How to Create a Recruitment Plan: Step-by-Step Guide

Most companies hire reactively. Someone quits, numbers go up, and suddenly the team scrambles to fill a role. 

The problem here? That approach almost always costs more and delivers less. Without a plan, you’re rolling the dice on your most important investment: people.

The numbers back it up. 78% of companies admit they’ve made a bad hire at some point. A single wrong hire can drain productivity, morale, and your budget faster than you think.

In real estate, the pressure multiplies. Market cycles are unforgiving. Growth comes in waves. And turnover among agents never really slows down. If you don’t know in advance who you need and how to get them, you’ll always be chasing instead of leading.

A proper recruitment plan changes that. It gives you a clear path: who to hire, when to hire, and how to do it without burning out your team or missing growth opportunities. 

In this guide, we’ll explain how to create a recruitment plan step by step, so you can move from reacting to hiring strategically. 

Ready to begin?

TL;DR

Here’s the quick version of what a strong recruitment plan looks like:

• Set hiring goals that match your growth targets.
• Review your current team and identify skill gaps.
• Build a budget that supports sourcing, ads, and recruiting tools.
• Write job descriptions that attract the right candidates.
• Use sourcing channels that actually deliver in real estate.
• Standardize your selection process for consistency.
• Strengthen your employer brand so talent comes to you.
• Assign owners and deadlines to avoid bottlenecks.
• Track key hiring metrics and adjust as needed.
• Keep the plan flexible so it works even as the market shifts.

A good plan makes hiring predictable and aligned with business growth, instead of a last-minute scramble.

What a Recruitment Plan Really Means

Most hiring teams don’t fail because of effort. They fail because there’s no clear plan. Roles open up, managers start calling contacts, and suddenly the process looks different every time. 

The outcome is obvious: Missed deadlines, wasted budget, and hires that don’t last.

A recruitment plan fixes that. It sets a consistent structure for how you hire: who owns what, where to source, and how to measure results. Instead of scrambling, you’re working from a playbook that everyone follows.

Why Every Business Needs a Recruitment Plan

The cost of hiring wrong is massive, and it happens far too often. 

While 73% of organizations do workforce planning, very few connect it to the skills they’ll need in the future. That disconnect is why businesses end up patching holes instead of building strong teams.

A solid plan keeps hiring aligned with growth. It tells you what roles actually matter for the next stage, how much to spend to fill them, and which channels deliver the best candidates. 

That saves time, cuts down on bad hires, and gives your team a process that works every time.

Why It Matters Even More in Real Estate?

Real estate doesn’t give you much room for mistakes. Markets shift quickly, brokerages expand and contract in months, and turnover among agents is constant. 

If you don’t know in advance how you’ll replace or add people, you risk losing deals while competitors move faster.

Hiring managers see what’s coming; 57% of them expect to grow headcount during 2025. Without a plan, those hires will feel rushed and mismatched. 

But with one, firms can scale smoothly, manage turnover, and avoid the cycle of replacing the same roles again and again.

How to Build Your Recruitment Plan Step by Step

A recruitment plan only works if you keep it practical and actionable. In real estate, where turnover is constant and growth can happen overnight, the safest approach is to break it into steps you can repeat and refine. 

Here’s how to do it:

1. Lock In Clear Hiring Goals

Every strong plan starts with numbers. How many hires do you need this year? In which roles? And how do those roles connect to revenue or growth targets? Without that clarity, you’ll end up chasing talent you don’t actually need.

The best way to set goals is to tie them directly to business priorities. Opening a new office? You’ll need managers and sales staff in place before the doors open. Expanding into property management? 

Factor in leasing agents and support staff early. Clear hiring goals keep recruiting aligned with where the company is actually headed, not just where the loudest manager is shouting.

2. Audit Your Current Team and Spot Gaps

Once you know where you want to go, you need to know what you’re missing. 

That means looking at your current team with a critical eye. Who’s carrying too much? Where are the skill gaps? Which roles are likely to open up soon due to promotions or turnover?

This step is especially important in real estate. High-performing agents often jump firms, and operational staff can burn out if workloads aren’t managed. Auditing your team helps you anticipate those shifts instead of being blindsided.

3. Set a Budget That Works Hard

Recruiting costs add up fast. Ads, sourcing platforms, recruiters, and interview time all pull from the same pot. A smart plan sets a budget up front, so you’re not overspending on one hire and underfunding the next.

The trick is to spend smarter. Job boards may bring volume, but referral bonuses might bring better-fit candidates. Recruiting software might cut time-to-hire, saving money in the long run. 

Mapping those trade-offs in your budget helps you stretch dollars further and get the right people in the door without draining resources.

4. Write Job Descriptions That Attract the Right People

Most job descriptions fail because they’re vague. They list generic duties, throw in “fast-paced environment,” and hope for the best. That only attracts a flood of resumes that don’t fit.

The fix is simple: be specific. Spell out responsibilities, growth paths, and the skills that actually matter. If you’re hiring agents, highlight performance expectations and commission structures clearly. If it’s a back-office role, explain how success will be measured.

5. Pick Sourcing Channels That Deliver

Not every channel works the same. Posting on job boards might bring volume, but not necessarily the quality you need. Referrals, on the other hand, tend to bring people who stick around longer.

Real estate adds another layer. Nearly 90% of agents reported getting recruitment calls in 2025, up from 71% just a year earlier. That means competition for attention is already intense. If you’re not using specialized networks, local associations, and your own brand reputation, your roles are unlikely to stand out.

Choosing the right mix of channels (boards, referrals, and real estate-specific platforms) saves time and puts your jobs in front of people who are actually interested.

6. Design a Candidate Selection Playbook

Interviews shouldn’t feel like you’re starting from scratch every time. Without a defined process, managers ask random questions, skip steps, and end up comparing apples to oranges.

A selection playbook fixes that. It maps each stage: screening, interviews, assessments, and final offers. Everyone on the hiring team knows what to ask, how to evaluate, and when to move forward.

In real estate, especially, having a consistent process helps you judge candidates on the same scale and make faster, cleaner decisions. It also builds a better experience for applicants, which strengthens your brand even when you don’t hire them.

7. Amplify Your Employer Brand

Beyond the role they aim for, top candidates also look at who they’ll be working for. If your company culture isn’t visible, you’re already behind.

Building an employer brand means showing proof that your team is a good place to work. Share success stories, highlight career growth, and make your values clear. 

In real estate, this could be celebrating top agents publicly, spotlighting managers who mentor new hires, or showing how your brokerage supports agents through market cycles. The stronger your brand, the easier it is to recruit.

8. Lock Down a Timeline and Owners

Even the best plan falls apart if nobody owns it. Roles stay open for months, interviews drag, and candidates drop off. A clear timeline with assigned owners keeps the process moving.

Lay it out step by step. Who reviews resumes? Who schedules interviews? Who signs off on offers? Put names and deadlines next to each task. This way, hiring doesn’t stall when things get busy.

In real estate firms, speed is everything. If it takes you weeks to make a decision, that candidate has already been hired by a competitor. Timelines and accountability keep you in the race.

9. Track Key Metrics and Course-Correct

If you’re not measuring results, you’re flying blind. A strong recruitment plan tracks the numbers that show how well the process is working:

• Time-to-fill
• Cost-per-hire
• Quality-of-hire

These indicators tell you where things break down. Maybe you’re attracting plenty of candidates but losing them halfway. Or maybe you’re filling seats fast but watching turnover spike months later. Either way, tracking gives you the signal to adjust before the problem grows. 

👉 Want to see how much your hiring actually costs? Try our free Cost Per Hire Calculator to measure and optimize your spending.

This isn’t just theory. Companies that take metrics seriously see better outcomes. 

For example, those using Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) fill roles 40% faster and report a 60% jump in candidate quality. It’s proof that structured processes backed by data drive results.

Key Insight: In real estate, recruitment process outsourcing makes an even bigger impact. Over 55% of firms report stronger candidate quality, and more than 70% say onboarding runs smoother with RPO support.

10. Keep the Plan Fresh and Agile

A recruitment plan isn’t static. Markets change, business goals shift, and teams evolve. If your plan looks the same year after year, it’s already outdated.

So, set regular checkpoints to review what’s working and what’s not. Did certain sourcing channels bring better hires? Did your budget run thin halfway through the year? Were turnover rates higher than expected? Use those insights to adjust before small issues become bigger ones.

In real estate, flexibility is key. Demand shifts with rates, projects, or expansions. Winning firms keep their recruitment plan updated every cycle.

How to Get Strong Recruitment Results in Real Estate

General hiring advice only gets you so far. But real estate has its own challenges: commission-driven roles, cyclical demand, and a workforce that moves between firms constantly. 

Getting results here means adapting your plan to those realities:

• Plan for churn, not just growth. Agents leave. It’s part of the business. Build turnover into your projections so you’re never caught off guard.
• Invest in retention as much as recruiting. Bringing people in is half the job; keeping them engaged and supported is what actually protects margins.
• Balance speed with fit. Real estate moves quickly, but rushed hires often don’t stick. A defined process helps you move fast without lowering standards.
• Show the upside clearly. For commission-based roles, highlight earning potential, mentorship, and advancement opportunities. Top candidates will expect transparency.
• Keep your brand visible year-round. Don’t just recruit when you have an opening. Ongoing presence (through events, local associations, and thought leadership) keeps your pipeline warm.

The main takeaway here: firms that treat recruiting as a continuous, strategic process (not a stopgap when someone leaves) are the ones that keep teams strong through every market cycle.

Final Take: Build a Recruitment Plan That Actually Fuels Growth

A recruitment plan is what keeps hiring predictable instead of chaotic. With it, you avoid mis-hires, get ahead of turnover, and build teams that support long-term growth.

For real estate firms, the difference is even sharper. Markets don’t wait, and neither do candidates. A recruitment plan gives you the structure to move fast without losing quality, and the flexibility to adapt as conditions change.

If you want support building that kind of system, Estate Skyline can help.

We specialize in real estate recruitment, from executive search to RPO, so your hiring stays aligned with growth instead of holding it back.

Ready to make your recruitment plan work in practice? Reach out and start hiring with confidence.

FAQs

How can I format a recruitment plan?

Keep it structured and simple. Start by defining hiring goals, auditing your team, and setting a budget. Then add job posting details, sourcing channels, selection steps, timelines, and metrics to cover the full hiring process.

How do you write an action plan for recruitment?

Break it into steps with clear owners and deadlines. For example: review hiring needs, launch the job posting, run the interview process by week two, and issue offers by week three. Accountability keeps things moving.

How long does it take to build an effective recruitment plan?

A first version can take just a few days if you’re focused, but refining it into a system that truly attracts the ideal candidate takes ongoing reviews and adjustments.

What is the difference between a recruitment plan and a hiring strategy?

A recruitment plan is tactical; it maps open positions, tasks, and timelines. A hiring strategy is broader, focusing on how talent supports growth. The plan is how you execute the strategy.

How often should a recruitment plan be updated?

At least once a year, but ideally every quarter. Real estate firms, especially, should review it whenever turnover shifts or new recruitment tools enter the market.

How can a recruitment plan help attract top-performing real estate agents?

It makes the process consistent and shows potential candidates you’re serious about growth. A clear plan strengthens your employer brand, sharpens the onboarding process, and signals stability; all things top agents look for.