Becoming a successful recruiter would be a dream come true. After all, it means progressing your career and matching candidates with their dream job. Who wouldn’t love that?
In the recruitment industry, you must create effective strategies and systems to search for the ideal hires. That’s why developing SMART goals is a fantastic approach to help you thrive as a recruiter.
You would be able to make practical goals to produce the best results. In today’s article, we will cover what SMART goals are and list 11 examples of SMART goals for recruiters.
What is a SMART Goal?
The SMART goal-setting framework was first brought to light in 1981. Nowadays, this goal concept is meant to aid you in developing more intentional and realistic goals.
SMART has 5 criteria: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. Let’s dive deeper into what each component entails:
- Specific: Try to be as detailed as possible when setting your goals. For instance, instead of saying, “I want to decrease time to hire,” you should go with, “I will reduce the time-to-hire rate by 2%.”
- Measurable: Measurable goals ensure clear progress from beginning to finish. This could motivate you to push on even in times of difficulty.
- Attainable: Meeting your goals shouldn’t be easy; it must be challenging enough to incite your inner passion. At the same time, don’t make them absurdly unrealistic or you may be overwhelmed.
- Relevant: This is where you ask the “why” question. Why is the goal essential to you? And does it align with your overall values and the bigger picture?
- Time-based: Having a timely goal will help you set a schedule for success. To illustrate, instead of “I’ll look for more diverse candidates,” consider “I will increase the diversity of candidates by 15% within the end of the year.”
Recruiters should aim to set SMART goals to succeed in their roles and responsibilities. Implementing this framework will edge you closer to becoming a successful recruiter.
Types of SMART Goals for Recruiters
Setting goals can greatly boost the effectiveness and success of recruiters in attracting and hiring top talent. By establishing measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound goals recruiters can enhance their recruitment procedures engage candidates better and elevate their overall performance.
Here are various kinds of SMART goals customized for recruiters:
Candidate Sourcing Goals
Finding qualified candidates is crucial for recruiters. A SMART goal in this area could involve increasing the number of candidates in the recruitment pipeline by 30% within the next quarter. This might entail exploring sourcing avenues participating in networking events or utilizing social media platforms more effectively.
Time-to-Fill Goals
Reducing the time taken to fill open positions contributes to a streamlined recruitment process. A recruiter could aim to cut down the average time to fill positions by 20% over the 6 months. This objective could be met by refining interview processes enhancing candidate screening techniques and maintaining communication with hiring managers.
Candidate Experience Goals
Ensuring an experience, for candidates boosts employer branding and motivates top talent to consider future opportunities. A SMART goal might involve achieving a candidate satisfaction score of 90% or higher based on interview feedback surveys within the next year.
Diversity Hiring Goals
Promoting diversity and inclusion is crucial for recruiters, who may aim to increase the diversity of hires by 25% in the next two quarters. This could involve using recruitment strategies focused on diversity participating in diversity job fairs and working closely with diversity and inclusion teams.
Quality-of-Hire Goals
To ensure that recruited candidates meet performance expectations setting a goal to achieve a 90% retention rate after one year through screening processes behavioral assessments and aligning candidate skills with job requirements is essential for long-term organizational success.
Hiring Manager Satisfaction Goals
Building relationships with hiring managers can enhance collaboration and recruitment outcomes. A goal could be to maintain a satisfaction rating of 85% or higher based on feedback surveys from hiring managers. This may include check-ins, a thorough understanding of hiring needs and providing timely updates on recruitment progress.
11 Examples of SMART Goals for Recruiters
To foster career progression, all recruiters should strive to add a couple of SMART goals to their repertoire. There is no greater joy than fulfilling your desired goals.
Let’s take a look at 11 SMART goals examples for recruiters:
1. Increase Candidate Applications
“I’ll aim to increase the number of applications I receive by 20% within three months. By doing this, I will have a larger talent pool to choose from, and I’ll be able to find the hidden gem candidates that might have slipped through the cracks.”
Specific: The goal states the objective, what will be done to achieve it, and the timeline.
Measurable: You could look at the number of applications received.
Attainable: This goal is realistic because it’s possible to increase the number of applications by 20% within three months.
Relevant: This relates to recruiting because it will help you discover better candidates.
Time-based: There is a three-month timeline for completing this goal.
2. Reduce Time-to-Hire Rate
“I want to reduce our time-to-hire rate by 1% each month for the next two months. After that, I’ll reassess to see if I can continue reducing the time-to-hire rate or if I need to adjust my recruitment strategy.”
Specific: The recruiter wants to reduce the time-to-hire rate by 1%.
Measurable: You will ensure that the time-to-hire rate decreases by 1% each month.
Attainable: This is achievable because it is a small, incremental goal.
Relevant: The SMART goal is appropriate because it focuses on reducing the time-to-hire rate, an essential metric for recruiters.
Time-based: The goal is time-bound because it has a two-month deadline.
3. Improve Quality of Hire
“Given that quality of hire can directly impact employee retention and company productivity, I will work to increase the quality of hires by 10% over the 6 months ahead. I’ll work alongside the hiring team to revise job descriptions, implement new screening methods, and conduct more in-depth interviews.”
Specific: This statement is explicit because it seeks to increase the quality of hires by 10%.
Measurable: This is quantifiable because it’s easy to track the number of hires and compare the quality of those hires against a set standard.
Attainable: Improving the quality of hires by 10% over 6 months is a reasonable goal.
Relevant: The quality of hires is crucial to any organization because it can lead to increased productivity and employee retention.
Time-based: This goal should ideally be completed in 6 months.
4. Decrease Agency Spend
“I will decrease the amount spent on agency fees by 20% in the next 12 months by using more in-house talent and employing creative sourcing strategies.”
Specific: You want to decrease the amount spent on agency fees by a particular percentage.
Measurable: Determine your progress in agency spending over a 12-month period.
Attainable: A 20% reduction is significant but manageable.
Relevant: This goal relates to your primary objective of reducing spending.
Time-based: You have a specific timeline for goal attainment, which is 12 months.
5. Optimize Job Postings
“To improve candidate quality, I’ll spend two hours every week optimizing our job postings for two weeks. This includes ensuring job descriptions are clear, accurate, and up-to-date.”
Specific: You have precise actions available—spend two hours each week on job postings.
Measurable: Ensure you optimize the job postings two hours weekly.
Attainable: This is a reasonable goal, assuming you have the time available.
Relevant: This goal relates to your objective of improving candidate quality.
Time-based: You should expect goal attainment over the course of two weeks.
6. Leverage Social Media Platforms
“For the duration of three months, I’ll strive to spend one hour each day researching and connecting with potential candidates on social media platforms. I want to track my daily progress and performance against this goal.”
Specific: The SMART goal is well-defined. The recruiter knows they must research and connect with potential candidates on social media platforms for one hour each day.
Measurable: The recruiter will check progress and performance against this goal by tracking their daily progress.
Attainable: This is achievable and realistic, assuming you stay consistent on a regular basis.
Relevant: The goal is appropriate for the individual’s desire to research and connect with potential candidates on social media platforms.
Time-based: Goal achievement will be met by the end of three months.
7. Implement New Technologies
“I will research, test, and implement three new recruiting technologies within 5 months. The goal is to find new ways of attracting and assessing top talent and improve our recruiting process’s efficiency.”
Specific: This goal is clear about what needs to be done (research, test, and implement new technologies) and how many must be done (three new technologies).
Measurable: You can verify progress by counting how many new technologies have been implemented.
Attainable: Researching, testing, and implementing new technologies is an achievable goal.
Relevant: New technologies can help attract and assess top talent more efficiently.
Time-based: Goal completion is expected within 5 months.
8. Increase the Diversity of Candidates
“I want to increase the diversity of our candidate pool by 30% within three months. I’ll accomplish this by working with recruitment agencies that specialize in finding diverse candidates and increasing our outreach to underrepresented groups.”
Specific: The goal statement is clear and concise, stating precisely the objective and how it will be accomplished.
Measurable: The company will be able to track the percentage of increase in the diversity of candidates.
Attainable: This goal can be reached by working with recruitment agencies and increasing outreach.
Relevant: Recruiters should encourage diversity and inclusion by considering a more diverse pool of candidates.
Time-based: There is a three-month timeline for achieving your goal.
9. Attract More Candidates From Universities
“I will increase the number of qualified candidates we source from universities by 10% by the end of 6 months. To do this, I’ll work with our recruitment team to develop new relationships with key universities and create targeted campaigns.”
Specific: Increase the number of qualified candidates sourced from universities by 10%.
Measurable: The goal can be measured by tracking the number of candidates sourced from universities before and after implementing new relationships and campaigns.
Attainable: This is feasible because it is an increase of 10%, which is a relatively small number.
Relevant: This goal is suitable because it will help source more qualified candidates.
Time-based: You have a 6-month deadline to attain this specific goal.
10. Enhance Candidate Experience
“My goal is to improve the candidate experience by ensuring that all candidates receive a response to their application within two weeks. I’ll also develop a more efficient screening process so that candidates only move forward if they meet all the required qualifications.”
Specific: Enhancing the candidate experience can be done by responding to applications on time and developing a more efficient screening process.
Measurable: Confirm how many candidates receive responses to their applications within the two-week window, and an improved screening process is set in place.
Attainable: This goal is achievable if the recruiter remains organized and efficient.
Relevant: Improving the candidate’s experience is essential to maintaining a positive company image and attracting top talent.
Time-based: You should pursue this particular goal for two whole weeks.
11. Gain More LinkedIn Followers
“I’ll increase my number of LinkedIn followers by 5% within the next quarter. I will write and publish at least one blog post per week on LinkedIn and share relevant articles and updates from my company page.”
Specific: The SMART statement is easy to understand, stating exactly the objective and how it will be achieved.
Measurable: The number of LinkedIn followers can be followed and tracked.
Attainable: This could be accomplished by writing and publishing blog posts on LinkedIn.
Relevant: LinkedIn can boost your reputation as a professional recruiter in the recruitment industry.
Time-based: The time frame for meeting this goal is one quarter.
Final Thoughts
Designing SMART goals will boost your likelihood of recruitment success. You’ll have a smoother time hiring suitable candidates for companies and businesses.
This is because when you understand precisely what to accomplish, the timeline, and the overall objective, you can search for and attract prospective employees who excel in their work.
The 11 examples of SMART goals for recruiters and recruitment will expand your current abilities and determine if goal completion is on schedule. It won’t be long before you reach your professional short-term and long-term goals.
