To hire at scale in 2022, standard methods just won’t do – you need specific tools. Implementing the recruiting tactics outlined in this guide will help you ensure you have a continuous supply of qualified candidates on hand when you need them.

Companies might need to fill more positions than usual within a short period of time for a variety of reasons.

Perhaps you are putting together a team for a project that needs to start yesterday, or restructuring your company after a merger.

Whatever the reason, if you need to recruit top talent at scale, you’ll need some tricks up your sleeve. Read on for eight ways to ensure you have a continuous pipeline of quality leads throughout the year.

1. Work With Hiring Managers To Set Detailed Expectations

Before embarking on a high-volume hiring mission, it’s important to set clear expectations with hiring managers. For example, you should be clear on how long it should take to get feedback on candidates. Delays of several days can really slow the process down — and even lead to losing good candidates to more reactive companies. Be very transparent with expectations and processes in place.

2. Schedule Group Sourcing Sessions 

An effective way to find candidates quickly is to create group sourcing sessions with your recruiting team. Including hiring managers and their team members is a good idea as they have a lot of connections that might be of use. You will achieve better results if you ask them for an introduction rather than reaching out cold on LinkedIn. 

To really tap into this source of referrals, you could automate the process using social recruiting tools such as Teamable, which allows you to find prospects based on employees’ social connections.

3. Changing The Way You Send Emails

It will make a huge difference if your job offer stands out among the sea of generic job offers emails that qualified passive candidates receive every week. Aim to make yours stand out.

To start with, you will save time on a later phone call by providing specific details about the role up front. You can also skip these calls entirely if candidates aren’t interested from the start, and focus on attracting those who are.

According to data from Seek, 79% of people would like to see salary information in the first reach-out about a role. If there’s a discrepancy between what’s offered and what candidates are looking for, this information can save both parties time (but be sure to check with your hiring manager whether you can include it). 

Also, keep in mind that not everyone checks their emails every day. Picking up the phone for quick follow-ups will significantly increase your response rate.

4. Consider Organising Group Interview Days

Interviewing a large pool of candidates in a short period of time is a great way to save time. This usually involves inviting 20–30 prescreened candidates to an interview-and-activity event. 

Group interviews can last anywhere from a few hours to a whole day – and you and the candidates could save time by cutting out multiple interviews over several weeks. This is also super convenient for you the interviewer, you can set aside a day or half-day rather than continuously listing your availability.

When group interviews are done correctly, you should be able to make a decision by the end of the session/day.

5. Use Interview Scheduling Software To Save You Time

According to recruiters, interview scheduling is the most time-consuming aspect of the recruiting process. In fact, two in three recruiters say it can take up to two hours to schedule just one interview. Managing calendars, emails, spreadsheets, CVs can be a lengthy – and inefficient – process.

Interview scheduling software eliminates the endless back-and-forth recruiters are used to. Instead, you can send candidates a link to self-schedule the time that works best for them. The software is integrated with each recruiter’s calendar availability, saving time for the candidate and recruiter. 

You don’t have time to go round and round in circles scheduling interviews. By automating interview scheduling, you can free up your recruiters to focus more on what matters most: building relationships with candidates. As a result, you can build a better candidate experience, meet recruitment goals, and hire the talent you need to grow your business.

6. Make The Application Process Short & Sweet

According to a survey by Indeed, 42% of candidates find lengthy applications to be the most frustrating part of the hiring process. When you’re hiring at scale, you can’t afford to have qualified candidates drop out because another company got there first. 

LinkedIn is a good example: the company was asked to hire a large number of candidates within a short window in 2014. A three-stage recruitment process was devised, wherein candidates were scored based on their performance in a telephone interview. They discovered that 90% of candidates scoring three or higher made it to the final round of interviews, so they started fast-tracking those candidates to the next stage.  

Simplifying your recruitment and interview processes will save you both time and money – and give you a competitive edge over companies with longer lead times.

7. Set A Deadline For Candidates’ Decision-making Time

It’s crucial to give candidates time to consider an offer; otherwise, you could end up with new hires who are disengaged, don’t understand the job, or just don’t want to be there.

When you are hiring at scale, it is also important to limit this time – for example, to 48 hours. By giving candidates time to think, the company avoids wasting time on the company’s end. Also, you can avoid losing out on your second-choice candidates, who may receive other offers in the interim.

8. Keep Your ATS Updated

You can learn a lot from your Applicant Tracking System about how you measure up against your talent acquisition goals. The important thing is to keep the database clean by removing obsolete or irrelevant data. You may need to clean up profiles like duplicates or applications that have not been closed out properly. 

Create best practices for data entry, provide training for everyone who uses your ATS, and perform spot checks on all new entries, to make sure the system is working for you and your team.

9. Measure What’s Working With Data

You can use your past and current applicant data to your advantage as a high-volume recruiter – provided you use it strategically. Understanding how your best talent was sourced can help you pinpoint where you should focus your efforts moving forward. 

Gather feedback on the candidate experience, so that you can spot any areas where you may be able to tweak your process.

Additionally, by tracking how many candidates typically make it to the end of each stage of the recruitment process (vs. how many are hired), you can check that you have the resources you need for each stage all set up and ready for next time.