The Retail Rush: Rally House Presents High-Volume Hiring Strategies That Actually Work

Hiring for frontline hourly roles in retail has always been a challenge — high turnover, seasonal surges, and the need for fast, local hiring make it a constant race against time. Traditional hiring methods often can’t keep up, leading to missed opportunities, staffing gaps, and overworked store managers.

At IAMPHENOM 2025, specialty sports store Rally House shared how they transformed their hiring strategy with AI-driven automation and high-volume hiring technology, making it faster, easier, and more cost-effective to find and hire great talent. 

Catch the highlights of the session below!

The Challenge: Fast Growth, High Demand & Hiring Bottlenecks

Rally House has been on a massive growth trajectory, expanding from 140 to nearly 300 stores in a short time. That meant hiring thousands of new employees — fast. But their old hiring process wasn’t built for this kind of scale.

• Hiring took too long. Many job seekers, especially in retail, expect a quick, simple way to apply. Their application process was lengthy and outdated, leading to frustration and drop-offs. 

• Store managers were stretched too thin. Since each store does its own hiring, managers were stuck juggling interviews, scheduling, and onboarding — taking time away from running the business.

• Seasonal spikes created last-minute scrambles. Playoffs, holiday shopping, and big sales events meant huge staffing needs overnight. Without a system in place to anticipate demand and hire proactively, it was a constant game of catch-up.

• Some stores weren’t open yet. Hiring for new store openings added another challenge — how do you interview candidates when there’s no physical location yet?

“Our legacy system had a pretty long application process — it wasn’t mobile-friendly, and there was no automation,” shared Bryan Brazil, Talent Acquisition Manager at Rally House. “Hiring used to require heavy touchpoints from headquarters, slowing things down. We knew we had to speed up.”

Related: How Does Your Hiring Process Stack Up? Insights from the 2025 State of High-Volume Hiring

The Solution: Faster, Smarter, Automated Hiring

To keep up with their explosive growth, Rally House completely overhauled its hiring approach — using Phenom to bring in automation, AI-powered screening, and smarter recruitment strategies that cut out delays and made the process seamless.

1. Making It Easy to Apply — Right From the Store

One of the most effective changes was the strategic placement of QR codes in stores, allowing customers to apply immediately if they were interested in a job with Rally House. Powered by the Phenom Career Site and QR Code Integration, applicants could scan, complete a streamlined application, and schedule an interview in seconds — all from their mobile device.

“That was our objective — achieving immediate, on-the-spot hiring,” explained Brazil.

By integrating with the Phenom Hiring Manager App, store managers could instantly review applications and take action, transforming high-traffic stores into dynamic recruiting centers.

2. Predicting Hiring Needs & Launching Targeted Campaigns

Instead of waiting until stores were short-staffed, Rally House took a data-driven approach by using real-time hiring campaigns tied to major sports events. With Phenom Talent CRM, AI Scheduling, and Hiring Manager tools, the team automated candidate screening, scheduling, and communication — ensuring stores were staffed ahead of demand.

• Playoff Season Hiring: Rally House used Vegas betting odds to predict which teams would advance and launch hiring campaigns in those cities before demand spiked. That way, stores were staffed up before the rush — not scrambling at the last minute.
  “Every Sunday, I updated my workload based on which teams won,” Brazil explained.

• Defeat Monday Strategy: Every Monday during playoffs, campaigns for losing teams were shut down, and hiring efforts were refocused on winners. This agile approach kept efforts targeted where they were needed most.

• New Store Openings Without a Physical Location: Since hiring before a store even opens can be tricky, Rally House used virtual interviews and automated scheduling to hire ahead of time — without needing an actual storefront.

“We’ve had stores under construction where we couldn’t interview on site,” Brazil noted. “With Phenom’s automation, we could still hire and be fully staffed before opening day.”

3. AI-Powered Screening & Instant Interview Scheduling

Rally House took the manual back-and-forth out of hiring with AI-driven tools that helped move candidates through the process in record time.

• Chatbots handled basic screening questions upfront, ensuring only qualified candidates moved forward.

• Automated scheduling lets candidates book interviews instantly instead of waiting for a manager to reach out.

• Self-service tools gave hiring managers real-time visibility into who was applying, who needed follow-ups, and where gaps still existed.

“We used to rely on hiring managers to schedule every interview manually,” Brazil said. “Now, automation takes care of that, so managers can focus on running their stores.”

Related: How can retailers cut time to hire from days to minutes for frontline roles?

The Results: Faster Hiring, Lower Costs & Stronger Retention

By leveraging AI and automation, Rally House transformed its hiring strategy — streamlining workflows, reducing costs, and accelerating time to hire. Here’s a look at the impact:

• 103,929 emails sent through custom campaigns during the NFL Playoffs

• 5.8K candidate interviews scheduled automatically in three months

• 122% savings by reducing reliance on job ads and job boards

• 7,992 employees hired through automated workflows in 2024

• 10,000 hours saved with automated interview scheduling

These improvements have not only streamlined Rally House’s recruitment operations but have also delivered significant efficiency gains. “Over 9,000 hours saved by scheduling automations — that number’s always sticker shock to me. That’s the equivalent of five employees, and we have three on the team, so that always blows my mind,” expresses Brazil. Additionally, they have established a scalable, data-driven model that enhances candidate quality and positions the company for sustained growth in a competitive market.

Related: 1000+ Hires, 6 Weeks: Alight's High-Volume Automation Story

Smarter Hiring, Stronger Branding & Better Data

With hiring speed and volume optimized, Rally House is now focusing on:

• Better hiring assessments to ensure they’re bringing in the best people — not just the fastest applicants

• Stronger employer branding by partnering with universities, sports teams, and community groups for targeted local hiring

• Smarter hiring manager insights so store leaders can track their hiring data and make better decisions

“We’ve built a fast, scalable hiring machine — but now, it’s about making sure we’re hiring smart,” said Brazil.

Download the High-Volume Hiring Playbook and learn how to overcome your own industry-specific hiring challenges with tailored strategies.