5 Steps to Strategic Leadership and GTM Recruitment Planning

Hiring the right people at the right time requires more than just filling roles; it demands alignment with the company’s long-term goals. A clear strategy helps you identify future talent needs and growth plans and stay competitive in attracting top performers. Without it, recruitment becomes reactive rather than proactive, often leading to rushed decisions, mismatched hires, and missed opportunities. Strategic planning ensures your hiring efforts are focused, efficient, and built to support sustainable business success.

Strategic planning doesn’t have to be overly complex. At its heart, it’s about learning from the past and making wise decisions for the future. When done well, it helps your business stay focused, adjust to change, and keep moving towards long-term success.

Here’s a straightforward guide to getting your strategic recruitment planning process right.

1. Start by Looking Back

Before you think about what’s next, review what’s already happened.

• What went well? Think about previous hires and what made them successful. Consider the processes, people and timings.

• What didn’t go to plan? Identify where things fell short and why. Consider internal and external influences.

• What risks popped up? Look at how well you spotted and managed risks along the way.

The goal is to understand what helped or hindered your recruitment progress so you can make better decisions next time.

2. Revisit Your Assumptions

Every plan is built on a set of assumptions. Some will hold true; others won’t.

Gartner recommends sorting them into three simple groups:

• Still true? Great, build on them. How can you do more of these activities that increase your success?

• Way off? Learn from them and adjust. How can even the smallest of activities be adjusted to optimise your processes?

• Not sure? Flag them for further research.

This helps ensure your next plan is based on solid thinking, not old guesswork.

3. Dig Into the “Why”

It’s not enough to know what worked or didn’t; you must understand why.

• Internal factors: Did your hiring managers, HR team and recruiters have the right skills and tools? Were resources used well?

• External factors: What role did market changes or competitors play? Did you partner with an external recruitment firm?

Knowing the root causes helps you avoid repeating mistakes and strengthens your strategy.

4. Capture What You’ve Learned

Once you’ve gathered all your insights, pull them together into a clear summary that’s easy to share.

• Key takeaways: Highlight the most important lessons.

• Changes: Be clear about what you’ll do differently next time.

• Get everyone on the same page: Make sure your team understands the plan and the reasons behind it.

This step turns insights into action and keeps everyone aligned.

Gartner has developed multiple templates to assist with your strategic planning. Download their Root Cause Template and Initiative Performance Overview Template here.

5. Make the right changes

Changing your recruitment process starts with clearly defining your hiring needs and setting realistic timelines. Consider when you’ll need someone in the role and work backwards, allowing time for advertising, interviewing, and notice periods.

Consider whether this hire will need help from external partners, like specialist recruitment firms. Bringing partners on early in the process can speed things up and improve the quality of candidates, especially for senior or hard-to-fill roles.

Outline a structured interview process in advance, including who needs to be involved, how many stages there will be, and what you’re assessing at each step. The more thought you put into planning, the smoother and more successful your recruitment will be.

For more information on recruitment planning, download our guide here.

Strategic recruitment planning is an ongoing cycle of reflection and improvement. At Oakstone International, we encourage our partners to treat it as a habit, not just a one-off task. When you make time to look back, question assumptions, understand outcomes, and share what you’ve learned, you set your business up for smarter decisions and stronger hires.

Need help developing or refining your recruitment strategy? Contact us.