How to run an effective high-volume recruitment campaign

Does the idea of high-volume recruitment invigorate you and get you excited for the challenge ahead or, are you already planning a holiday to recover?

High-volume recruitment is the term used when your business needs to recruit large numbers of new employees to fill positions within a given time frame – this can be from hiring seasonal workers to your company opening new offices across the country. Recently specific industries, such as hospitality, had to conduct high-volume recruitment drives to fill positions that were left vacant due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

If you’ve never initiated a high-volume recruitment drive before, you might be wondering where to even start … well, let us help you with some insights and get you on your way to filling your vacancies.

ADDRESS YOUR CHALLENGES AND PLAN

Before you even begin firing off job adverts, take the time to sit down and plan your campaign ask yourself questions such as;

• How many vacancies do I need to fill?
• Where can I find quality candidates?
• How will I process them through the various recruitment stages?
• What resources will I need?

It may also be worth speaking to recent hires to gain feedback about the recruitment process, what did they like and what do they feel could be improved – there is no one better to ask for this valuable information – after all, they’ve been through it themselves.

Don’t forget to spend some time briefing your hiring managers and make sure everyone is on the same page and heading towards the common goal – you don’t want to be resolving issues further down the line that could’ve been avoided from the start!

MAKE YOUR APPLICATION FORM CANDIDATE FRIENDLY!

Gone are the days of pages and pages of application forms that you fill out by hand and return in person. These days application forms are all about convenience and applications that can be completed in minutes on any device!

Indeed research found that 42% of candidates found lengthy application forms to be frustrating and if a candidate’s first impression of your company is one of frustration, then you’re facing an uphill battle to change their minds

For your initial application try and keep it to the key questions you want answering, anything more than 15 questions and your candidates are likely to either get distracted or hit that close button and never return. Remember, you can always ask more questions of your candidates later during the later stage.

WRITE A KILLER JOB DESCRIPTION

Your job advert will be the first impression any prospective employee has of your company so not only do you want it to portray your company in the best light, but you want it to be appealing enough that candidates will be scrambling for the apply button faster than a cheetah!

Write your job description with the candidate in mind, you wouldn’t want to be scrolling forever reading the advert equivalent of War and Peace, would you? Therefore keep it short and to the point, while including the key details communicating with them why you are the perfect place for them to work.

If you want candidates to learn more about the business, then remember to utilise your career section on your website, loading it full to the brim with videos, photos, text all about what it is like to work for you.

TARGET YOUR ADVERTS

With hundreds of job boards available, it can be like finding a needle in the haystack finding the ones that will be right for you. Take the time to research and have a good look around, there is no point in taking a scattergun approach to advertising if you end up posting jobs on boards that are completely irrelevant to your industry!

From the generic to the niche there are job boards out there suitable for all jobs, you just need to find them.

USE QUALIFYING QUESTIONS

Did you know that up to 75% of applications per job can be from unqualified applicants? By adding a couple of qualifier questions into your application form, you could save yourself hours of reading applications from candidates who do not have the right qualifications or experience.

UTILISE YOUR TALENT BANK

You may not realise it, but you may have met some of your next hires already perhaps they interviewed for a previous position but didn’t quite make it. By keeping strong applicants in your talent bank, you can contact them to see if they are still interested in working with the company. There is no harm in asking and it may save you time and money in the long run!

AUTOMATE YOUR PROCESSES

An ATS is a desirable advantage when embarking on a high-recruitment drive, allowing you to automate parts of the process from scheduling interviews to communicating with candidates through every stage of recruitment.

Not only will implementing an ATS allow you to be GDPR compliant, but it will store all your applications in an easy to navigate system – allowing you to access data from any device at any time. By removing unnecessary and excessive paper trails, it is both convenient and environmentally friendly!

Think about how long you could spend corresponding with candidates, whether it is ringing them to arrange an interview or typing out an email letting them know their fate – you could spend days on end completing either one of those tasks! Now imagine what you could do with all the time you would save through using automation – you are now free to focus on finding the right candidates and reducing your time to hire or even getting on with other tasks that need your attention.

The biggest challenge that hiring managers can face when undertaking high-volume recruitment is keeping on top of shortlisting candidates and efficiently progressing them while ensuring that they are receiving great candidate experience. If you’ve already decided whether a candidate is suitable for the role or not, there is no point leaving them hanging at the decision-making stage. It’s best to keep the process moving and informing them in a timely and professional manner that leaves them with a great experience, whatever the outcome!

Reach can help you run successful high-volume recruitment campaigns not only with our intuitive and efficient ATS but also through our excellent support team, who are on hand to help both you and your candidates. As well as our extensive knowledge of advertising, we are a perfect partner to attracting and retaining candidates. To find out more about how Reach can help you speak to one of the team today on 01527 574408 or email [email protected]