TechCorp GmbH
Technology & IT
Scaling Engineering Hiring by 5x
How TechCorp doubled their engineering team in 6 months while maintaining a rigorous quality bar
TechCorp GmbH, a rapidly growing software company based in Munich, needed to double their engineering team from 175 to 350 developers within six months to meet aggressive product roadmap deadlines. Their existing interview process was creating a bottleneck, with recruiters spending 80% of their time on phone screens that could be automated. This case study explores how TechCorp leveraged AI-powered voice interviews to scale hiring by 5x while actually improving candidate experience and quality of hire.
The Results
The Challenge
TechCorp faced a classic scaling problem: their hiring process wasn't designed for rapid growth. With only 4 technical recruiters, they were conducting an average of 60 initial phone screens per week, each taking 30-45 minutes. The math simply didn't work - to double the team in 6 months, they needed to interview 2,000+ candidates while their current capacity maxed out at around 250 per month. The problem went beyond just volume. The engineering team was growing frustrated with the quality of candidates reaching technical interviews, suggesting that the initial screening wasn't rigorous enough. Meanwhile, candidate feedback indicated that the 2-3 week wait time between application and first contact was causing top talent to accept competing offers. The VP of Engineering made it clear: scale the pipeline without compromising quality or candidate experience.
- !Limited recruiter capacity: 4 recruiters conducting 240 phone screens monthly against a need for 800+
- !Quality concerns: Only 35% of candidates passing phone screens were performing well in technical interviews
- !Long time-to-contact: Average 18 days from application to first interaction, losing top candidates
- !Recruiter burnout: Team spending 80% of time on repetitive screening calls instead of relationship building
The Solution
TechCorp implemented Talky's AI voice interview platform to handle the initial technical screening for all engineering roles. The solution involved creating role-specific interview templates for Frontend, Backend, DevOps, and Data Engineering positions, each with a carefully designed 15-20 minute conversation flow that assessed both technical knowledge and communication skills. The AI interviews were designed to feel natural and engaging, using conversational prompts like "Tell me about a challenging bug you've debugged recently" rather than rigid multiple-choice questions. Candidates could complete interviews via phone or web at their convenience, receiving an invitation within 2 hours of applying. The system automatically scored responses across multiple dimensions - technical accuracy, problem-solving approach, communication clarity, and culture fit indicators - providing recruiters with detailed scorecards and conversation transcripts to review.
- Role-specific AI interviews: Customized conversation flows for Frontend, Backend, DevOps, and Data Engineering roles
- Immediate engagement: Automated interview invitations sent within 2 hours of application submission
- Multi-dimensional scoring: AI evaluation across technical knowledge, problem-solving, communication, and culture fit
- 24/7 availability: Candidates could complete interviews anytime, including evenings and weekends
Implementation Process
TechCorp took a phased approach to implementation, starting with a 2-week pilot for Backend Engineering roles before expanding to all engineering positions. The recruiting team worked closely with senior engineers to design interview questions that accurately assessed technical competency while remaining fair and unbiased. The rollout included comprehensive training for recruiters on how to interpret AI-generated scorecards and transcripts, with emphasis on using the AI as a tool to enhance - not replace - human judgment. After 4 weeks, the system was fully operational across all engineering hiring.
Pilot Program (Weeks 1-2)
Launched pilot with Backend Engineering role. 50 candidates completed AI interviews while also receiving traditional phone screens as a control group. Calibrated AI scoring against recruiter assessments and gathered candidate feedback.
Question Design (Weeks 2-3)
Senior engineers from each discipline designed role-specific questions and evaluation rubrics. Tested questions with internal engineers to ensure clarity and appropriate difficulty level. Refined conversation flow based on feedback.
Recruiter Training (Week 3)
Trained recruiting team on interpreting AI scorecards, identifying red flags in transcripts, and using the system dashboard. Established clear pass/fail thresholds and escalation procedures for edge cases.
Full Rollout (Week 4+)
Expanded to all engineering roles. Integrated with Greenhouse ATS to automatically trigger AI interviews for qualified applicants. Established weekly review meetings to monitor quality metrics and gather continuous feedback.
The Results
The impact was immediate and measurable. Within the first month, TechCorp screened 412 candidates - a 172% increase from their previous capacity - while actually reducing recruiter hours spent on screening by 68%. The time from application to first interview dropped from 18 days to 2 days, and candidates consistently rated the AI interview experience as "professional" and "convenient." Most importantly, the quality of candidates advancing to technical interviews improved significantly. The percentage of candidates passing technical interviews increased from 35% to 58%, indicating that the AI screening was more accurately identifying qualified candidates. By the end of the 6-month period, TechCorp successfully hired 350 engineers, meeting their growth target while maintaining their quality bar. The recruiting team, freed from repetitive screening calls, was able to focus on candidate relationship management and improving the overall candidate experience.
"Talky didn't just help us scale our hiring - it actually improved our quality of hire. The AI interviews are incredibly thorough, and candidates love the flexibility. Our recruiters can now focus on what they do best: building relationships with top talent rather than conducting repetitive phone screens."
Sarah Martinez
VP of Engineering, TechCorp GmbH
Key Takeaways
AI interviews can handle 5x more screening volume than traditional phone screens with the same recruiting team
Candidates prefer the flexibility of on-demand AI interviews, leading to faster response rates and better experience scores
Proper calibration and role-specific question design is critical for maintaining screening quality
Reducing time-to-first-contact from 18 to 2 days significantly improves offer acceptance rates
Freeing recruiters from repetitive screening allows them to focus on high-value relationship building and candidate experience
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