If you’re here, you likely already have a vague understanding of high volume hiring—a pretty self-explanatory term that involves hiring a large number of workers in a short amount of time, or even at the same time.
This style of hiring requires coordination on behalf of hiring teams to ensure the process attracts the right candidates, can move them swiftly through the hiring process, and can get them onboarded as quickly as possible. Organizations that hire at high volumes typically need to hire workers fast, so efficiency on both sides of the funnel is paramount.
One step in the high volume hiring workflow that many recruiters find to be valuable is the interview, but many recruiters are unsure how to include this stage while also keeping the flow of the candidate seamless and free of roadblocks.
In this post, we’ll review the challenges that can arise when scheduling candidate interviews, explore what an effective interview scheduling process looks like, and reveal how to get qualified candidates to this stage and through this stage successfully so you can hire them fast.
Scheduling interviews at volume can be tough
High volume hiring can present heaps of challenges, one of which is finding the right interview scheduling strategy to keep the funnel flowing. But before we get into interviews, let’s explore other common obstacles that tend to pop up in high volume hiring.
Finding quality hires
When you cast a wide net, as many high volume recruiters do, you risk the chance of ending up with more unqualified candidates than qualified candidates. There’s a fine line between hiring a large number of people and hiring people who will actually thrive in the role. Finding that balance is the key to successful high volume hiring.
Attracting candidates and keeping their attention
In today’s fast-paced world where distractions are around every corner, it’s hard to keep the attention of applicants who are likely applying to multiple jobs at once. But with a hiring process that caters to this population of workers, you can find a happy medium between efficiency and engagement.
High drop-off rates
As mentioned above, candidates have more distractions than ever, and some of these distractions may be other job offers. This, coupled with slow, inefficient hiring functions, can cause applicants to drop out of your hiring process for one that’s faster and more inviting.
A clunky application experience
Applicants today expect the application process to be smooth and swift. If it’s not, they’ll abandon it and move on to something else.
Slow hiring times
One of the biggest barriers in high volume hiring is a slow hiring time. If you can’t hire workers fast enough, your competition will step in and scoop up all the qualified candidates.
What does effective scheduling look like at high volume?
The obstacles mentioned above can be ameliorated with a seamless hiring process, one that allows candidates the autonomy to make decisions and complete actions when and how it works best for them. One piece of this hiring puzzle is the interview scheduling step, which can be rife with challenges.
In an ideal world, the interview scheduling process would involve a line of candidates who are qualified and ready to take part in the next stage of recruitment. These candidates would be able to view a recruiter’s calendar and select open timeslots to schedule their interviews, and they might be able to select from different interview style options, like in-person, one-on-one video interviews, or prerecorded interviews.
With a system like this, recruiters would see very little drop-off as candidates are directed to the next stage automatically, requiring minimal maintenance on behalf of recruiters.
How can this dream scenario become a reality? Keep reading to learn how to design an interview scheduling process that meets the needs of both candidates and recruiters.
What is really required in scheduling interviews?
The interview scheduling process can look very different depending on your organization’s unique hiring workflows, your hiring needs, and your choice of interview style. The following core components are a great jumping-off point to optimize interviews for high volume hiring.
- Scheduling. Whether candidates schedule with your recruiters directly or digitally via a sync with recruiters’ calendars, the first step to getting an interview in the books is to schedule it!
- Confirmation. Once an interview is scheduled, all parties should be notified by text message or email, and then a second time as a reminder just before the interview.
- Screening. During this stage, recruiters should take time to review the candidate’s background and qualifications to ensure they’d be a good fit.
- Interview prep. Prepping for the interview involves structuring questions, coming up with content for those questions, and tailoring questions to the candidate’s experience and job duties.
- Interview. From the questions you ask to the general feel you get from the candidate, the interview stage is where you will get most of your information.
- Interview assessment. After the interview is over, take some time to assess the candidate’s responses and overall demeanor to determine whether you want to take the next steps.
How to convert invitations into scheduled interviews
Once you’ve cleared the hurdle of securing your ideal candidates, the next goal is to convert those candidates into potential hires. To do this, you need a foolproof interview scheduling system.
Use the following actions to engage candidates early on and get more interviews scheduled.
- Invite candidates to schedule as soon as possible. Use automated messages to reach candidates by SMS, email, or WhatsApp with an interview invitation.
- Provide ample time-slot options. Review recruiters’ calendars to make sure they have plenty of available time slots for candidate interviews.
- Give candidates control over their experience. Allowing candidates autonomy in the process shows you recognize the importance of their input and experience.
- Respond to candidate questions as quickly as possible. Use AI and automation to configure prewritten responses to frequently asked questions.
- Standardize team preparation for interviews. Ensure your recruiting team is consistent with their approaches to candidate interviews.
Ways to streamline your process at high volume
Now that you know the importance of having an interview scheduling strategy to keep the right candidates engaged and on track, we’ll reveal ways to incorporate this into your wider high volume hiring strategy.
Self-scheduling
Through smart conversations with candidates, AI-powered chatbots can set up interviews by pulling data from recruiters’ calendars and sending day and time options directly to candidates. Once interview scheduling software is implemented into your hiring process, applicants can schedule and reschedule interview times at their leisure, the data of which automatically syncs with their application and recruiters’ calendars.
Asynchronous interviews
For recruiters juggling hundreds of applications, they can configure an asynchronous interview option that allows candidates to record videos of themselves answering questions that have been sent to them by recruiters. Then, recruiters can view these interviews and make next-step decisions when it’s convenient for them.
Video
Another alternative interview style involves one-to-one video interviews. To use this feature, your hiring software needs to be able to support the uploading and playback of videos.
How to leverage automation for high volume interviews
To incorporate these functions into your hiring funnel, you’ll likely rely heavily on the power of automation. While traditional applicant tracking system (ATS) tools ask a lot of recruiters in terms of manual tasks, automation takes care of these tasks for recruiters so they can devote time to more meaningful interactions with candidates.
Below, we reveal how automation takes over manual tasks and makes recruiters’ lives easier.
Scheduling
Manual scheduling can require days (or weeks) of back-and-forth communication between recruiters and candidates. With automated interview scheduling, candidates can peruse and reserve interview timeslots based on recruiter availability, removing the need for live discussions about scheduling and freeing up time for both parties.
What are the benefits of automating interview scheduling? Read more.
Screening
Gone are the days of inboxes full of applications just waiting to be reviewed by recruiters. Now, automated screening ensures the candidates who make it to the interview stages have been adequately vetted and are qualified for the position in question.
Communications
Sending manual messages is one of the most time-consuming tasks for recruiters. Automation and AI allow recruiters to confirm interview times, share interview logistics, and even exchange important documents if needed, ensuring candidates are informed of important steps and stay engaged throughout the process.
The Fountain approach to high volume interviews
Fountain Hire offers customizable interview options for all industries, including in-person, virtual, or recorded videos. Recruiters can manage availability and allow applicants to book interview slots and orientation sessions with Fountain’s built-in calendar. Applicants can easily schedule in-person or virtual interviews with the hiring manager when it’s convenient for them. By leveraging automation and AI to handle interview scheduling, recruiters can focus on richer interactions with qualified candidates.
Want more? Read our comprehensive guide to interview scheduling software.
