How to Create a Yearly Hiring Plan

yearly hiring plan
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Liz Strikwerda

Content strategist and corporate blogger (2000+ posts). Her work has been featured on G2's Learning Hub, Human Resources Today, Better Buys and over 500 business websites. She plays bluegrass mandolin and enjoys sailing her catamaran and hiking in the red rock wilderness of southern Utah. Connect with me on LinkedIn

Does your company currently hire on an as-needed basis? For example, when the workload becomes unsustainable, you begin a candidate search. When someone quits, you dust off the job description and start posting.

With a de facto reactive system, you are always playing catch up. It not only stifles productivity, it lowers the quality of onboarding and job training.

If this is the case for your organization, we encourage you to create a strategic hiring plan yearly.

What Is a Yearly Hiring Plan?

A hiring plan is a comprehensive strategy. It aligns hiring resources with business goals and long-term staffing needs.

How Will a Yearly Hiring Plan Help My Company?

A good hiring plan ensures continuous business operations. When you anticipate talent needs, you can take the time to find the perfect employee for each position. You can plan better for onboarding, training, and mentoring. A carefully sourced hire adds value sooner than a panic hire.

Filling positions quickly prevents existing employees from being buried with extra work. Team members are less likely to become burned out. This protects you from overworked employees quitting.

Let’s recap the benefits of a yearly hiring plan:

  • Prevent lapses in production
  • Ensure steady business growth
  • Unhurried recruitment results in higher quality hires
  • Prevent burnout and turnover due to understaffing
  • Anticipate onboarding and training needs
  • Reduce stress on the hiring team
  • Stay within your hiring budget

How Do I Create A Yearly Hiring Plan?

  1. Assess current workforce
  2. Outline business growth goals
  3. Identify talent needs
  4. Evaluate current hiring processes
  5. Create a timeline for hiring
  6. Align hiring practices and resources with needs

1. Interview Stakeholders

First, gather information from everyone. This means the executive team, managers, and several rank and file employees. Be methodical and thorough.

Interview each manager about each position in depth. This is how you can identify skills gaps. Find out if the current hires are a good fit. If they aren’t, you need to improve your hiring process. Consult our series How To Hire Your Next Employee.

Talk to members of the executive team about the business strategy. Which new job roles will be necessary? Once you have finished your plan, you will need to circle back if the hiring budget is too low. At that point, you will have justification for requesting an increase.

If your company is too large to talk to everyone in person, create a survey. If you use an HR portal, post a link to a questionnaire on the HR interface.

Talk to current employees about the quality of onboarding and training. Take a pulse on workforce morale. Find out if the day-to-day work has met their expectations.

2. Assess Your Workforce

  • What skills does your team possess?
  • What skills will you need?
  • Are there positions you want to fill internally with promotions or additional training?
  • How many new employees will you need?
  • What is the overall turnover rate? What is the rate per team and/or job role?
  • Will changing dynamics affect turnover?

3. Evaluate Your Hiring Process

  • Is it working?
  • Are you hiring quality employees?
  • Are you filling positions in a timely manner?

4. Hiring Resources

  • What is your hiring budget?
  • Will it be adequate for upcoming hiring needs?
  • What is your cost-per-hire?
  • Can you reduce cost-per-hire without lowering hiring outcomes?
  • Do you need to upgrade your recruiting software?

You can’t chart a course without knowing where you are right now. The first step in creating a plan is identifying your current situation. Interview as necessary and answer the questions outlined previously. Identify actionable steps. Now you will document your findings.

Your Yearly Hiring Plan

  1. Positions to be filled
  2. Detailed timeline
  3. Hiring operations: designate tasks for hiring team members, managers, and HR
  4. Adjust onboarding and training programs based on needs

Use ApplicantStack To Meet Your Hiring Goals

Do you have capable recruiting software? Pairing a top applicant tracking system with a long-term hiring plan is the solution.

Are you a new hiring manager or HR director? Has your company never had a formal hiring plan?

Follow the steps outlined to create a yearly plan. Use ApplicantStack to execute it. ApplicantStack helps you recruit quality candidates in the shortest time possible. Secure yourself a place at the decision-making table. Pat yourself on the back.

Simplify HR management today.

Simplify HR management today.

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