The difference between hiring a few people versus hundreds at a single clip is a bit like traveling through a toll plaza without the convenience of express tolls. It’s all about speed and quantity. No big deal in the off hours but a nightmare of snarled traffic, misdirection, and frustration during a rush-hour surge in volume. A technology-enabled, scalable recruitment process designed for high-volume hiring offers an express pass to hiring success.
Volume fluctuations require a highly efficient recruiting process that can be scaled quickly and easily to meet demand. A high-volume recruitment process must be able to handle lots of applicants—typically within a tight timeframe—but success is defined more by quality than quantity. Success lies in the ability to identify high-quality talent with both the skills and the personality to blend seamlessly into the workplace to enhance productivity and performance.
To ensure all that great talent doesn’t walk out the door as quickly as they walked in, pay special attention to these three areas:
- Candidate Experience. A positive experience promotes the employment value proposition and establishes realistic job expectations.
- Technology. Automate the process without alienating the candidates.
- Talent Pipelining. Transform sourcing from an event in time to a continuous process of talent attraction.
The Power of a Positive Experience
High-volume hiring is a numbers game. For one client, a new casino, that meant processing 5,500 applicants through the hiring “funnel” in order to place 1,800 candidates in front of interviewers and 700 new employees on the job in a matter of weeks. While that might encourage a hands-off, no-touch process, applying for a job is stressful enough without being treated like a number. Unfortunately, the convenience and ease of online job search has set some pretty low expectations. Think about the typical candidate experience:
- Find an interesting job board posting
- Follow the link to a request for a profile or resume
- Click submit
- Done
This is a pivotal point in the candidate experience. You have the candidate’s undivided attention. What do many employers do with that opportunity? Absolutely nothing! It’s a tiny but ultimately powerful moment in time that can never be retrieved. When there are no clear directions on what’s next, the process becomes a sit-and-wait game, but candidates tend to be impatient. They typically will think about your job for 10 minutes and then go apply to 20 more jobs. There is zero engagement.
Consider a higher-touch, more engaging scenario, prompting candidates to say: “This was so cool and convenient” and “Unbelievable experience—no other company can compete at this level.” Start by thanking applicants. Immediately set up an assessment (e.g., watch for our e-mail). Before candidates have time to forget you, they receive a branded e-mail that underscores the value you see in them because you are investing in an assessment. Use this contact opportunity to promote your employment value proposition, strengthening the bond with candidates. This extra step also concentrates the candidate pool. More information about the job helps candidates self-select to go forward or voluntarily opt out when there is low probability of meeting expectations—yours or theirs. The process is seamless, smooth, and keeps your candidate engaged.
Technology Accelerators
To reach the best candidates, you must cycle through a lot of applicants. There are only two viable ways to make your numbers: pull in lots of recruiters or use powerful technology. Automation is critical.
The more you automate, however, the more you have to worry about disengagement. Dial any 800 number for a reminder. It is an ongoing struggle to balance automation (how you get it done) with keeping it personal (hand-holding and honeymooning). There is no reason to lose quality candidates due to automation. Just balance high tech with high touch, so candidates view automation as convenient rather than cold.
Using technology accelerators for screening, scheduling, and video interviewing, the entire process can be fast, efficient, consistent, and convenient—both for candidates and hiring managers.
Automated assessments provide a scientific, validated means to screen large numbers of candidates with speed, efficiency, accuracy, objectivity, and consistency. When assessments can be completed on any computer or smart device, any time and any place, they offer universal accessibility and greater convenience for candidates. They allow for almost instantaneous feedback and offer lots of information about what to expect, plus an element of control over the process, which further promotes engagement and contributes to retention.
Digital interviews are fast, efficient, consistent, and convenient for both candidates and hiring managers. They allow candidates to record responses anytime, anywhere. As a vehicle to showcase the employer brand and sell the opportunity, they promote engagement. For our client, 92 percent of candidates rated the ease of digital interviewing a four out of five.
Scheduling accelerators offer a self-service means to quickly and efficiently arrange interviews. They also generate both confirmations and reminders, eliminating the need for all the typically time-consuming, back-and-forth communications via e-mail or phone.
Candidate Pipelining
The secret to sourcing positions characterized by fluctuating demand is to smooth out the volatility by pipelining. You can do that through a talent community. Populate it with “warm” leads, i.e., candidates who still interest you even if they didn’t make the final hiring cut. In this way, you remain connected to good prospects (who already may have completed preliminary screening steps) in advance of a specific hiring need. Pipelining promotes more effective sourcing at lower cost and speedier job fills with better-matched candidates.
Doing It Right
A good candidate experience, technology accelerators, and candidate pipelining are three prerequisites to high-volume hiring success. The fourth component to doing it right is to engage a partner who ensures you have the expertise and flexibility to address any recruiting need at any volume at any time. A recruiting process specialist spends every day focused on finding better and more efficient ways to streamline the talent acquisition process to ensure your ability to focus on getting the work done, not finding the right people to do the work.
Jay Floersch is a solutions architect at Aon Hewitt Talent Acquisition Solutions. With experience in recruitment operations, implementation, solutions, and sales, Floersch is responsible for cultivating new business, building winning recruitment solutions, and delivering on Aon Hewitt’s RPO growth strategy.
