How to do high-volume hiring: process, channels, and costs for filling 10+ roles at once
In high-volume hiring, the first problem to solve isn't a shortage of résumés—it's not having enough people to screen and onboard. The approach: standardize job specs, lock down hard requirements first, interview everyone on a set interview day, send offers in batches, and start engaging people before their start date. You can mix in-house hiring, staffing and recruitment commissions: long-term full-time roles suit recruitment commissions (you pay only when someone starts), while short-term or seasonal needs suit staffing.
When does it count as "mass hiring"?
There's no legal definition. In practice, if any of the following applies, you should switch to a high-volume hiring approach instead of filling one slot at a time:
- Plant expansions, new stores, new sites: the same set of roles must be opened at the same time (e.g. one new store needs retail staff, warehouse staff and a store manager)
- A new project or a big order: there's a firm start date, and everyone needs to be in place by then
- Seasonal peaks: year-end, holiday and festival seasons, harvest seasons
- 5–10 or more people for the same role at once: for example customer service, technicians, administration
What they have in common: same role, many people, a deadline. When all three conditions appear together, the usual rhythm of "post the job → wait for résumés → schedule interviews one by one" will never keep up.
Where does mass hiring most often get stuck? Three points
Many companies think the problem is "not enough applicants," but what actually gets stuck is usually the next two stages:
- Not enough candidates in the pipeline: relying on a single job board means you never reach people who aren't actively looking yet
- Not enough people to screen: One HR person reviews hundreds of résumés and makes dozens of calls to schedule interviews. All their time goes to admin, and the interviews — where judgment really matters — end up rushed
- Hires don't stay: the offer is made and accepted, but the person doesn't show up on day one or leaves within the first month — and you're back to square one
The most expensive part of high-volume hiring isn't advertising—it's “hired but never showed up.” If 3 out of a batch of 10 don't come, the whole schedule has to be run again. That's why pre-start follow-up (confirming the start date, reminding them which documents to bring, answering concerns) matters as much as the interview.
Six steps for mass hiring
- Standardize the job spec: write one JD per role and state the salary band, shifts and work location clearly up front, so different interviewers don't say different things
- Lock in hard requirements first: screen up front for “can't hire without it” conditions such as certifications, shift availability, and commute distance, so you don't discover them only at the interview
- Interview day: run all interviews in one day or half-day using the same scorecard, so you can compare on the spot or the next day
- Send offers in batches: notify everyone in the same group together and schedule their start dates together, reducing time spent coordinating individually
- Pre-start check-ins: reach out 1–2 times between offer and start date to confirm the start date and answer concerns
- 90-day follow-up after start: record who stayed, who left, and why. Adjust the screening criteria for the next round of hiring based on this
How to choose a hiring channel
Mass hiring rarely relies on just one channel. Here's when each channel works best:
| Channels | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Post on job sites yourself | Attractive role, enough HR capacity | Lots of applications but not necessarily a high pass rate, and all the screening falls on you |
| Employee referrals (referral bonus) | You already have stable employees in the same role | Limited volume; better as a supplement than a main channel |
| Campus recruiting, job fairs | Roles open to new graduates | Fixed course schedules that may not match your timing |
| Staffing | Short-term projects, seasonal staff, or when you're not sure you need them long-term | The dispatched worker's employer is the staffing agency; the client company can't interview and pick candidates in advance (see Section 6) |
| Outsourced recruiting (recruitment outsourcing) | Long-term permanent roles, stretched HR, several openings at once | Usually charged only on a successful start; agree on the guarantee period and replacement terms in advance |
How to estimate cost: a 10-person example
Taking “filling 10 permanent roles at a monthly salary of NT$35,000” as an example, here's how two outsourcing approaches compare (the following is an estimate; actual costs depend on the role and contract):
| Agency recruitment (permanent roles) | Staffing | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is the employer | Your company | Staffing agency |
| How costs are calculated | Paid once after the candidate starts; averages from about 1.5 months' salary | Monthly payment: salary + statutory employer costs (about 18%) + management fee |
| Per-person estimate | About NT$52,500 (one-time) | About NT$48,300/month (assuming a 20% management fee) |
| 10-person example | About NT$525,000 (one-time) | About NT$483,000 / month |
| Position not filled | Generally free of charge | No placement, no fee |
How to read this table: for a full-time employee you hire yourself, you pay the salary and statutory costs anyway; what staffing adds is the monthly management fee (in this example, about NT$7,000 per person per month). For a role you expect to need for more than 7–8 months, a one-time placement fee is usually cheaper than the accumulated management fees; for short-term or uncertain needs, staffing is more flexible.
For the full breakdown of staffing costs, see How are staffing fees calculated?.
Three regulations to follow in mass hiring
- Disclose pay: if a role's regular salary is below NT$40,000, the salary range must be publicly shown or disclosed (Taiwan's Employment Service Act, Article 5, Paragraph 2, Subparagraph 6)
- You can't screen people by age, gender or similar criteria: hiring may not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, age, marital status, appearance and so on (Article 5, Paragraph 1 of Taiwan's Employment Service Act). If the job requires "able to work rotating shifts" or "holds a specific certificate," write those job requirements themselves
- Dispatched workers can't be interviewed and picked in advance: the client company may not interview a dispatched worker or designate a specific person before the staffing agency and the worker have signed a contract (Article 17-1 of Taiwan's Labor Standards Act)
FAQ
Does high-volume hiring always need to be outsourced?
Not necessarily. If the role is attractive and HR has time to screen, hiring yourself is cheapest. Only when you have many openings at once, HR is stretched thin, or there's a firm start-date deadline should you consider handing some roles to outsourced recruitment or staffing.
Do you pay for commissioned recruitment if no one is hired?
Permanent recruitment outsourcing is mostly charged only on a successful start; in principle, there's no fee if no one is hired. Actual terms follow the contract between both parties.
How long does it take to hire 10 people at once?
It depends on how hard the role is, how competitive the pay is, and the location. The fastest approach is to lock down the hard requirements first and use group interview days to minimize time spent scheduling interviews. Tell us the role and headcount, and a consultant can estimate a realistic timeline.
Can dispatched workers become permanent employees?
Yes. "Start as agency staff, convert to permanent if they perform well" is common in practice. Agree on the conversion terms and fees in the staffing contract upfront.
Need to hire many people at once? Where to start
Start by listing the role, headcount, salary band and latest start date. We'll split it by role into a "commissioned recruiting" track and a "staffing" track, and tell you roughly how long it will take to fill.
Talk with a consultant on LINERelated reading: Commissioned Recruiting for Employers · How are staffing costs calculated? · Legal risks of temporary staffing
Want to know how long it'll take to fill this batch of roles and roughly what it'll cost? Tell us the roles and headcount, and a consultant will give you an estimate.
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