There may come a time when your business finds itself in need of a large number of new employees. Gaining new staff can be tricky at the best of times, but filling multiple new roles at the same time comes with even more difficulties. So, how should you go about it?
You need a solid, fool-proof, bulk recruiting strategy. That’s why I’ve decided to provide you with a quick guide to mass hiring to discover everything you need to know about finding top-quality staff in bulk.
What is Mass Hiring?
Mass hiring is exactly what it sounds like. It’s recruiting a high volume of staff at once rather than individually. It is time-consuming and sometimes difficult, but it’s also often necessary.
Why?
Imagine starting a new, important project at work. A company needs to fill every position within that project as quickly as possible. So, it’ll start a volume recruitment drive to find all the suitable candidates it needs.
Common Issues with Mass Hiring
The process for mass hiring needs to run like a well-oiled machine. But unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. As any recruiter knows, bulk recruitment is often fraught with difficulties.
It’s all about timing…
The first issue employers usually run into is the timeframe. Finding qualified staff takes longer than you might expect. There are multiple steps to follow that cannot be skipped.
The positions must be listed in suitable places. Applications need to be sorted and screened. Interviews have to be arranged and then conducted, with some roles requiring demonstrations of the candidates’ abilities too.
Teamwork makes the dream work
For this reason, it’s imperative to have an awesome recruiting team in place. By working with an agency such as Airswift, companies can outsource all of these issues. Using an agency like this saves a great deal of time and will make the process far faster than doing it yourself.
Advertising and listing
Where does the company plan to list its job openings? It needs to make sure it’s looking in the right places. After all, Craigslist doesn’t quite cut it these days!
The company needs top-notch visibility for its open positions. That’s where an organization like Globalization Partners can help. An agency such as this one knows just where to look for high-volume staff in a hurry.
Communication is key
When trying to recruit a high number of employees at once, the lines of communication need to be kept open. The response time to any application needs to be as swift as possible. How else are you going to fill all those positions quickly?
The company needs a team that’s dedicated to doing just that. And that’s another reason why using a hiring agency is the right choice. Talent acquisition companies like Ashton Carter will take care of that, helping to get your workplace fully staffed out in a trice.
The right stuff
Yes, you need a lot of employees, and you need them now. But that doesn’t mean you should hire just anyone. It’s no good taking on the first available candidate if they’re unsuitable for the role.
Unfortunately, it’s fairly common for unqualified applicants to slip through the net. Mass hiring makes it harder to vet every potential new employee. It’s important that the hiring team is on the ball and thoroughly checks every single application.
What Are The Best Strategies for Mass Hiring?
While any recruitment process has its issues, volume recruiting has more than most. Luckily, there are some simple tricks and tips that hiring managers can follow to avoid any potential problems.
Make a plan
The most significant step the hiring manager needs to take is planning. Once there’s a clear strategy in place, finding candidates becomes much easier. If there’s a step-by-step process to follow, then mistakes are less likely to be made.
Things to consider include
- Clearly outlined job descriptions, with the anticipated start date.
- Qualifications, experience, and skills desired in a candidate.
- A detailed timeframe for filling the positions.
- A review of current hiring trends in the industry, as many potential employees prefer remote working.
- The budget for the recruitment drive and possible hiring of an agency.
Recruiters…. Assemble!
A mass recruitment effort is nothing without an incredible hiring team. And it takes people from a variety of backgrounds to find that top talent. Staffing agencies, HR, and managers should all be included in this process.
A dedicated hiring agency is a great route to take here, as it’ll already have a fantastic team in place. But don’t be afraid to make your current employees part of the line-up. They have the personal experience and knowledge to recognize if a candidate truly is right for the job.
Streamline it…
Bulk hiring procedures are often time-consuming. With the sheer mass of people involved, it’s tricky to simplify the process. Merely finding enough candidates takes up time, not to mention checking their suitability for the role.
Technology is your friend here! At the very least, the company should have an online application system. AI software is also more commonly being used in recruitment, which seriously cuts down the time spent tracking and reviewing applicants.
Screening staff
That AI tech can come in handy during the screening step of recruitment too. Without going into too much detail, it uses algorithms and metrics to sift through all the applications and select the most promising ones.
Companies can use tech in other ways as well. While the human touch is needed for some parts of the process, certain steps can be automated. When dealing with large volumes of people, it’s always better to automate where possible, as this is a huge timesaver.
Ask for referrals
Knowing where to look for staff is often an issue. So, if a company has a referral scheme, then its existing employees can help bring in new recruitment. Consider introducing incentives and bonuses for successful recommendations.
Induction and training
It’s vital to have a smoothly-running induction and training scheme when mass hiring. After all, that’s a lot of people to get up to speed. Ensure that the procedure is followed down to a T and in a timely manner.
And speaking of a timely manner, have a definite timeline in place for completing any training and development. Set specific dates for starting and finishing any induction steps. This will avoid any bumps in the road and ensure a swift, smooth hiring process.
Why is it a Good Idea to Hire an Agency?
While mass hiring can be achieved without outside help, it is difficult. It needs to be done with military precision and takes up a lot of valuable time. For many companies, using a staffing agency is the way to go.
So, what does an agency do?
A talent acquisition agency has much greater access to a wider range of potential candidates than most hiring managers do. It saves time in searching for new staff and has all the right resources for advertising. It will also conduct interviews based on the company’s criteria to select the best applicants.
Plus, a staffing agency usually uses technology during recruitment. It already has all the AI and other tools needed to streamline selection. The agency has everything a hiring manager needs to make mass recruitment as pain-free as possible.
Need Some More Great Advice on Hiring Staff?
Then check out Hiring for Attitude: A Revolutionary Approach to Recruiting and Selecting People with Both Tremendous Skills and Superb Attitude, The Physical Therapy Hiring Solution: How To Recruit, Hire And Train World-class People You Can Trust, or the excellent Hire & Fire Like a Boss: Stop the “staff” infection and attract the perfect team.
It’s also well worth taking a look at HIRE with FIRE: The Relationship-Driven Interview and Hiring Method, The Essential HR Handbook, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager or HR Professional, and finally, for anyone who works in Human Resources, The Essential HR Handbook, 10th Anniversary Edition – A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager or HR Professional is an essential read in 2023.
Conclusion
It can’t be denied – mass hiring is a challenge for even the most experienced of managers. Finding a large volume of competent, hardworking staff in a short space of time is difficult to achieve. As you’ve seen in this article, there’s a lot to consider and so many things that could go wrong.
Just remember; make a plan and stick to it! Bring others on board who can assist and give valuable input. And above all else, take on an agency that can find the staff you need. It makes things more expensive, but if the budget is there, then it’s worth it.
Good luck with the recruitment drive, folks!
