4 strategies in mass hiring during a talent shortage
Mass hiring is a demanding task and a particularly challenging one when the employee quit rates are record high. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the quit rate in America is 2,8% in April 2021. What is more special about this particular rising turnover rate is that it is usually a logical consequence of lowered unemployment rates. Paradoxically, this is not the case this year – both unemployment and turnover rates are on the rise. There are a few explanations of that phenomenon, and luckily, there are also present strategies for preventing employee turnover.
Moreover, it is not just those employees who quit that are doubling but also those who intend to hand in their resignation. Surveys indicated that 26% of the participants planned on quitting their jobs in the US, and comparatively, 38% of workers in the UK intent to do so as well. Microsoft Work Trend Index has an even higher number: 40% of the surveyed want to switch jobs the same year.
%
Of the participants planned on quitting their jobs in the US
%
Of the participants planned on quitting their jobs in the UK
Somewhere between wanting to leave your job and actually doing it lays lots of potential and uncertainty depending on the perspective. As places are reopening and people are reconsidering their priorities, many job vacancies are available. You, as an HR leader or a good recruiter, are expected to respond to the tight labour market with adapted new strategies – particularly likely with a high volume hiring plan in place.
The challenging part? Currently, you are not the only one on the hunt for talent during mass hiring. But there are ways to tackle this issue fast.
Summary (TL;DR)
Table of Contents
What is mass hiring?
When companies need to fill in open job positions and hire a large number of employees within a short period of time – that is mass hiring. Such volume hiring is typically observed among businesses with considerable growth who need new employees to meet their emerging needs for new products, projects, and maintenance. It is often seen among companies with seasonal work, such as in the hotel business.
For mass hiring to go smoothly, the process needs well planned and executed system in place.
What are the challenges with mass hiring?
In a separate page, we have outlined the main challenges with mass hiring in 2021. It is natural and not uncommon that mass hiring is associated with hiring unproductive and unhappy employees due to the significant volume of new hires that gets onboard. But it does not have to be this way – you can hire both a lot of personnel and have them be a good hire for the position.
What are the effective strategies in mass hiring?
1. Set a mass hiring plan in place
Before actually starting to hire in bulk, there are few steps to do in order to execute it effectively. It would be best if you had a set hiring plan that incorporates the sourcing, screening, the actual hiring and onboarding of new employees.
To do that, ask yourself:
◈ How many jobs need filling? – Like any plan, there must be an objective and goal. Analyze how many job positions there are available and what type. Knowing this will give you clarity for the activities you need to perform and the places you need to advertise your job position in order to reach your goal.
◈ How is the current job market? – this step is necessary so you know what are you going into, what type of local people would be able to come and work for the company.
◈ Am I crystal clear with what I am looking for in candidates? – ask your excelling employees in similar positions or who are very well aware of the job requirements for the open positions to write a job description for your job postings to attract the right people and talent.
◈ How would the hiring timeline be? – be concise and clear about when the hiring needs to begin and when each activity needs to be completed. A word of advice for you is to break down each mass hiring section into stages. When you plan your timeline, you assure that your hiring goals can be met and are achievable.
◈ Have I planned the expected costs? – the “average cost per” metric that you use for standard hiring is probably not applicable for mass hiring. Hence, do not underestimate the cost and analyze what a mass hiring process would account for your company.
2. Adopt a candidate-first approach
Do not make it hard and confusing for the candidate to apply for your positions. As intuitive as it may sound, 42% of the job applicants have indicated that lengthy applications are the most frustrating part of the job-hunting process, according to Indeed research. For mass hiring, consider the following points:
◈ Advertise your job postings where your candidates are – there are specific niche job portals for graphic designers, engineers and so forth. Consider what type of employees you are looking for, and do not exclude the opportunity of being present on LinkedIn, Snapchat and TikTok – that is where people are!
◈ Optimize your application process for mobile use – more and more people (65%, according to Indeed) are applying through their phones. This is especially relevant for bulk-hiring of seasonal workers who might not have desktops or laptops and therefore search jobs through their mobile devices only.
◈ Avoid lengthy application processes – attempt to keep the process short and optimally as a 1-click process. If you still want to pose questions, try to reduce the application questions to a maximum of 5.
◈ Explain what benefits there are for candidates – why should candidates apply for your job position? While it is important that they fill in your criteria, remember that it is a two-way exchange. So, include a few lines explaining the pros of getting this job.
3. Broaden your candidate sourcing
When talking about expanding your candidate reach, we mean that in two ways.
First, expand your reach beyond posting in the typical few job portals that you might be using. You can customize your ads, host recruitment events, activate your network, partner with local agencies or be very active on social media channels. Also, like big companies such as Google do, consider doing internal sourcing.
Second, broaden your hiring criteria when looking for specific employees. Many recruiters’ search criteria could be based on old ways of thinking and potentially be filled with hiring bias. You never know where you can find talent and how well their different background can fit into your diversity activities and even contribute greater to your organizational culture!
4. Use the available technology
The massive number of applications and their scanning time is one of the main challenges when bulk recruiting. How do you ensure a quality hire and not exhaust yourself from the volume of resumes to read?
This is when technology, particularly the ones using AI, are specifically good at helping humans. They are wired with metrics and automate the process, saving you lots of time from mind-numbing tasks. Do not be afraid to use those technologies. In addition to saving you time, they can also consider the human elements of each candidate! That’s because some of those recruitment software is powered with linguistic metrics that consider both hard and soft skills, thus ranking candidates and giving you an overview of multiple angles.
See how you can mass hire for the right talent with Whaii Match
Recruitment technologies powered with AI can help you, leaders and recruiters, for selecting the person with not only the right hard skills, but also with their unique soft skills that maches your company culture. All to help you screen fast for quality hires.
If you liked this blog, you might find these interesting:
“The state of AI i recruitment in 2021”
“Hiring for personality – why you should include it when recruiting candidates?”