Whether you need to hire a large number of people for a new project or location, or if you get a large number of job openings during seasonal demand, mass hiring strategies are how you fill your talent gaps quickly and efficiently. But mass recruitment is not as simple as posting a job ad and waiting for applicants to flood in. It requires careful planning, coordination, and execution to ensure a smooth and successful hiring process. You also need to consider the quality and fit of the candidates, as well as their experience and satisfaction throughout the hiring journey.
Using Mass Recruitment Software
Handling a huge number of jobs at the same time is a challenge if done manually. However, there are solutions that are tailored to help recruiters handle large volumes of job postings, candidates, communications and resumes. Manatal’s recruitment software comes equipped with all the features you need to fulfill your mass hiring needs:
- Applicant Tracking System (ATS): Since you will be handling a large volume of candidates at a time, you can manage your recruitment process with this feature from start to finish. You can track each applicants’ progress, sort, filter, and rank candidates making it easier for you to identify the most qualified individuals for each position.
- Parse resumes in large volumes: Imagine the amount of time it would take to read through 10 resumes, much less hundreds that you might receive for a mass hiring campaign. Manatal’s resume parsing feature will automatically parse their information including name, location, work experience, and skills. This is inarguably the biggest time-saver a recruiter can get their hands on when dealing with multiple jobs and a large candidate volume.
- Sourcing candidates: When you find new candidates you want to send job offers to, collecting and maintaining their info manually can be another time sink for recruiters and isn’t scalable for mass hiring campaigns. With Manatal’s LinkedIn Chrome extension, you can import candidate profiles directly from LinkedIn with a single click. In a mass hiring campaign, this lessens recruiters’ workload by an order of magnitude compared to using a recruitment tracking sheet.
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Now that we’re familiar with what tools you’ll need to run mass hiring campaigns, let’s dive in to the strategies you can use to mass recruit with success.
8 Mass Recruitment Strategies
Mass recruitment is a complex process that requires careful planning, efficient use of technology, and effective communication. Let’s delve deeper into the key strategies for successful mass recruitment, including leveraging an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and automating the onboarding process.
1) Create Your Mass Hiring Plan
Depending on the types of clients you have or the industry they are in, you need to come up with a plan that is unique to the organization’s needs and requirements. If you need some ideas, take a look at these steps in creating the plan:
- Analyze the Job Market: Evaluate the local job market to decide on the best strategies for attracting candidates. This includes understanding the demand for certain roles and the availability of talent.
- Develop a Timeline: Create a mass hiring timeline with achievable phases. This should include deadlines for each stage of the hiring process, from job postings to final interviews.
- Set a Budget: Establish a clear budget for your mass hiring campaign. This should cover advertising costs, recruitment software, and any other resources you’ll need.
- Expand Candidate Sourcing: Look beyond traditional recruitment channels. Utilize job fairs, social media, employee referrals, and recruitment agencies to widen your talent pool.
- Streamline the Screening Process: Develop a fast but effective screening process. This may involve automated screening tools or assessment tests to quickly identify qualified candidates.
- Effective Interviewing: Plan your interviewing process to be efficient and capable of handling a high volume of candidates. Consider group interviews or standardized interview questions to maintain consistency.
- Communication: Keep candidates informed throughout the process. Clear communication can improve the candidate's experience and maintain their interest in your company.
- Automated Onboarding: Once candidates are hired, have an automated onboarding process in place to quickly integrate them into your organization.
- Retention Planning: Think beyond hiring. Plan for how you will retain the talent you’ve acquired to avoid turnover after the mass hiring phase.
2) Pick the Right Job Boards
Recruiters turn to job boards because they allow them to reach a wider and diverse pool of talent and increase the chances of finding the right fit for each position. But managing multiple job boards can become a significant burden in the case of mass hiring campaigns. You’ll have to log in and check candidates on each separate platform individually and then import your shortlisted candidates or resumes into a centralized database where the fields may differ from platform to platform. This lack of centralization makes the whole process time-consuming and complex.
If you are in the logistic industry, there are specific job boards that you can use like ASCM Job Board. For recruiters in the hospitality industry, you can use job boards like Hospitality Online and Caterer.com.
Using the job board integration by Manatal, you can manage your job postings across multiple platforms within a single location. You can integrate both free and premium job boards, providing flexibility based on the hiring needs and budget.
3) Utilize Social Media
Another way you can reach to a larger audience is by leveraging social media and networking platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and TikTok. Through these channels, you can even attract passive candidates. Other than posting about your job openings, you can directly engage with them should they have any questions.
4) Leverage Employee Referrals
Employee referrals are one of the best sources of hiring quality candidates. Employee referrals are when your current employees recommend their friends, former colleagues, or professional contacts to apply for a job at your company. Employee referrals can help you reduce hiring time, cost, and effort, as well as improve the quality and retention of your hires.
5) Hire in Batches
Hiring in batches means hiring multiple candidates for the same role at the same time. This can help you save time and resources by conducting group interviews, assessments, and orientations. Hiring in batches can also create a sense of camaraderie and collaboration among the new hires, which can boost their engagement and performance.
6) Partner with External Agencies
Partnering with external agencies, such as recruitment firms, staffing agencies, or outsourcing companies, can help you access a wider and deeper talent pool. External agencies can also handle some of the tasks involved in mass hiring, such as sourcing, screening, interviewing, and negotiating with candidates.
7) Standardize Candidate Reviews with Scorecards
In mass hiring, a scorecard is an invaluable tool for evaluating a large number of candidates consistently and objectively. It should include criteria such as skills, experience, and cultural fit, with a clear rating system for assessment. During interviews, you evaluate each candidate against these criteria, and scores are recorded on the scorecard. Manatal’s platform allows for easy management of these scorecards, enabling your hiring team to submit and review scores seamlessly. After interviews, aggregate the scores to compare candidates fairly and make data-driven hiring decisions. You can also share these scorecards with your team, ensuring that everyone involved in the hiring process can access candidate evaluations and contribute to the final hiring choices.
By leveraging Manatal’s scorecard feature, you can standardize candidate reviews, streamline the interview process, and maintain a high level of organization. This is especially crucial in mass hiring scenarios where the volume of applicants is high.
8) Switch to Video Interviews
Conducting video interviews can help you save time and money by eliminating the need for travel and logistics. Video interviews can also help you assess your candidate’s communication skills, personality, and fit for your company culture. You can use video conferencing tools, such as Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet, to conduct live or recorded video interviews with your candidates.
Tools For Mass Recruitment
One of the tools you can use is pre-employment assessment for more informed hiring decisions. You can also use it to find someone with the right skill sets who can fit into a company’s culture without having to manually go through technical or skill related interview sessions.
Conducting background checks during mass hiring is essential for several reasons. Hiring a large number of people in a short period can be a risky proposition for any organization. A standardized background check helps ensure workplace safety by identifying any potential risks associated with a candidate’s history. Secondly, it verifies candidates’ qualifications, maintaining the integrity and growth potential of the organization.
Conclusion
Mass recruitment is a challenging but rewarding process that can help your company grow fast and stay ahead of the competition. However, it requires careful planning, coordination, and execution to ensure a smooth and successful hiring process.