Politicians run campaigns to get elected. Blockbuster films use multichannel ads to drive ticket sales and downloads. Community fundraisers aim to collect enough money to upgrade aging playgrounds. Every successful campaign has an objective it aims to achieve. Why should your hiring be any different?
Successful recruiting campaigns are built around measurable goals that go beyond simply filling an open role. As a recruiter, you’re aiming to achieve meaningful hiring outcomes that add value to the business.
For example, a mission statement expresses strategic goals, such as Indeed’s one-sentence summary, “We Help People Get Jobs.” This provides a framework for everything Indeed does. Meanwhile, an operational objective might refer to revenue, productivity and growth goals to support that mission. At Indeed, “We Help People Get Jobs” provides the purpose behind operations such as research, product development, organizational structuring and messaging in internal and external communications, advertising and social media.
Companies lacking this kind of intentional statement can benefit from creating their unique business objectives. Using the acronym SMART — Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Based — provides a good guiding framework for crafting objectives, whether operational or strategic. Making goals specific, attainable, relevant, and time-based keeps them meaningful and grounded in reality, while measurement is important for defining success as well as opportunities for improvement.