September 27, 2023 — Congratulations, your small business is booming!
Maybe it’s due to a holiday that drives traffic, or you’re preparing for a highly anticipated event. Whatever the case may be, there will come a time when you need a few extra hands to get the job done.
High-volume or “flash” hiring can get you the help you need quickly, but rushing through the process could expose you to risk and costly mistakes. Here are a few quick and simple tips for hiring at scale and at a pace you can manage.
Don’t Get Caught Off Guard: Know When You Need to Hire Before it Happens
Sometimes the need for more employees isn’t as apparent as you’d think. You might get so caught up with your workload that you don’t notice the toll it’s taking on you and the growth of your business.
Here are some signs that it’s time to bring some new faces on board quickly:
- You have the resources and aspirations to open another shop/location.
- Your business provides goods/services that are purchased around specific holidays.
- You’re turning down new clients and customers due to the inability to meet demand.
- You’re planning a special event or store-wide sale.
If this sounds like you, then a flash hiring event is just what you and your small business may need. So, where do you start?
Be Detailed Where It Counts
A detailed job description goes a long way toward streamlining the hiring process, whether you’re hiring one person or twenty.
The more information you provide about the responsibilities and requirements for each role you’re looking to fill, the fewer uncertain or underqualified candidates your hiring team will have to sift through.
Must-haves include:
- Is the position full or part-time, and is it seasonal?
- A list of daily duties and responsibilities
- A description of your ideal candidate, including personality traits
- All skills and qualifications that are necessary for the position
- Compensation information, including benefits and perks
- Your contact information and preferred contact method
By answering as many questions as possible in the job description, you can cut down on the “back-and-forth” of hiring that often adds days or even weeks to the process.
Put a Premium on Attitude Over Skills
When you’re hiring en masse, it’s important not to get too bogged down in the qualifications—as the saying goes, you can teach skills but not attitude.
Searching for the “perfect candidate” is a time-consuming mistake in flash hiring, especially if you only need seasonal/temporary help. Instead, look for these qualities in potential hires:
- A positive attitude and good work ethic
- A willingness to train and learn new skills
- An eagerness to work in your field for your company
Depending on the position you’re trying to fill, there will be certain qualifications that can’t be ignored. Focus on the basic skills and training necessary for the role and fill skill gaps later through training.
Review Resumes and Establish Interview Procedure
While reviewing resumes, it’s essential to watch for red flags such as a non-professional email address, informal language or slang, and grammatical/formatting errors. You want to waste as little time as possible interviewing candidates with a penchant for unprofessional conduct or communication in a flash hiring event.
When it’s time to interview, you should establish a standard set of questions to streamline the process and keep the interview moving. It becomes crucial in high-volume hiring when interviewing a larger group of candidates. Some great sample questions include:
- How did you hear about this position?
- What interests you in this company?
- Give an example of how you went above and beyond what was asked of you.
- What do you think you can accomplish in 90 days?
- What questions do you have for me?
These kinds of questions provide a wealth of information about the candidate and help clarify what you’re looking for in an ideal employee. If you’re hiring multiple people for the same position, you may want to consider conducting group interviews to save even more time.
Use Resources To Get The Word Out
When it comes to flash hiring, you want to reach as many potential candidates as possible. If you’re operating out of a brick-and-mortar location with good foot traffic, storefront advertising is a great (and often cheap) place to start.
But to get the best outreach, you’ll want to try some of these other options:
- Recommendations from current employees
- Local recruiters and employment agencies
- Networking sites such as LinkedIn and CareerBuilder
- Social media marketing, including Facebook and Instagram
- University job boards (recent grads make excellent employees!)