10 Strategies to Scale Hourly Hiring With Quality and Diversity
Scaling your hourly hiring process while ensuring quality and diversity is a challenge that many leaders face. To help you navigate this, we asked ten industry leaders and CEOs for their top strategies. From offering remote or alternative work arrangements to posting detailed job descriptions, discover the diverse range of strategies they have successfully implemented.
- Offer Remote or Alternative Work Arrangements
- Embrace Technology for Bias-Free Hiring
- Purchase Online Recruiting Software
- Centralize Recruitment with an Applicant Tracking System
- Leverage Virtual Job Fairs for Diversity
- Automate Pre-Hire Tests for Efficiency
- Create a Comprehensive Onboarding Program
- Scale Hiring with Freelancing Platforms
- Attract Diverse Candidates with Flexible Jobs
- Post Detailed Job Descriptions
Offer Remote or Alternative Work Arrangements
Implementing flexible work arrangements, such as remote work or alternative schedules, can attract diverse talent and effectively scale the hourly hiring process. By accommodating candidates who require flexibility, such as working parents or individuals with disabilities, companies expand their talent pool.
This strategy was implemented by introducing a remote-work policy for certain roles. As a result, we saw a significant increase in the number of diverse applicants, including individuals from underrepresented groups. The quality of hires also improved as we saw a higher retention rate and increased employee satisfaction.
Flexible work arrangements proved to be a valuable strategy in scaling the hourly hiring process while promoting diversity and ensuring quality.
Jason Cheung, Operations Manager, Credit KO
Embrace Technology for Bias-Free Hiring
We’ve embraced technology for a smarter, faster, and bias-free hiring process. We use an advanced system that filters candidates based on competencies, not only speeding up the process but also ensuring fairness and diversity. Alongside this, we employ structured interviews, allowing us to evaluate each candidate uniformly, maintaining hiring quality.
We train our hiring team to recognize and minimize unconscious bias, further promoting a diverse, inclusive work environment.
The result? A 30% increase in hiring efficiency, a 20% uplift in diversity, and a marked improvement in the quality of hires. These steps have allowed us to build a robust, diverse team, further strengthening Authors On Mission’s impact and success.
Vikrant Shaurya, CEO, Authors On Mission
Purchase Online Recruiting Software
A top strategy to effectively scale an hourly hiring process, while ensuring quality and diversity, is to make use of online recruiting software. This can be accomplished by incorporating the software into an existing onboarding process, allowing applicants to submit all necessary documentation electronically.
This assists with streamlining the hiring process as there is no longer a need to manually sift through hundreds of candidate files; instead, the software is able to filter and present a more accurate representation of candidates. Moreover, the software also enables the allocation of resources towards activities such as mock interviews that ensure quality without affecting speed or compromising on diversity.
As a result of implementing this strategy, the time needed for each hire can decrease significantly while maintaining and improving recruitment standards.
Michael Alexis, CEO, virtualteambuilding.com
Centralize Recruitment with an Applicant Tracking System
Our top strategy to effectively scale our hourly hiring process was the centralization of our recruitment process through a robust Applicant Tracking System (ATS). In an era of digital transformation, relying solely on manual methods can slow down the hiring process and create bottlenecks. Implementing an ATS allows us to manage numerous applicants efficiently and with greater visibility, enabling our HR team to focus more on strategic tasks.
The ATS’s built-in analytics play a significant role in quality control and diversity. We use it to monitor various hiring metrics and identify any biases in our hiring process. This data-driven approach allows us to ensure that our recruitment process is not only efficient but also fair and inclusive.
As a result, we’ve seen a significant improvement in our hiring process, which is now quicker, more streamlined, and has resulted in a highly diverse and talented team.
Curran Van Waarde, Founder, CallScaler
Leverage Virtual Job Fairs for Diversity
A top strategy to scale hourly hiring, while ensuring quality and diversity, is leveraging virtual job fairs. These online platforms connect job seekers and employers, attracting a larger, geographically unrestricted candidate pool.
We partnered with a virtual job fair provider and promoted the event through various channels. The results included a substantial increase in applicants from diverse backgrounds, including underrepresented groups. This strategy facilitated efficient, remote screening and interviewing of candidates, reducing manual processes while preserving quality. Virtual job fairs allowed us to effectively scale hiring, provide equal opportunities, and contribute to workforce diversity.
Steve Dinelli, Founder, MarketerInterview.com
Automate Pre-Hire Tests for Efficiency
Our hiring process became much more efficient once we automated our pre-hire tests and started relying on them instead of resumes. Resume reviews take a long time and are not the best indication of future performance, according to the Harvard Business Review.
Now, our initial evaluation process takes 60% less time than before, as we rely on the results of pre-hire tests we send to eligible candidates. This approach works well for pretty much any role we’re hiring for, and allows our team to quickly and efficiently identify the top 1% of candidates we want to hire.
Gordana Sretenovic, Co-Founder, Workello ATS
Create a Comprehensive Onboarding Program
To effectively scale the hourly hiring process while ensuring quality and diversity, implementing a comprehensive onboarding program is crucial. We developed a structured onboarding program that includes diversity and inclusion training, ensuring new hires feel valued and encouraged to contribute their unique perspectives.
This program fosters an inclusive and supportive work environment from the beginning, improving the retention of diverse talent and enhancing overall quality. For example, we incorporated cultural awareness workshops, unconscious bias training, and mentorship opportunities within our onboarding process.
As a result, our diverse hires reported feeling more included and experienced a smoother transition into the company. Employee retention rates increased, and we observed an improvement in team collaboration and innovation.
Yoana Wong, Co-Founder, Secret Florists
Scale Hiring with Freelancing Platforms
When looking to effectively scale an hourly hiring process, one might turn to Upwork, one of the most popular freelancing platforms.
Upwork can help scale a business like no other, thanks to its 18+ million freelancers using its service! That being said, a variety of different talents can be found on the platform based on needs and requirements.
For top-notch quality content, more skilled, expert talent can be chosen. For a quick task, beginner talent, which tends to cost less, can be selected. This is what makes Upwork so diverse; all types of talent can be found and work with almost any native speaker is possible!
To get started, sign up as an Upwork client, build a profile, and post the first job. The entire process only takes 10 minutes!
By using Upwork, it’s possible to focus on business while having freelancers help out with the more nitty-gritty tasks that tend to eat up the day if not careful.
Ben McInerney, Director and Founder, Home Garden Guides
Attract Diverse Candidates with Flexible Jobs
Show your flex! By that, we mean showing your flexibility in your job description.
Many hiring managers start with this dream hire of a person who works 9 to 5 and lives in the same neighborhood as them. It’s a great idea, no doubt! But it just isn’t the reality for many folks today.
Flip it around and start by thinking about who these “diverse” people really are. The data says it loud and clear; they are:
- More likely to help out at home with family while also working,
- More likely to be at school to improve their skill set while still holding down a job,
- More likely to live farther away from a downtown office and thus have to factor in more travel,
- More likely to live in a rural area where job opportunities are limited.
So be flexible! Make it a hybrid or fully remote job. Allow employees to start earlier or work later. Show candidates you’ll work around their schedule.
You’ll see a more diverse candidate pool and find great people for your team in no time at all.
Ashley Kelly, CEO and Co-Founder, CultureAlly
Post Detailed Job Descriptions
While it can be time-consuming, investing in creating a detailed job description can help you scale your hourly hiring process while ensuring quality and diversity. Before posting the position, take the time to consider what skills, experience, and qualities you’re looking for in candidates. This will help you identify the qualities that are essential to doing the job well, as well as skills and experience that are desirable but not essential.
Once you’ve done that, be sure to include those details in your job posting. Doing so will help you attract a more diverse pool of candidates, as many people will self-select out of the process if they don’t think they’re qualified. It will also help you identify candidates who may not have the same qualifications as other candidates, but who can still contribute valuable skills, knowledge, and experience.
