When your business is looking to scale its workforce, meeting demand will be one of the biggest challenges you will face. Nailing volume hiring is critical.

Volume hiring is one of the most competitive processes a growing or established business can face. Filling entry-level positions can be one of the biggest challenges faced by a recruitment department.

In this guide, we are going to look at what volume hiring is, how it is different from other recruitment strategies, the challenges of high-volume recruitment, and some of the strategies your organisation can implement to overcome them.

What is Volume Hiring?

‘High volume recruitment’ or ‘volume hiring’ is when an organization or industry looks to recruit hundreds or thousands of new employees in a set period of time to fulfill demand.

Whilst there are similarities with regular recruitment activities, there are additional considerations and challenges.

Some example conditions that would require high-volume recruitment include:

• Season staff requirements (e.g. in hospitality, farming, or retail)
• Staffing a new office, retail outlet, or department
• Rapid business growth requiring new teams
• Setting up new locations/departments in new towns/cities
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Volume Hiring vs Regular Recruitment Strategies

‘High volume recruitment’ or ‘volume hiring’ is when an organization or industry looks to recruit hundreds or thousands of new employees in a set period of time to fulfill demand.

Whilst there are similarities with regular recruitment activities, there are additional considerations and challenges.

Some example conditions that would require high-volume recruitment include:

• Season staff requirements (e.g. in hospitality, farming, or retail)
• Staffing a new office, retail outlet, or department
• Rapid business growth requiring new teams
• Setting up new locations/departments in new towns/cities

As already mentioned, there are differences between volume hiring and regular recruitment strategies which are primarily focused on filling one (or very few) specific roles.

In regular recruitment strategies, the process to fill a position is roughly similar across different industries.

Role-specific Application Assessments

For certain roles, automated application assessments are ideal for volume hiring. I.e. call center staff recruitment may involve a specific assessment package that analyses call behaviour and employee attitudes.

• Data-driven automated selection

Rather than introducing human bias into the recruitment process, this is all assessed via the automated process.

• Only final confirmations are carried out via brief interviews

Once the assessment tools and criteria return to the hiring managers, a final confirmation will be carried out via brief interviews, often to assess if the candidate is still available for the role.

High-Volume Recruitment Challenges

As with any kind of recruitment drive, there are going to be challenging. We are going to take a closer look at what these are and discuss how you can overcome them in the next section.

• Finding enough candidates

Some industries or organisations require high-volume recruitment to place thousands of new recruits every month. This means that once you have recruited, say, the first time in an area, you may have a limited pool of candidates the second time around. It can be hard to find thousands of people for positions in more rural areas or where the skillset is different from the requirements of the organization.

• Traditional ‘job board’ style advertising doesn’t yield the volume or quality of candidates required

Organizations need to think differently about how to approach such a large drive. A job advert on Monster or LinkedIn simply won’t cut it.

• Volume hiring typically deals with entry-level, low-complexity roles

This means that the application process needs to be short and easily completed by interested candidates. If it’s too long or requires lots of screening, then candidates will prefer businesses that move first and quickly.

• Impossible to assess all responses manually

You simply can’t assess all the responses manually, which means having to trust that the software you use is fit for purpose and able to find candidates who can successfully complete the job.

• Entry-level role applicants expect a fast response

Again, speed is key, as entry-level candidates will feel no obligation to the organisation. This kind of hire, it’s more about fulfilling a need than job development. Move fast, and get the volume filled.

• Automated assessment can be used to determine specific skills, traits, and abilities
• Volume recruitment requires efficient interview processes

While interviews can’t be automated, the process to schedule them can be.

High Numbers of Candidates Mean the Selection Process is More Complex.

• Manual processes are flawed/biased
• Very clear selection criteria for scoring candidates is needed
• Candidates may be automatically selected if scores meet benchmarks
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High-Volume Recruitment Strategies

As noted, high-volume hiring can involve a lot of time spent by recruiters dealing with screening and shortlisting candidates. Efficiency in the overall process is a challenge.

Here are some useful high-volume recruitment strategies that you can implement in your organisation.

Make the Job Application Process Fast and Simple

When undertaking high-volume recruitment, you want to make the whole process fast and simple. Avoid making forms and assessments off/putting. Focus on a “candidate first” application process.

Some simple application forms that can be accessed and completed via mobile devices yield the best results. If possible, think about creating a 1-click application process. This is user-friendly and makes applications seem totally easy to access for anyone.

Rediscover Previous Applicants

You can use talent rediscovery which is the ability to automatically screen candidates who applied for a previous role at your company and match them to current openings. You are ‘mining’ for talent in previous applications whilst also trying to uncover new talent.

Make Effective Use of Automation

You need to make use of effective technology and automation for volume hiring, such as an applicant tracking system (ATS). They provide:

• All candidate information in a central, accessible location
• Traceability of all candidates throughout the process
• Faster application screening and management Evaluations on assessments

Use Programmatic Recruitment

Programmatic recruitment uses technology and big data analytics to make automated decisions and streamline recruitment processes. It can potentially determine how best to advertise roles and target viable candidates. Since programmatic recruitment requires minimal human involvement, it enables recruiters to focus on screening and selection criteria so that candidates fit the profile of the employee that they are looking for.

Automate Resume Screening

Talent intelligence software can use AI to screen resumes based on the assessment of resumes from existing personnel, which provide a picture of the ideal profile. The software can distinguish top candidates based on criteria such as experience and the language used (which can indicate candidate behavior).

Use Automated Candidate Assessments

Automated candidate assessments speed up the process of candidate evaluation, Automating the candidate assessment process can help you uncover many different aspects of the candidate.

A high-volume recruitment process is about automating systems and processes to ensure that you are not only quick to identify talent, but also quick to hire. This is especially important for organization growing rapidly or for seasonal resourcing triggers where demand outstrips supply.

HRavailable can help you with your high-volume recruitment process by providing you with the necessary tools to automate your process without sacrificing hire quality.

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