Why making a New Year's resolution for hiring is essential

When you think of a New Year's resolution, you probably recall a personal goal without much direction. This year, set a strategic hiring goal for your business.

Article posted on Dec 1, 2025

Articles Employers General Beacon Hill Hiring Insights

You all know what a New Year's resolution is. It's that promise you make to yourself that you don't intend to break, but typically ends up falling apart by March. We get it. Life gets busy, you penned it under pressure, it wasn't realistic and really, who needs to resolve to do things once a year? Employers, that's who. 

However, smart employers like you need to do it in a more strategic manner than individuals. Are you wondering how to achieve that? We've got this!
 

Fiscal Year 2026

It's coming in hot! A new year of hiring. Now, at the end of Fiscal Year 2025, is the time to ensure next year boosts your business. To do that, you need to look back first.
 

Take inventory

Start by asking yourself some vital questions about the current state of hiring in your business. Here's a list of options to get you started.

  • What went well last year?
  • What didn't go well?
  • What roles were new
  • What roles did you have to fill at the last moment?
  • What was your time-to-fill metric?
  • What was your application-to-hire ratio?
  • How much money did you spend promoting your open roles?
  • Were there specific roles that took a larger share of your promotion budget to fill?
  • How many hires were earned through referrals?
  • What feedback did you receive on your hiring process?


These questions will generate the types of answers you need to start measuring your efficacy.
 

Gauge metrics

Take any answers to the questions above and put them into a system (as simple as an Excel sheet), ideally with real metrics. This will help you set a baseline for the year ahead and determine your success moving forward. Examples of this could look like:

  • I made # new hires in 2025.
  • It took me an average of 60 days to fill my roles.
  • I earned five referrals and hired two of them.
     

Apply strategy to your New Year's resolution for hiring


Think about what you want to achieve in 2026

Before looking too far ahead, it's time to consider your exact needs. Ask yourself some more questions:

  • What roles must I hire for in 2026?
  • What roles do I have to hire for all the time?
  • How long is the average tenure in high turnover roles (seasonal, etc.)?
  • What budget do I have to work with this year?
  • Can I take any steps to increase my referral numbers?
  • How can I improve my time-to-fill or application-to-hire ratio?


When that's done, add any answers to these questions to a new section in your system.
 

Set S.M.A.R.T. goals1

Now it's time to solidify your New Year's hiring resolution.

We recommend using S.M.A.R.T. parameters to ensure you start from a grounded position. S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.
 

Specific

Who will be responsible for achieving the goal, and what steps must be taken to get it done?
 

Measurable

Keep in mind you need to know how success will be earned, and that involves numbers. But don't worry, you already have your numbers since you performed the exercise we talked about earlier!
 

Achievable

Don't try to reach for a number that is 110% higher than last year. If you hit 110%, wonderful, but that's not often realistic. Do what you think you can with a bit of reach room.
 

Relevant

Why is this your goal? The why matters!
 

Time-bound

Set a time period to achieve your goal, so that you can see clearly if you achieved it.

In your case, a S.M.A.R.T. goal might look like this:

I want to make two hires per month for the next year by enhancing my referral program and allocating an additional $x to my promotion budget to meet production needs.
 

Review how you did at the end of next year

When all is said and done, you have to look back to look forward. Wait until the end of the year and review whether your resolution was effective. If not, make adjustments and start again. Hiring resolutions evolve, and as long as they're based on actionable insights, that's great for business.

Who knows, maybe you'll learn something you can share about hiring with other teams! Your year-over-year research could help others.

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What hiring goal are you hoping to achieve this fiscal year? If you need assistance, Beacon Hill is always here to partner up!

Source

  1. How to write SMART goals
     

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