How to Create a Hiring Plan (With Template)

A hiring plan is a document that lists the positions an organization intends to fill over a set period, usually a quarter or a year, with the reason for each role, the target start date, the budget and the person accountable. It is sometimes called a headcount plan or workforce plan.

• Hiring starts early enough: roles open before the team is overloaded, not after.
• Budget is agreed up front, so offers do not stall waiting for approval.
• Priorities are clear: when two managers want headcount, the plan shows which role matters more to the goals.
• Recruiters can plan their workload and sourcing instead of reacting to surprise requests.
• You can check afterwards whether hires arrived on time and did what they were hired for.

1. 1

   1. Start from business goals

   List what the company or department must achieve in the period: a product launch, a new market, a support volume target. Every role in the plan should trace back to one of these.

2. 2

   2. Audit the current team

   Map the skills you already have, who is stretched, and who may leave or move. A gap analysis shows which goals cannot be met with the current team.

3. 3

   3. Decide the roles and the reason for each

   Turn each gap into a role. Write one line on why it is needed and what would happen if it stayed unfilled. Consider whether the gap could be covered by training, a promotion or a contractor instead.

4. 4

   4. Set priority and timing

   Rank roles by impact and urgency. Work back from the date each person must be productive, allowing for time to hire, notice periods and ramp-up.

5. 5

   5. Agree the budget

   Estimate salary ranges, recruitment costs (ads, agencies, tools) and onboarding costs for each role, and get sign-off before roles open.

6. 6

   6. Define the selection process

   For each role, agree the must-have skills, the screening steps, the interviewers and the scoring rubric. This becomes the recruitment plan.

7. 7

   7. Assign owners and review dates

   Name the hiring manager and recruiter for each role, and set a monthly or quarterly review to update the plan as priorities change.

Use one row per role. Keep the plan in a shared sheet so managers, finance and recruiters see the same version.

Once a role is approved, fill in a recruitment plan for it. This is the recruitment plan format most teams settle on: short enough to agree in one meeting, specific enough to run the process.

Set a target duration for each stage of the hiring process timeline, then measure against it. The numbers below are example targets for a mid-level role, not benchmarks; adjust them to your roles and market.

The selection process is the part of the plan that decides who gets the job. Keep it the same for every candidate in the role, so results can be compared.

1. 1

   Knockout questions

   Check true requirements at application: work authorization, location, shift availability, required licenses.

2. 2

   Skills test or work sample

   A short, job-related test shows who can do the core work.

3. 3

   First-round interview

   A short structured conversation or a set of recorded answers to the same questions.

4. 4

   Final interview

   A deeper structured interview with the hiring manager, scored on the agreed rubric.

5. 5

   References and decision

   Check references for the finalists, compare scores, then decide.

For the first round, a screening tool such as springhire can send knockout questions, a skills test and a one-way video interview in one candidate link and rank applicants in one report, which shortens the screening stage of the timeline.

Here is a short recruitment plan sample for a common case: hiring four customer support agents for a new region.

• Outcome: four agents handling tickets on their own within 30 days of starting.
• Must-have skills: clear written English, problem solving, patience with upset customers, basic computer literacy.
• Sources: talent pool from last year's hiring, employee referrals, two job boards, a local college career office.
• Screening: knockout questions on shift availability and work authorization; a customer service test; three recorded answers to support scenarios.
• Interviews: one 30 minute structured interview with the support lead, using five scenario questions and a 1 to 5 rubric.
• Decision: support lead and support manager score independently, then agree.
• Timeline: ad live on day 1, screening complete by day 10, interviews by day 17, offers by day 20.
• Onboarding: shadowing for one week, then supervised tickets for two weeks.

• Planning roles without a reason tied to a goal, which makes priorities impossible to settle.
• Ignoring time to hire and notice periods, so people start months after they were needed.
• Leaving budget approval until the offer stage.
• Skipping the selection process design and improvising interviews per candidate.
• Never reviewing the plan, so it drifts away from what the business actually needs.