02 · Recruitment Funnel

Owner: People Lead · Cadence: Continuous, with two cohort intakes per year (Feb, Sep).

Funnel stages and conversion targets

End-to-end target: 12% of inbound applicants reach the active bench. Higher = bar is too low; lower = funnel is leaking.

Sourcing channels (ranked by yield)

1. Referral from existing MEM coach (highest quality, 35%+ assessment-to-offer). Pay £250 referral bonus on completion of first paid cohort.
2. Partner orgs with aligned values (e.g. menopause networks, financial inclusion charities, peer-support orgs).
3. Inbound via /coach/apply form (file 03).
4. LinkedIn outreach for niche gaps (e.g. Welsh-speaking coach, South Asian menopause specialist).

Hard disqualifiers (screen out at stage 2)

• Active clinical practice they want to bring under the MEM brand (scope conflict).
• Active regulated financial advice business (FCA boundary risk).
• Cannot evidence right to work in the UK.
• Refuses enhanced DBS.
• Cannot give 2 professional references covering the last 5 years.
• Within 12 months of a substantiated safeguarding finding or professional body sanction.

Diversity targets (not quotas)

We track these annually and publish them in the Sprint 8 impact report.

• ≥50% of active bench from groups under-represented in workplace coaching (global majority, disabled, LGBTQ+, working-class background).
• ≥30% with lived experience of at least one of: menopause, neurodivergence, financial exclusion, caring responsibilities.
• ≥1 coach available per UK nation (Eng/Scot/Wales/NI) and per major welsh/regional language need on the active bench.

If a target slips for >2 quarters, the Head of Coaching opens a sourcing sprint with a named gap (e.g. "we need 3 Welsh-speaking menopause-experienced coaches by Q3").

Cohort intake calendar

Out-of-cycle exceptions: only for named client gaps the existing bench can't fill (e.g. a specific language need). Approved by Head of Coaching in writing.