diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 70ef9e0fd..aaced07c6 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@
 .PHONY: test
 
 # VERSION is currently based on the last commit
-VERSION?=`git describe --tags`
-COMMIT=`git rev-parse HEAD`
-BUILD=`date +%FT%T%z`
+VERSION?=$(shell git describe --tags)
+COMMIT=$(shell git rev-parse HEAD)
+BUILD=$(shell date +%FT%T%z)
 LDFLAG_LOCATION=sigs.k8s.io/descheduler/cmd/descheduler/app
 
 LDFLAGS=-ldflags "-X ${LDFLAG_LOCATION}.version=${VERSION} -X ${LDFLAG_LOCATION}.buildDate=${BUILD} -X ${LDFLAG_LOCATION}.gitCommit=${COMMIT}"