For a talent acquisition process to be consistently successful, it must begin by establishing recruitment objectives and a specific action plan to meet those objectives, and end with an evaluation of the results.

Step 1: Establish Objectives

Recruitment objectives should be aligned with the strategic objectives of the organization. For example, if an organization has a strategic objective to be a leader in customer service, this should be kept in mind when deciding whom to target for recruitment.

Ideally, those involved in the recruitment function should have input into key business strategy decisions. If an employer wants to open a new location in an area where labor demand exceeds supply, for example, a knowledgeable person from the recruitment function should explain to hiring managers the need to design competitive rewards packages and to expect longer-than-typical time frames for filling positions.

Common objectives to consider when planning a recruitment campaign include:

• Number of open positions to be filled.
• Date by which positions should be filled.
• Cost-per-hire.
• Number of applications desired.
• Types of applicants sought.

When establishing recruiting objectives, there are two additional points to consider. First, there should be agreement on how the objectives will be measured. Will the quality of a new hire be evaluated based on objective performance data, a supervisor’s judgment or customers’ ratings? Employers must also be aware of the dynamics of specific labor markets before designing recruitment campaigns.

Step 2: Develop a Strategy

This phase involves establishing a specific plan of action to meet the recruitment objectives. Some of the questions an organization might address when developing a recruitment strategy include:

• Who should be targeted for recruitment? Does the organization want to hire recent college graduates, passive candidates who work for competitors or diversity candidates, for example?
• What recruitment message should be communicated?
• How can the targeted individuals best be reached?
• When should the recruitment campaign begin?

Step 3: Carry out Recruitment Activities

Once a strategy is agreed upon, recruitment activities like posting job ads, sourcing through social media, utilizing employee referrals and operating recruitment programs can be tailored to match it.

Step 4: Measure Results and Evaluate Efforts

The final step of measuring results is vital to determining whether an employer’s recruitment objectives have been achieved, yet many organizations do not formally evaluate their recruitment efforts. In some cases, this is because they haven’t gathered data on important recruitment metrics such as the time to fill a position, the cost-per-hire, the yield ratio for each recruitment method, the retention rates of new hires and hiring managers’ satisfaction with the recruitment process.