actual conditions at the workplace and the factors that may influence a worker’s decision.

3. Job duties and working conditions

Job titles such as “production worker”, “warehouse worker” or “hotel employee” may cover many different duties. A production worker may pack goods, assemble components, check quality or operate a machine. Warehouse work may involve order picking, unloading, using a scanner, operating a forklift or manually moving heavy products.

For this reason, the recruitment brief should list the actual tasks rather than only the job title.

The job description should include, among other things:

1. standing or seated work,
2. repetitive tasks,
3. the level of physical effort required,
4. lifting and carrying loads,
5. production-line speed or warehouse targets,
6. temperature and humidity,
7. noise,
8. contact with food, chemicals or allergens,
9. working at height,
10. the machines and tools used,
11. mandatory clothing and personal protective equipment.

The Netherlands Labour Authority explains that an RI&E should identify health and safety risks, determine the level of exposure and include an action plan for reducing those risks. The information in the recruitment brief must be consistent with this document.

The pace of work is particularly important. Someone who performs well in calm manual packing may not be suited to a fast production line. Warehouse experience does not automatically mean that a person is ready to work under high order-picking targets.

Leaving out this information may increase the number of applications, but it does not increase the number of suitable candidates. The assessment is simply postponed until the interview, a practical test or the first day of work.

The European Working Conditions Survey 2024 assesses job quality across seven areas, including working time, work intensity, the physical environment, earnings and the social environment. Eurofound states:

“Better job quality benefits both workers and companies.”

The report links job quality with motivation, engagement and a lower intention to leave. For this reason, information about working conditions matters not only during recruitment, but also for the later stability of the workforce.

4. Candidate requirements, schedule and pay

Requirements for workers should be divided into essential and preferred criteria.

Essential requirements may include:

1. specific licences or certificates,
2. a driving licence,
3. the ability to operate a machine,
4. required technical experience,
5. the ability to communicate in the language used during training and at work,
6. the appropriate right to work in the Netherlands.

However, language skills, several years of experience or an additional certificate should not automatically be treated as mandatory when they are not necessary to perform the duties safely and correctly.

An overly broad list of requirements can unnecessarily reduce the candidate pool. The brief should clearly distinguish between:

1. essential requirements,
2. preferred requirements,
3. skills that can be learned during onboarding.

The schedule must be described just as precisely. The phrase “shift work” is not enough. The staffing agency should know:

1. the start and end times of each shift,
2. the number of working days per week,
3. the rules for night and weekend work,
4. how the schedule is communicated,
5. the expected number of hours,
6. whether the schedule may change,
7. the rules regarding overtime,
8. the minimum and maximum number of working hours.

Pay cannot be limited to a single hourly rate. The company should provide the staffing agency with information about:

1. the applicable CAO,
2. the job classification,
3. the basic hourly rate,
4. shift and night-work allowances,
5. bonuses,
6. overtime,
7. paid breaks,
8. travel expense reimbursement,
9. other conditions applying to employees performing comparable work.

Business.gov.nl states that a company using agency workers must inform the staffing provider about the employment conditions that apply at the workplace. Without this information, the agency cannot present the offer correctly or calculate workers’ pay accurately.

Brief area	Information provided to the staffing agency
Staffing need	Number of workers, start date and project duration
Position	Tasks, work pace, targets and physical requirements
Organisation of work	Location, schedule, shifts, breaks and number of hours
Candidate	Experience, licences, language and right to work
Pay	CAO, hourly rate, allowances, bonuses, overtime and expense reimbursements
Safety	RI&E, risks, instructions and protective equipment
Logistics	Transport and housing
Start of work	Onboarding, contact person and coordination

5. Recruitment briefs at Intraservis B.V.

Many companies in the Netherlands already work with staffing agencies. The difference between providers is not limited to the number of candidates they present. It also depends on how information is collected, how recruitment is prepared and how workers are coordinated after the project begins.

At Intraservis, we divide the preparation of a recruitment brief into five areas.

Staffing needs

We establish:

1. the number of workers required,
2. the planned start date,
3. the expected duration of the project,
4. the planned, minimum and maximum number of working hours,
5. the number of working days per week,
6. how the workforce may be increased or reduced.

The position and organisation of work

We verify:

1. the type of work and the exact place where it will be performed,
2. the actual scope of duties,
3. the pace of work and applicable targets,
4. physical requirements,
5. conditions at the workplace, including temperature, humidity and noise,
6. the machines, equipment and tools used,
7. the shift system and the hours of each shift,
8. the rules for night and weekend work,
9. how the schedule is communicated and changed,
10. the rules regarding breaks and overtime.

Candidate requirements, pay and safety

We establish:

1. the qualifications and licences essential for the job,
2. preferred requirements,
3. skills that can be acquired during onboarding,
4. the language used at work, during induction and when communicating with supervisors,
5. the right to work in the Netherlands and the required documents,
6. the applicable CAO and job classification,
7. the basic hourly rate,
8. shift and night-work allowances,
9. bonuses, overtime and paid breaks,
10. the rules for travel expense reimbursement,
11. information resulting from the RI&E,
12. risks present at the workplace,
13. mandatory work clothing and protective equipment.

We also help distinguish requirements that are genuinely essential from those that can remain preferred. This prevents the criteria from unnecessarily excluding candidates who could perform the work correctly after suitable onboarding.

Transport and housing

We discuss:

1. who is responsible for organising transport,
2. where the journeys start,
3. the travel time,
4. the availability of transport for all shifts,
5. travel costs and how they are settled,
6. the availability and location of housing,
7. the number of people sharing each room,
8. the housing conditions,
9. the costs and rules for using the accommodation,
10. how workers travel from their place of residence to the workplace.

Onboarding and coordination

Before work begins, we establish:

1. the reporting place and time,
2. the person responsible for welcoming the workers,
3. the documents required on the first day,
4. how the induction and job-specific training will be conducted,
5. when work clothing and protective equipment will be issued,
6. the person responsible for answering workers’ questions,
7. the communication rules between the client, the agency and the workers,
8. how information will be exchanged after the project begins,
9. how absences, transport problems and the risk of workers leaving will be handled.

When a company has previously used agency workers, we also ask about difficulties that occurred in earlier projects. These may have involved turnover, schedules, work pace, transport, housing, onboarding or communication with team leaders.

Based on this information, we prepare recruitment around the actual conditions at the workplace rather than only the job title.

A well-prepared recruitment brief helps reduce the number of mismatched applications, start the search more quickly, present the full conditions before a candidate accepts the offer and prepare the first shift more effectively. It does not guarantee that every candidate will remain with the company, but it reduces the risk of mistakes caused by incomplete or imprecise information.

Let us prepare a recruitment brief based on the actual working conditions in your company.