# A multi-client interview workflow for agencies, step by step

> A multi-client interview workflow for agencies: set up each client once, reuse question sets, share shortlists by link, and get client feedback faster.

Source: https://deephire.com/blog/video-interview-workflow-multiple-clients
Last checked against the product: 2026-11-08

## Key takeaways

- Keep one shared interview process for your team and change only the questions, rubric, reviewers, and shortlist format for each client.
- Capture each client's must-haves, deal breakers, decision maker, and feedback deadline in a client profile at intake, before any job order goes live.
- Name every interview with a client code, role, and shift or location so no candidate is sent to the wrong client.
- Send clients a shortlist link with a short recruiter note on each candidate, plus a date when you need their decision.
- Track completion rate and time to shortlist for each client, along with how long the client takes to respond, so you can spot slow accounts early.

A multi-client interview workflow gives each client its own questions, scoring rubric, reviewers, and shortlist format, while your recruiters run one shared process underneath. You build the client setup once at intake, reuse it for every new job order, and send each client a shortlist link instead of a stack of resumes and a week of calendar invites.

## Why a single interview process breaks when you add clients

With two or three clients, a recruiter can keep the details in their head. One client wants forklift certification. Another cares more about attendance history, and a third has a hiring manager who only reads summaries on his phone.

Add a few more accounts and that memory system stops working. The failures usually look like this:

- A candidate gets asked questions written for a different client's role.
- Recruiters score the same answer differently because each client defines a good hire differently.
- Shortlists go out in five formats, so clients compare candidates poorly or not at all.
- Feedback stalls because nobody asked the client for a decision date.
- Someone sends a candidate's video to the wrong client.

Writing a separate process for every client doesn't solve this, because nobody can train on or audit a dozen different processes. What works is one process with a small set of settings that change per client.

## What should be shared across clients and what should be set per client?

Use this table as your starting split. Anything in the right column belongs in the client profile.

| Layer | Shared across all clients | Set per client |
|---|---|---|
| Interview steps | Invite, record, review, shortlist, feedback | Nothing. Keep the steps identical |
| Questions | A core bank of screening questions | Which three to five questions, plus any role-specific ones |
| Scoring | A 1 to 5 scale and how to use it | What a 5 looks like for this client |
| Invite wording | Your standard template | Whether the client is named or the search is confidential |
| Deadlines | Default of three to five days to record | Shorter for urgent or high-volume orders |
| Reviewers | Recruiter does first review | Who does second review, who at the client sees the shortlist |
| Shortlist format | Link plus one-paragraph note per candidate | How many candidates the client wants to see |
| Data rules | Your agency's retention and consent policy | Any extra client requirements in the contract |

## Step 1: Build a client profile at intake

Do this once per client, then update it when something changes. A shared document or a tab in your ATS works fine.

### What to capture on the intake call

1. Client code, a short ID you will use in every interview name.
2. Roles you expect to fill, including the pay range and where and when people will work.
3. Must-haves and deal breakers for each role, in the client's own words.
4. The decision maker and anyone else who should see shortlists.
5. How many candidates they want per shortlist. Three to five is a sensible default if they have no preference.
6. How quickly they will give feedback on a shortlist, and how you will follow up if it runs late.
7. Branding choice. Will invites carry your agency's name or the client's? A confidential search needs neutral wording.
8. Anything they never want asked, such as questions that drift into protected topics.

Ask the client to approve the must-haves list by email. When feedback later contradicts it, you have something concrete to point back to.

## Step 2: Create a role template for each client

Turn each recurring role into a saved interview template. When a new job order arrives, you copy the template and adjust the details instead of rewriting the questions from scratch.

### Use a naming convention everyone follows

A consistent name is the cheapest protection against sending the wrong candidate to the wrong client. One simple pattern is client code, role, shift or location, and month, separated by slashes, as in *C014 / Forklift operator / 2nd shift / Nov* or *C022 / Medical receptionist / Northside / Nov*. Put the client code first so lists sort by client.

### Pick three to five questions

Start from your core bank, then add one or two questions that test the client's must-haves. Our list of [pre-screening interview questions and what each one tells you](https://deephire.com/blog/pre-screening-interview-questions) is a good place to pull from. In DeepHire you can start from one of 26 job templates or have AI draft questions from the client's job description, then edit them to match your intake notes.

Keep the time limit per answer short for hourly roles, often one to two minutes, and longer for roles where explanation matters.

## Step 3: Send invites with client-ready settings

At this point the recruiter should only be choosing candidates and hitting send. The template already holds the questions and all the timing settings.

Check two settings on every job order:

- The deadline. Three to five days works for most roles. For a client who needs people on Monday, shorten it and say so in the invite.
- The invite wording. If the search is confidential, make sure the client's name does not appear in the subject line or the first question.

If most candidates apply from their phones, open the invite on a phone yourself and record a test answer before a big send.

## Step 4: Review in batches, one client at a time

Switching between clients every few minutes is how scoring drifts. Block review time by client instead, so you might review all C014 forklift interviews from 9:00 to 9:45 and then move to C022.

A review routine that holds up across clients:

1. Open the client profile and reread the must-haves before you watch anything.
2. Watch at faster playback for the first pass, and slow down for the answers that matter most.
3. Compare candidates question by question instead of candidate by candidate. Differences show up faster.
4. Score on the client's rubric and leave a one-line comment that a teammate could act on.
5. Send borderline candidates to a second reviewer instead of debating them alone.

For hourly roles, a written scorecard keeps reviewers aligned. You can adapt this [hourly candidate scorecard template](https://deephire.com/blog/hourly-candidate-scorecard) for each client by changing only the must-have rows.

## Step 5: Send a shortlist the client will actually open

Busy hiring managers often put off long emails with attachments, but most will tap a link on their phone between meetings. With DeepHire you can share a shortlist by link with clients, and they do not need an account to watch.

Pair the link with a short note. A template you can copy:

> Here are 4 candidates for 2nd shift forklift. Please reply with yes, no, or maybe for each by Thursday at noon.

Under that, add one paragraph per candidate that covers what stood out and how they match the must-haves. Mention any concern you already checked. A clear note lets the client decide without watching every minute, which makes a quick reply easier.

If you want the full path from job order to submittal for a single desk, see our [staffing video interview workflow, step by step](https://deephire.com/blog/video-interview-workflow-staffing-desks). This guide adds the layer for managing many clients at once.

## Step 6: Close the loop on client feedback

Waiting on the client is often the slowest part of an agency workflow. A few habits help:

- Always include a decision date in the shortlist message.
- Follow up once on the morning of that date, with the link again.
- Log the reason for every no. After a few shortlists, the patterns show you which questions to change.
- If a client keeps rejecting for something not on their must-haves list, update the profile and the template, then confirm the change with them.

## How do you keep each client's candidates and data separate?

Most of the separation comes from process rules your team follows, backed by whatever access controls your tools give you.

- Never send a candidate's interview to a second client without the candidate's permission.
- Limit who on your team can see each client's interviews if your contracts require it.
- Set a retention period for recordings and delete on schedule.
- Keep interview questions related to the job, and have an accommodation process ready for candidates who ask for one.

Rules on recording consent and data retention vary by state and country. Check with your legal team before you set policy, and again when you take on clients in a new location.

## What to track for each client

Measure each client separately. An agency-wide average hides the one account that is dragging everything down.

| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Interview completion rate | Whether your invites and deadlines suit this client's candidates |
| Time from invite to shortlist | How fast your team turns recordings into a recommendation |
| Time from shortlist to client feedback | Whether the client is the bottleneck |
| Shortlist to interview ratio | Whether your screening matches what the client wants |
| Interview to hire ratio | Whether the client's own process is losing good candidates |

If you want formulas and worked examples for these, use our [recruiting metrics glossary](https://deephire.com/blog/recruiting-metrics-glossary).

Review these numbers with each client every month or quarter. When feedback time slips or the shortlist to interview ratio drops, you have a specific number to bring to the conversation instead of a general complaint.

## Frequently asked questions

### How many clients can one recruiter manage with video interviews?

It depends on role volume and how fast clients give feedback, not just the client count. One-way interviews remove phone screen scheduling, which frees up recruiter time for more accounts. Watch time to shortlist for each client to see when someone is overloaded.

### Should video interviews use my agency's branding or the client's?

Agency branding fits best when you represent several clients for similar roles or the search is confidential, while the client's name makes sense for a public role when they request it. Make the call at intake and record it in the client profile so every invite matches.

### Do clients need an account to watch candidate videos?

It depends on the tool. DeepHire lets you share a shortlist by link, and viewers do not need an account. That removes a login step for hiring managers who only check candidates between meetings.

### How do I stop sending candidates to the wrong client?

Start every interview name with a client code and review one client's interviews at a time, so a stray candidate stands out before anything is sent. Treat forwarding a candidate to a second client as off limits unless the candidate has given permission.