7 Steps in the Recruitment and Selection Process for Volume Hiring

When it comes to hiring at volume, the recruitment process can feel overwhelming. With so many vacancies to fill it can take time for your talent acquisition or HR department to get up to speed and it can be tempting to skip vital steps in the recruitment and selection process to meet your hiring requirements. Doing so, however, can lead to poor hiring decisions, low retention rates and, ultimately, higher recruitment costs.

In this blog we’re looking at the seven key steps in the recruitment and selection process, some of the challenges of hiring at volume that can arise, and why a dedicated RPO provider can help ease the pressure on your internal recruiters.

Recruitment and Selection Process Overview

Every recruitment and selection process, whether it is for a single senior-level role or to fill multiple vacancies, follows the same broad outline. Here are the seven key steps for most recruitment and selection processes:

1. Identify Your Need or Vacancies

There can be many reasons why a need to hire new staff may arise in your organization. If your business is growing, you’ve identified a skills gap, or you are experiencing increased customer demand. Good workforce planning can help you identify these needs early so you can begin the recruitment process in plenty of time.

2. Create a Job Description

Before you begin to write any job description, ask yourself the following questions which will help you craft an effective job description:

• Is the position permanent, temporary, or seasonal?
• What level of skills and experience are required?
• What are the position’s most critical responsibilities?

3. Decide on Your Recruitment Model

How you decide to reach potential applicants will be dependent on the nature of the role you are looking to fill, the experience and skills you are looking for, as well as the size and reputation of your business. Consider using:

• Online job boards are perfect for easy-to-fill, non-specialist roles, however, you can attract large volumes of unqualified candidates.
• Company career websites at large organizations, or those with a national profile, find it easier to generate applications from job postings directly on their websites, however, smaller companies may struggle to attract applicants through their company site alone.
• Staffing and Recruiting Agencies help businesses fill positions quickly. They do not require a long lead time,  serve both contingent and permanent hiring needs, and are a short-term solution.
• Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) partners provide full end-to-end recruitment support for your company’s permanent recruitment processes, planning, platforms, people, and technology on a long-term, on-demand, or project basis.  They work as part of your internal talent acquisition teams. RPO is more than filling open jobs; it’s about improving an organization’s recruiting process so they consistently hire top talent.

4. Screen Applicants

Once your job description is posted you will begin receiving applications. Many businesses choose to wait until the application process is closed to begin screening resumes but by screening resumes as they arrive you can speed up your time-to-hire and provide a more positive candidate experience.

5. Conduct Interviews

Hiring at volume means it’s best to conduct interviews of your shortlisted candidates on a rolling basis whilst applications are still being received. You may choose to interview in person or remotely. Many businesses choose to use an initial telephone or online conversation followed by an in-person, formal interview. However, if the role is fully remote it may be beneficial to conduct all stages of interviews remotely.

6. Check References

Once potential applicants have been narrowed down it’s important to conduct any reference or background checks the role may require. This can include the right to work, education and employment history, criminal history, credit checks, driving records, or drug tests. These checks can reduce the risk of hiring an unsuitable or unqualified candidate. Remember some types of background checks are legally regulated.

7. Make your Final Decisions

In the final stage of the recruitment and selection process, it’s time to send out your offers, conduct any negotiations around salary or benefits and make a formal offer of employment to your chosen candidates.

Common Challenges in the Recruitment and Selection Process

Hiring for large volumes of open positions can be a challenge for your talent acquisition department and can stretch your resources, leading to poor hiring decisions, high turnover, and increased recruitment costs. Common problems in the recruitment and selection process for high-volume hiring include:

• Short Lead Times

  It can be difficult to anticipate when you will need to begin the hiring process to ensure you have enough staff in time for seasonal peaks, illness cover or to plug skills gaps. It can also be hard to anticipate how long each stage of the recruitment process is likely to take.

• Too Many Applicants

  Depending on your chosen recruitment and selection methods you may find yourself overwhelmed with large numbers of unsuitable and unqualified applications that are difficult and time-consuming to screen. Additionally, interviewing for large numbers of roles can be hard to manage.

• Poor Candidate Experience

  Whether you are hiring for one role or one hundred you cannot afford to forgo providing a positive overall candidate experience. The recruitment and selection process is a candidates-first interaction with your business and the impression you give here is vital. Poor communication, complex application processes and long waits can give candidates the wrong view.

Overcome the challenges of high-volume hiring and provide a streamlined recruitment and selection process with a quality RPO provider.  High volume recruitment can quickly overwhelm your internal hiring resource, making the recruitment process more time-consuming and less efficient. Access quality talent pools, world-class recruitment technology and industry-specific expertise that will allow you to hire faster, free up internal resources and provide a streamlined candidate experience with Pierpoint’s RPO solution.  To discuss your volume hiring requirements, book a call with one of our solution experts today.