Monday, February 28, 2011

Ramp-up Rathling - High Volume Talent Strategies

Ramp-up recruitment is a niche sector and not for the feint-hearted! I am not talking ten or twenty roles at a time, I am talking hundreds!  This weeks blog has been written to help those companies out there who have seasonal requirements and regularly have to ramp-up their headcount to cope with demand, such as increased call volumes, or winning new contracts meaning a spike in the level of staffing required to deliver for customers.

Expect Talent has become a leading expert in the field of 'Ramp-Up Recruitment' having recently completed a project for a global online retailer in the lead up to Christmas. Over 380 staff were recruited in 12 weeks across 3 languages, and this is a client who has retained us for the last 3 years in a row.  Another project we recently worked on for Bentley Systems in Dublin, saw us ramp-up a brand new Shared Services Centre from 0-130 permanent staff across 14 languages and 8 disciplines.

My top tips for companies looking to increase headcount and ramp-up staffing levels: 

Tip 1 - Know where to locate a high volume of candidates, know your market and the type of candidates you are looking to recruit.  If you have a clear idea of what your target pool of candidates looks like and where to find them, you can generate a strong pipeline of potential recruits.  This applies whether it is for permanent or contract roles.  High-volume recruitment is about just that!  Having a high-volume of people to select from in the first place.  Once you have the volume you can start to select who would be best to hire.  You can use jobsites, social media, forums, your networks, recruitment partners and staff referrals to name a few.

Tip 2 - Have a solid back-office system and internal processes to manage the very high volume of applications that you will receive.  Ramp-up recruitment can be draining on resources, so if you plan to manage a high-volume project internally you need to make sure that you have a full team in place.  They will manage administration, handle applications, responses to candidates, interview/assessment process.  Expect a significant amount of workload and plan for it.  Applications per vacancy are much higher in the current climate and your company reputation is critical in managing future hires.  You don't want to become "the company that never gets back to people".  This can impact on your ability to become an employer of choice and this kind of word of mouth can affect future application levels.

Tip 3 - Have a solid screening process from the outset.  One of the ways to minimise workload is to ask candidates to jump through some hoops before you will consider them, that way you know who is REALLY interested in the job! We use a 2 page application form which over 50% of people never go on to complete.  That saves our team lots of time by only working with those people who are serious about the opportunity.  If the candidate cannot be bothered to complete a 2 page application form then it is a great indication of their work ethic. 

Tip 4 - Assessment Centres can be a fantastic way to determine the best candidates for the position.  When we hired our 380+ candidates in 2010, every single one of them went through a 2 hour+ Assessment Centre and interview process, in fact not only did these people go through the Assessment but the other 600 or so that did not make it through also went through the same process.  Managing this volume of Assessments is time-consuming but essential.  The quality of the candidates hired regardless of how many you are employing is of course paramount.  Having a robust Assessment Centre where candidates can come along, learn about the role and company and then take verbal and written tests to demonstrate their skills is vital.  We usually work with the client's existing format or can design and tailor-make assessment centres for our clients needs.

Tip 5 - Communication with all candidates throughout the project.  Regardless of the stage of their application is vital to maintaining a great reputation in the market.  Even if unsuccessful, it is important to ensure that all candidates are contacted with their feedback as to whether or not they are successful in the position.  Those that you hire will of course be delighted and the onboarding process through to the end of their training period must be handled in the correct way, however those who need to be rejected should also be treated with care.  This goes back to having a great system and great processes internally but can often get lost in the busy hiring period.

As I said at the start, ramp-up recruitment is not for the feint-hearted! It takes patience, expertise, a great project team and access to high numbers of candidates in the first place.  There are very few agencies who specialise in this niche part of the recruitment sector so I hope this blog has given you some insight as to what is involved in hiring quality people in high volumes.  I am starting to get myself the name "Ramp-Up Rathling" which is sticking with those who know me! I am more than happy to help advise and answer questions on this topic, even if you are not in a position to call in the experts.  Please post your comments below.

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