3 Tips for Setting SMART Goals for Your Recruiting Team

One of the most important steps to reaching our objectives is to set concrete goals that not only keep us motivated, but also allow us to see the path toward the result we want to achieve clearly and to know without a doubt when you have reached it, so you can celebrate... because it is important to celebrate when a goal is reached; if not, let's ask any athlete who has won a medal, a diploma, or a trophy.

First of all, let's define what SMART goals are. By their English acronym, they are:

• Specific: What you want to achieve.

• Measurable: You must be able to measure progress.

• Attainable: It has to be something you are capable of achieving.

• Relevant: Why you want to achieve it; it must be important.

• Time bound: Establish a timeline within which you commit to achieving it.

The best way to explain them is with an example that all of us have identified with at some point. It is not the same to say "I need to lose weight", which is probably that New Year's resolution you've been carrying around for, well, let's not count how many years you've been saying you will do it, as it is to say "I need to lose 5 kilos in the next 3 months." This second one would be a SMART goal: it is specific because you say exactly what you want to achieve; you can measure how much you have achieved and how much is left; it is attainable because it is a realistic goal; it is relevant because it is important to you; and it has a time frame. The best thing about these goals is that you can draw up a plan to achieve them, in this example, a diet and training plan for the next 3 months.

In your recruiting team, it is also very important to set SMART goals so that you can be aligned, with clear targets, and be able to establish a properly focused work plan. But how do you set these goals? Here are 3 tips to give you a clear path to get started.

Talk with your hiring team, executives, and human resources to be clear about your current needs.

The first step to having a good team and, therefore, being able to achieve a goal is for everyone involved to be aligned. By developing specific descriptions of the job or vacancy you want to fill, you can evaluate which potential candidates would be ideal based on their level of knowledge, experience, skills, and other essential criteria, which Evalart's tools can help you measure more efficiently.

Know the recruiting metrics and growth objectives, in order to set the goals.

But first of all, what are the recruiting metrics that I need to know? Here we bring you the main ones you should take into account, although this may vary depending on each team and its objectives:

• Time it takes to fill a vacancy.

• Best sources for finding candidates.

• Number of applicants for each position.

• Total cost of hiring.

• Number of vacancies to fill.

By having this data clear, you can have a more accurate picture of how to improve your processes: which stages are working efficiently and which need to improve. This way you can set clear and achievable goals.

What is needed to achieve the goals? Clearly establish the plan to follow.

Whether your goal is to lower the total cost of hiring by 10% in the next 3 months, or to improve the time it takes to fill a vacancy by 20% in the next 4 months, or any of the goals your team sets for itself, it is essential to establish a clear action plan with steps and a timeline, which allows you to quantify whether progress is being made or whether adjustments are needed to reach the goal.

Ultimately, the success or failure of your recruiting team in searching for and hiring new talent will depend on several factors, such as the tools you use, the data you manage, and the plan you follow, among others. SMART goals help you carry out this process more efficiently and achieve better results, so get to know them and apply them, and you will see how the success rate increases.