Scaling up your organization’s recruitment process can be a massive endeavor, one that can nevertheless is critical to your growth strategy. The problem is, how do you source, interview, and onboard applicants at scale? How do you keep yourself from becoming mired down in paperwork and administration? Perhaps most importantly, how do you ensure that new team members are a suitable fit for your corporate culture?
The answer is to utilize a solution that is designed with high-volume hiring in mind.
What is High-Volume Hiring?
High volume hiring is the process of hiring a large number of employees in a relatively short time. It’s most commonly used in industries with high turnover, like hospitality and retail, or in cases where the company is rapidly expanding.
Most organizations go through hiring spurts from time to time. They might need to hire a few seasonal workers for the holiday rush, or they might need to staff up quickly to meet the demands of a new product launch. But for some organizations, hiring at scale is the norm rather than the exception. These organizations might need to hire hundreds or even thousands of employees regularly.
DHI Group conducted research in 2017 that suggested that high-volume industries like retail and hospitality have a long time to fill, standing at 63 days and 69 days, respectively. High-volume hiring can be used in such scenarios where the need to fill a large number of positions quickly is critical to success.
High-volume hiring can present challenges that organizations aren’t used to dealing with. The most common challenge is finding enough qualified candidates. Fifty-five percent of organizations say that the talent shortage is hurting their business, according to ManpowerGroup. With so many positions to fill, it can be difficult to source and screen candidates effectively.
Common Roadblocks to High-Volume Hiring
A few common roadblocks can prevent an organization from successfully executing a high-volume hiring strategy. The most common roadblocks are often a result of not having a technology solution that is up to the task. They include:
- The inability to quickly and easily screen candidates
- The lack of an efficient way to track candidates through the recruitment process
- Limited resources for conducting background checks and drug screenings
- Inability to scale interview processes as most applicant tracking systems (ATS) are not built to handle the scale required for high-volume hiring. This can lead to bottlenecks in the process, as well as a lot of wasted time and money.
- Lack of communication between different departments involved in the recruitment process
- Lack of centralized data storage for all candidate information
- Slow response times from customer service or HR departments when contacted by candidates: According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), the average time-to-fill for all position types was 42 days in 2017. For organizations with over 500 employees, that number jumps to 55 days
- Lack of automation in the recruitment process leads to manual tasks taking up too much time
- Unclear job descriptions lead to too many candidates applying for positions they are not qualified for
How Technology Can Assist in Overcoming High-Volume Hiring Limitations
It is possible for organizations to overcome these obstacles and efficiently hire at scale with the right technology in place. Phenom’s high-volume recruiting tool, for example, can help with the following:
- Sourcing: Phenom’s solution can help you source candidates from various online and offline channels. You can also use Boolean search strings to find candidates who might not be actively looking for a new job but would be a good fit for your open positions. The tool can also help managers conduct interviews more efficiently and provide feedback on how well a candidate would fit into a particular role.
- Screening: Automated screening tools can help you quickly identify the most qualified candidates from a large pool of applicants. You can also use these tools to score candidates based on their qualifications, so you can compare apples to apples when making your final hiring decisions. A good screening tool will help reduce the time it takes to review applications and help identify the best candidates for further consideration. Automated systems for creating job descriptions can also help ensure that job advertisements are clear and concise, reducing the number of unqualified applicants.
- Communication: High-volume recruiting tools can help you automate repetitive communication tasks, like sending interview reminders or follow-up emails. This way, you can focus on the more important task of actually getting to know the candidates. These technologies can also help manage and guarantee that the flow of communication between the various departments participating in the recruitment process is kept up to date on what is going on, preventing delays caused by miscommunication.
- Applicant tracking: These tools have an effective tracking system that helps ensure that all stages of the recruitment process are completed efficiently to help managers quickly identify which candidates are still interested in the position. These tools use technologies that improve response times (for example, chatbots or self-service portals) to help candidates get their queries addressed fast and efficiently. Automating most of these processes helps reduce the time spent on manual tasks, freeing HR staff to focus on more critical activities.
Tips for Streamlining High-Volume Hiring
There are several things you can do to streamline the high-volume hiring process:
- Use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that is designed for large volumes of applicants. Several ATS platforms are specifically designed for high-volume hiring. These platforms can help you quickly and easily screen all applicants, saving you a lot of time and energy.
- Make sure your recruiting strategy is effective. You need to ensure that your organization’s brand is attractive to potential candidates and that you are targeting the best suitable candidates pool.
- Delivering a great applicant experience is also critical when trying to attract top talent. If your organization’s application process is confusing or takes too long, you will likely lose out on some great candidates. Ensure your application process is easy to follow and takes minimal time to complete.
Streamline Your High-Volume Hiring Efforts Today
If your company operates in a high-volume hiring industry, implementing the correct recruiting solution can provide you with a significant competitive edge. With the help of technology, you can source, screen, and communicate with candidates more effectively so that you can make the best hiring decisions for your organization.
This post was written by Collaborative Solutions, they are an exhibitor on the HRTech247 Workday Partners floor in the Partners Hall here.
