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On Wednesday, September 4, we held our free virtual event titled, “Data-Driven Genius: Innovation and Analytics in High-Volume Recruitment.” We brought together industry experts to discuss how data analytics, cutting-edge technologies, and strategic thinking can transform the high-volume hiring process.

The event featured an incredible panel of leaders in high-volume talent acquisition:

• Jennifer Terry Tharp – Chief Strategy Officer at GBS Worldwide
• Craig Fisher – Founder of TalentNet Media and CMO of Cnect
• Tim Dineen – Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Recruitics
• Darrian Mikell – Co-Founder and CEO of Qualifi
• Hosted by Katie Fortunato—President and Co-founder of RecruitmentMarketing.com

Watch the full event video at the bottom of this article! We also summarized the major insights shared by each panelist, highlighting key strategies and actionable tips to improve recruitment processes.

A special thanks to our sponsor, Qualifi, for sponsoring the event!

Expert Strategies for High-Volume Hiring

Craig Fisher

1. “We’ve made it too easy to apply to jobs, leading to too many candidates and too few quality hires.”

The ease of applying for jobs online has led to an overwhelming number of applicants, many of whom are not the right fit. Craig emphasized the need to filter out unqualified candidates from the start. By asking knockout or opt-in questions upfront, recruiters can streamline their process and ensure they focus on higher-quality applicants.

Craig suggested implementing clear qualifying questions at the beginning of the application process to reduce the number of unqualified candidates and optimize your recruitment efforts.

2. “Apply to your own jobs on a regular basis to understand the candidate experience.”

Craig said that recruiters should regularly go through their own application process to see it from the candidate’s perspective. This ensures recruiters can identify issues such as slow response times or poor communication, which can deter strong candidates.

Periodically test your process by applying to your own open roles to ensure it’s smooth, responsive, and user-friendly. Identify and address pain points promptly.

3. “Automation is great, but it doesn’t do empathy.”

He also said that while automation is a great tool for handling repetitive tasks, it cannot replace the empathy required to build meaningful relationships with candidates. High-volume recruiting requires a balance between efficiency and personal touch.

Use automation for tasks like scheduling or initial screenings, but ensure human recruiters engage personally with candidates at critical touchpoints, maintaining a strong connection to keep them engaged.

Darrian Mikell

1. “60% of interviews we conduct are done outside of normal working hours.”

Candidates, especially in high-volume hiring, often have different schedules and prefer flexibility when engaging in the recruitment process. Darrian pointed out that accommodating this can drastically improve candidate participation and satisfaction.

Offer flexible interview times, particularly outside standard working hours, to meet candidates where they are and improve engagement rates in high-volume hiring.

2. “Your best candidates will be off the market before your less ideal candidates.”

Speed is crucial in high-volume recruitment. Darrian emphasized that the most qualified candidates are often hired quickly, which means that organizations need to move fast to avoid losing top talent.

Streamline your hiring process to make quicker decisions, from scheduling interviews to extending offers, ensuring you don’t miss out on the best candidates due to slow-moving processes.

3. “Start with manual processes that work, then automate them.”

Before jumping into automation, Darrian suggested ensuring your manual processes are sound and effective. Automating inefficient or broken processes only exacerbates issues.

Identify repetitive tasks that are currently working well manually, such as phone interviews or candidate screenings, and then strategically implement automation to save time without sacrificing quality.

Tim Dineen

1. “It’s not always about filling the funnel, it’s about moving the funnel.”

Tim highlighted that the goal of recruitment isn’t just about attracting a high number of applicants, but ensuring the right candidates move efficiently through the hiring process. Simply having a full funnel doesn’t guarantee success unless you have strategies in place to keep the process flowing.

He urges companies to optimize their recruitment funnel by focusing on the speed and quality of candidate progression. Ensure that qualified candidates move swiftly through the stages of recruitment to avoid bottlenecks.

2. “Automate repetitive tasks, but don’t lose the human touch in key areas like engagement and candidate experience.”

He also encouraged using automation to handle repetitive, time-consuming tasks in recruitment, such as resume parsing or scheduling interviews. However, maintaining personal interactions at crucial stages is important to prevent candidates from feeling disengaged.

Use automation tools for early-stage tasks, but keep personal touchpoints like interviews or final-stage communications human-led, allowing for a better candidate experience.

3. “Real-time data is key to ensure you’re attracting the right candidates.”

By leveraging data, you can adjust your strategies in real time to improve candidate quality and reduce costs. Tim suggested using real-time analytics to monitor recruitment channels and optimize job ad spending based on where quality applicants are coming from.

Implement data-driven tools to track recruitment campaigns and job boards, allowing you to focus on the platforms that bring the best ROI in terms of candidate quality.

Jennifer Terry Tharp

1. “It’s all math.”

Jennifer explained that high-volume recruitment relies heavily on metrics and data to predict outcomes. Every part of the recruitment funnel, from applications to hires, can be calculated to optimize processes and improve results.

Use data analytics to monitor your recruitment pipeline. Track key metrics like application conversion rates and time spent at each stage, and adjust accordingly to improve efficiency and candidate flow.

2. “Leading indicators become fill metrics in high-volume recruiting.”

In high-volume recruitment, traditional metrics like job fills may not always be applicable because jobs may remain open indefinitely due to ongoing needs. Instead, she suggested focusing on leading indicators like time-in-stage or messaging response rates, which better reflect the ongoing progress of recruiting efforts.

Shift your focus to leading indicators that measure the efficiency of each recruitment stage. This will help you pinpoint delays and bottlenecks, allowing for continuous improvement.

3. “Not every data entry person needs to be passionate; they just need to be efficient.”

When recruiting for high-volume or entry-level positions, Jennifer stressed that the focus should be on whether the candidate can perform the specific tasks of the job, not necessarily their passion for the role.

Tailor recruitment assessments to the actual needs of the job. For roles requiring specific skills like data entry, assess candidates based on their efficiency and skill level rather than focusing on soft skills that may not be relevant.

4. “Motivation matters more than qualifications in entry-level high-volume roles.”

Jennifer argued that in many high-volume, entry-level roles, the candidate’s motivation and willingness to stay on the job are often more important than their qualifications.

During the hiring process, focus on assessing candidates’ motivation and reliability, as this will lead to higher retention rates and reduce turnover.

Watch the Full Event Video

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