High-volume hiring refers to hiring for a large number of open positions within a specific time period. It can also refer to sorting through a large number of candidates who have applied for a single position.

High-volume recruiting changes depending on the size of the organisation. For a small or medium-sized business, adding 100 new employees is enough to qualify as high volume.

At a larger enterprise, receiving thousands of applications for an open position counts as high volume.

The recruitment process in a high-volume scenario requires different tools and processes to find the right candidate, maintain a strong candidate experience and keep your candidate pipeline full.

Here are four ways to help you manage high volume hiring.

1. Set the team up for success

There are obvious challenges that come with high-volume hiring. Sorting through a large number of candidates for a large number of open positions is time-consuming and resource intensive.

A single job posting nets an average of 250 applicants; multiply that over dozens of positions and the hiring team will be reviewing résumés day and night – before even reaching the phone screen and interview stages.

Set up the recruitment team for success. Dedicate the right resources to make sure the process runs smoothly.

A recruitment management system helps HR teams be more agile; equip the team with an applicant tracking system, a skill-testing platform and a video interviewing tool.

More companies are adding tools with AI capabilities to automate traffic management: résumé sorting, interview scheduling and candidate messaging.

Before implementing an HR tech tool, make sure it meets the objectives. Does it make less work for the recruitment team?

Does it meet the company’s expectations for providing a great candidate experience?

The right tool will either help decide whom to hire or make the hiring process smoother. At a minimum, it should make life a lot easier.

2. Align with hiring managers

Make sure everyone involved in the process is crystal clear on the objectives and expectations.

“In talent acquisition, misalignment is the root of all evil. Even the slightest disconnect between you and your hiring manager around job requirements can lead to wasted time and energy,” write the experts at LinkedIn.

Misalignment becomes exponentially more pronounced when you begin to hire at scale. Meet with hiring managers and align on two to three overarching performance goals for each open position.

What specific tasks does the new hire need to do to achieve those performance goals? What specific skills and qualities will set this person up for success?

Try to be as specific as possible to define the profile hiring managers are seeking.

For instance, the performance goal for a sales representative might be “win three new accounts valued at US$10,000 in the northeast region”.

Their specific tasks might include cold-calling, email pitching or conducting discovery calls. And, finally, the specific skills: in-depth knowledge of customer relationship management systems, for example, or experience developing a territory sales strategy.

3. Review advertising tactics

Employer branding is paramount in today’s competitive hiring market. As business portal Entrepreneur summarises, a strong employer brand does four things:

• Recruits and retains employees
• Lowers recruiting costs
• Makes employees your ambassadors
• Boosts employee engagement

When hiring at volume, build your employer brand as well as an advertising campaign for the open positions. The advertising campaign may need to expand your reach beyond traditional job boards.

Advertising tactics should include social media channels, job boards like Indeed, your own careers site and any niche online communities in which a potential candidate might be active.

If the resources are available, it might be worthwhile to look into programmatic job advertising, when a hiring team uses software to purchase, publish and optimise job ads, rather than doing it manually.

It can save time and increase reach when hiring for a large number of openings at once.

But some of these tools have a learning curve, so learn the ins and outs of your job posting software before the high-volume hiring takes place.

4. Optimise your career website

High-volume hiring will bring high traffic to your career site. The page must be able to handle the number of hits without crashing. Make sure the careers page is fully optimised by ensuring:

• The careers page is mobile-friendly
• The language on the site is inclusive
• Keywords and search engine optimisation best practices are used
• The page architecture is equipped to handle a large volume of traffic

Consider the candidate experience – this site is often the first impression a candidate has of the company.

“Make it easy to search for open opportunities – particularly if you have a high volume of roles, or roles in several different locations.

Take yourself through the application process, from searching for an open role to applying, on both a desktop and mobile device to see what the candidate experience looks like,” write the experts at applicant tracking system provider Lever.

Approach the careers page as if you are a potential applicant. As you view and click through the page, ask yourself:

• Can a candidate picture what it’s like to work at our company?
• Are the perks, benefits and compensation clearly stated?
• Is it easy to search for and apply for an open position that fits my background?
• Does this careers page look and feel like our company’s unique brand?
• Are there testimonials from our employees describing the company culture?
• Are the job descriptions clear and succinct?

By approaching its careers page from the perspective of the candidate, a company can optimise the user experience before embarking on a high-volume hiring mission.

This article first appeared in Vervoe

At Vervoe, their mission is to fundamentally transform the hiring process from mediocracy to meritocracy.