On this page: Key takeaways · What should a hiring intake meeting template include? · How do you write physical and language demands as tasks? · Day one or trainable: why does it matter for screening? · What are the most common intake mistakes? · How Radius helps · Conclusion: why put twenty minutes into intake? · FAQ
Key takeaways
- Write every requirement as a task, in the site supervisor's words, with the evidence that answers it.
- Must haves are what is needed on day one; what the site can teach in the first week is a nice to have.
- Confirm the list by email the same day, before the first candidate is called.
The job order arrives as a phone call or a single line: "10 order pickers, Monday, experienced, preferably Dutch, strong guys." Experienced at what? How much Dutch, for which task? If the hiring intake meeting does not settle that, it gets settled one candidate at a time, by whoever happens to screen.
Our advice is to spend twenty minutes with the client before you call anyone: every question settled at intake is one you do not settle again on each call. That is our judgement, not a measured saving.
What should a hiring intake meeting template include?
One row per requirement, agreed with the client, under five headings. Spell out the weight, time, level or tool in each requirement, and say when the evidence is checked.
Illustrative example for a warehouse client, not a standard for any role:
| Task | Requirement written as a task | Evidence that answers it | Must have or nice to have | Legal check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early shift in Venray | Arrives for the 06:00 start on every shift day | First screen: "How would you travel there, and how long would it take?" | Must have | About the work; same question for everyone |
| Order picking | Picks accurately with a hand scanner and reports any difference | First screen: "The scanner says 12 items, the location holds 10. What do you do?" | Must have (accuracy; the scanner itself can be taught) | About the work |
| Lifting | Lifts cartons of up to 15 kg throughout an eight hour shift | Question about comparable work; supervised first hour | Must have | State the load and duration, never a sex or age |
| Safety briefing | Follows a spoken safety briefing in the language used on the floor | Short question in that language at first screen | Must have, at the level the briefing needs | State the task and level, not a mother tongue |
| Reach truck (drivers only) | Operates a reach truck safely in narrow aisles | Certificate checked with the issuer where possible, before the first shift | Must have for drivers | Specific expertise required for mobile work equipment with its own drive (Arbobesluit, article 7.17c) |
| Warehouse system | Uses the client's warehouse system | Taught in the first shift | Nice to have | None needed |
To fill it in: let the supervisor list the tasks that decide whether a new person works out, and ask of each: "If someone started without this on Monday, could you teach it in the first week?" If yes, it is a nice to have.
Once the requirements are agreed, Radius Hire can read every interview against them. See how Match works.
Illustrative example: the confirmation email to send the same day
After the intake, the agency sends this (illustrative, not a real client).
How do you write physical and language demands as tasks?
Say what is done, how much, how often and in which language.
A physical demand is a load, a pace and a shift length. A language demand is a situation: a briefing to follow, a customer to answer. Written this way, it can be checked for everyone the same way and says nothing about the group a person belongs to. Illustrative wording; ask the supervisor for real figures:
| Instead of | Write |
|---|---|
| Strong man | Lifts cartons of up to 15 kg throughout an eight hour shift |
| Young, fit team | Keeps the site's picking pace across a full shift after the first week |
| Native Dutch speaker | Follows a spoken safety briefing in Dutch and asks when something is unclear |
| Customer friendly driver | Explains a missed delivery to a customer in Dutch |
| Experienced | Has driven a reach truck in narrow aisles |
Day one or trainable: why does it matter for screening?
Only day one needs should stop a candidate at screening.
Every must have is a reason to say no on the phone. Keeping a teachable skill as a must have shrinks the pool without making the hire safer. Safe reach truck driving is day one by nature; the warehouse system is not. Mark the difference so every intercedent on the order screens the same way.
What are the most common intake mistakes?
Four mistakes to avoid, each with a simple fix.
- Copying the old advert. Adverts are written to attract. Start from the supervisor's tasks.
- "Experience required" with no task. Name the task it should prove, and ask everyone about that task the same way (why years on a CV say little).
- Accepting a requirement about who the candidate is. "Strong guys" or "native Dutch" describes a person, not the work. Rewrite it as a task using the swaps above, or leave it off.
- Not confirming in writing. Send the email the same day; if requirements change, send the new version and apply it to every candidate from then on.
The third mistake is also a legal risk. Dutch equal treatment law prohibits distinction in recruitment and in placement by agencies on grounds including race, nationality, sex, age, and disability or chronic illness, and under the AWGB an instruction to make such a distinction counts too (AWGB, articles 1 and 5; WGB, article 3; WGBL, article 3; WGB h/cz, article 4; versions in force from 1 January 2026). Opinions of the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights ask whether a requirement is tied to the job's tasks and needed for them: good Dutch for a parcel driver role involving complaints and customs forms was justified (opinion 2017-56, 4 May 2017), a native speaker rule for translators was not (opinion 2017-49, 20 April 2017), and an agency that turned a woman down for heavy cargo work discriminated on grounds of sex, as women can meet a strength requirement too (opinion 2024-54, 25 June 2024). The opinions are not legally binding, but a court must take them into account (Institute FAQ), and each turns on its facts. If a client insists, note the request, decline it and get legal advice.
Put the agreed start time and location in the advert too (why it helps candidates). For an existing process rather than a new order, use the one hour hiring process audit.
How Radius helps
Radius Hire is an AI hiring platform for frontline roles in the Netherlands. Radius picks up where the template stops: in Match, your team adds the must haves for each role, such as shifts, certificates, language on the floor and start date, and every interview is read against them. For each requirement, Radius shows whether it is backed by a document or a check, rests only on what the candidate said, or is still missing.
Radius never rejects a candidate on its own. A recruiter reviews the evidence and makes every hiring decision. Radius is built for staffing agencies that recruit for several clients and sites. How clients, branches, permissions and branding are set up is agreed per plan in the demo. See how it applies to warehouse roles.
Conclusion: why put twenty minutes into intake?
Because the order is cheapest to fix before anyone is called, and a requirement written as a task can be applied the same way by every intercedent. Fill in the template with the supervisor, confirm it the same day, and screen against nothing else.