How to Effectively Plan Your Recruitment Budget for 2022

Planning is one of the most important keys to success. As this year starts coming to a close, there’s no better time than now to prepare for 2022. By planning a recruitment budget, you’d better know what to expect and how to allocate resources in the new year.

Why You Need to Plan Your Recruitment Budget

A company is only as strong as its people. That’s why HR, recruitment, and hiring processes are at the heart of it all.

Plus, the pandemic in 2020 rattled businesses everywhere, and things are just now beginning to settle. Chances are good that your recruitment practices will need to be adjusted for the new year. A recruitment budget ensures you know where you’re going and how you’ll find the best candidates.

How Do You Prepare a Recruitment Budget?

Recruiting new employees requires time, resources, and talent. Before you can plan for next year’s budget, you’ll want to look at all current and projected costs.

Consider recruiting-related costs like:

(Lack of) Travel Costs

Most businesses went virtual starting in 2020, and many organizations are keeping things more online and socially distanced. You might plan for much fewer travel costs in 2022, meaning you can designate those costs to other areas.

Recruitment Marketing

Evaluate your marketing and advertising costs for recruitment, such as posting paid job ads on Google and social media, and your ROI over the last year. Maybe you need to change strategies, increase marketing efforts, or work with a recruitment agency next year.

Recruitment Outreach

Consider all of the costs associated with recruitment outreach to find suitable candidates. Will you need to increase your budget in 2022?

Factor in time and resources spent on all recruitment-related processes, including ads, events, email marketing, social media outreach, and more.

New Roles

Have new positions been added or created at your company since the pandemic? For example, maybe the workplace needs additional people to monitor health and safety practices. Perhaps you are opening up more remote roles, widening your recruiting radar from local to country-wide.

Your new budget will need to include any changes regarding any of the above areas. Look at your past performance, headcounts in each department, turnover rates, recent recruitment trends, and more as you put together your budget. The list can vary by industry, so make sure everyone considers all costs and efforts related to recruitment in 2022.

Forecasting and Planning for the Unexpected

Now that we’ve talked about recruitment budget factors you can control, what about things that happen out of the blue?

This is where scenario planning and forecasting come in handy.

Scenario planning is about setting up procedures to handle unexpected changes with different business variables. Of course, the 2020 pandemic is a good example of why all businesses need to be ready for unforeseen circumstances.

Develop a plan to cover unexpected changes, such as higher turnover rates that will require more of the recruiting budget. Come up with two to five narratives of how an unanticipated situation might go and how you will respond to it.

Start Planning as Soon as Possible

Overall, make your recruitment budget for 2022 as realistic as possible, and prepare for potentially necessary flexibility. Plan appropriately for crucial areas that will need resources, but also avoid overspending as much as possible.

Setting aside the time for a budget plan now will pay off enormously and ensure you’re prepared for recruitment needs in the new year.

Alabama Media Group helps companies get the most out of their recruitment efforts. We use an outbound multi-channel recruitment strategy to find and attract the best candidates for you and your work culture. Contact us today to discuss your recruitment needs.