Scaling a high-volume recruitment funnel: 800 → 16,000 qualified candidates per month
How the recruitment process was redesigned to increase the number of qualified candidates 20x while keeping the funnel manageable at scale.
The challenge
The company was rapidly scaling its contact center and needed to increase the flow of qualified candidates. The goal was not simply to generate more applications, but to scale recruitment without a proportional increase in manual workload.
Starting point: around 800 qualified candidates per month
What was done
Built a candidate acquisition funnel across Avito and HeadHunter
Automated candidate qualification through the HeadHunter API and a qualification questionnaire
Built and trained a dedicated team to handle high-volume candidate flow
Introduced end-to-end analytics from application through the start of live work and subsequent onboarding.
Built a candidate communication system across all funnel stages and the existing database
Established tracking of recruitment costs and source performance
How the system worked
After applying, candidates moved through a single funnel covering qualification, prioritization, and follow-up. Communications and analytics were built into every stage, while the candidate journey was tracked from acquisition source through the start of live work and subsequent onboarding.
Application via HeadHunter or Avito
Each candidate entered a single funnel linked to the acquisition source and the specific vacancy.
1
Automated qualification
Applications went through initial screening using the HeadHunter API and a qualification questionnaire on the website.
2
Prioritization
Candidates were prioritized based on qualification results so the team could focus first on the most relevant profiles.
3
Candidate processing by a dedicated contact center team
To handle the increased volume, a separate team was formed from former contact center operators. They contacted qualified candidates and guided them through to the next stage.
4
Hiring manager interview
Suitable candidates were passed to the manager of the future team for a final assessment and decision on whether they should proceed.
5
Onboarding and transition to live work
Before handling live calls, candidates completed a three-day onboarding period, during which they could still drop out. After going live, further training and support continued for up to three months.
6
Results
The business gained visibility into where candidates were coming from, which vacancies and acquisition sources performed best, and where the funnel was losing efficiency.
80,000
applications per month
16,000
qualified candidates per month
+50%
growth in contact center headcount in 2 months
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