High-volume hiring

Retail and restaurant hiring: fill shifts without more phone screens

A setup for stores and restaurants: a short phone-friendly journey that checks availability and attitude, automatic invites for the best fits, self-booked interviews and a clean close-out.

7 min read · Updated · For store, restaurant and district managers hiring hourly staff

The short version

For hourly roles, availability and attitude matter more than resumes. Check both on the applicant's phone, invite the best right away and let them pick a time.

Screen for what predicts a good shift

What to learn before an interview

  • Can they work the shifts you actually need?
  • Can they get to this location on time?
  • How do they talk to a customer who is unhappy?
  • Do they care about the things your team cares about?

A short journey they can finish on a break

  1. 1

    Availability first

    Knockout questions end the journey politely when a must-have isn't met, like the shifts or the location.

    In Journeys
  2. 2

    One video answer

    Candidates record an answer in the browser on their phone, so you hear how they would handle a customer.

    In Journeys
  3. 3

    A quick culture check

    A short quiz built from your values, scored for fit.

    In Journeys

Keep applicants moving

  1. 1

    Pick up where they left off

    Continuation emails bring people back to finish.

    In Journeys
  2. 2

    Questions answered

    Candidate Concierge answers questions about the role and the process, and hands off to your team when it should.

    In Journeys

Rank, invite and book

  1. 1

    One ranked list

    Every completed journey, ranked, across all your jobs.

    In Applicant tracking
  2. 2

    Automatic invites

    Top scorers are invited to the first interview stage as soon as they finish.

    In Interviews & scheduling
  3. 3

    Self-booking with nudges

    Candidates pick a time from the manager's open slots, and a reminder goes out if they haven't booked.

    In Interviews & scheduling

Close out and start onboarding

  1. 1

    Hire follow-up

    Reject the rest, keep the best in a pool for the next opening, and mark the job filled.

    In Offers & onboarding
  2. 2

    First-shift tasks on time

    Tasks, emails and reminders go out on schedule, counting from the start date.

    In Offers & onboarding

The products in this playbook

JourneysA short, scored pre-interview every applicant takes on their phone, ranked against your criteria.Explore JourneysApplicant trackingJobs, approvals, careers pages, pipeline, offers and reporting on one candidate record.Explore Applicant trackingInterviews & schedulingCalendar sync, self-booking links, structured scorecards and a notetaker that writes the summary.Explore Interviews & schedulingOffers & onboardingOffer letters, built-in e-signature, counter-offers and onboarding plans on one candidate record.Explore Offers & onboarding

Questions, answered

How long should a journey for hourly roles be?

Short enough to finish on a phone during a break: a couple of knockouts, one or two video questions and a short culture check.

Can I hire for several locations at once?

Yes. Set up a job per location, and the review queue ranks completed journeys across all of them.

What about people who are a good fit for a different shift?

Keep them in a pool when you close out the role, so you can reach them first when that shift opens.

Keep reading

All playbooks
High-volume hiring8 min readThe high-volume hourly hiring playbookSee every applicant for frontline roles without adding recruiters: a ten-minute mobile journey, score gates, automatic interview invites, self-booking and a clean close-out.Read the playbookHigh-volume hiring7 min readCall center hiring: hear how they sound before you schedule anyoneFor contact center and customer support roles, test the job itself: spoken answers to real customer scenarios, a short skills check, a culture fit check, then automatic invites for the people who clear the bar.Read the playbookHow it connects10 min readHow InsightHire connects: from first search to first yearFollow one hire end to end: sourcing with Scout, a scored journey, ranked review, structured interviews, the offer and onboarding, then Grow, with Vouch checks along the way.Read the playbook

Put this playbook to work.

Bring one real role and we'll set it up with you in InsightHire.

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