In this episode of Impact at Work, Karyn McShane, Talent Attraction and Mobility Manager, takes us inside one of Australia’s biggest annual hiring operations: the national Christmas peak campaign at Australia Post.
Each year, Karyn’s team recruits over 3,700 casual hires to keep parcels moving during the busiest delivery season of the year. But as she explains, the real story isn’t just about scale, it’s about designing processes, building trust, and leading change from within.
If you’re working in high-volume, operational or process-led recruitment, this episode is packed with practical, people-centred insights.
Karyn has spent six years at Australia Post, moving across retail, contact centre and now network operations. That breadth of experience, plus her earlier career in agency recruitment, has given her the ability to adapt quickly to different environments and challenges.
“I’ve had responsibilities across different portfolios… and that breadth really helps you design solutions that work for multiple parts of the organisation.”
Her career hasn’t been without its turning points. Starting in recruitment straight out of university, she weathered the global financial crisis while managing teams, making redundancies and closing branches. Those experiences shaped a leadership style grounded in resilience, clear communication and an unwavering focus on people.
At first glance, Karyn’s role in the Christmas campaign sounds like a logistical marathon. But she’s clear that success is the result of deliberate design.
“I’m leading the design on that process at the moment, optimising all the processes from last year and getting us all ready.”
Planning begins months before October hiring, with July marking the point where “the foot goes down” in preparation. The goal is to make every step of the candidate journey intentional, efficient and aligned to operational needs.
Karyn works closely with operational leaders to ensure recruitment plans are grounded in the realities of the network. That means balancing speed with service quality, for both internal teams and external candidates.
“We’ve spent loads of time discussing with our stakeholders, our candidates and also our team — what can we do better? How can we enhance the process?”
It’s a reminder that in operational recruitment, relationships are just as important as systems.
Even when managing thousands of applicants, Karyn never loses sight of the individual.
“We want to make it as seamless as possible. When you’re dealing with high-volume applications, you really want to ensure the process is really positive for the candidate.”
Her team treats candidates like customers, delivering clear information, setting expectations early, and providing closure even when applicants aren’t successful.
“These candidates are our customers in essence, so we want to ensure we’re delivering a good service for them as well.”
Past campaigns revealed that candidates often didn’t understand the gap between applying and starting.
“You could well see our jobs in market in July, but you’re not starting until December. It’s really about ensuring that our communications to market are super clear about that process.”
The team has overhauled landing pages, FAQs and messaging to remove uncertainty, answer common questions upfront and keep candidates engaged.
Karyn is also leading the revival of Australia Post’s early careers strategy, creating clearer pathways for young talent and improving how they connect with the business.
“We are reviving that within the Australia Post space, so yeah, that’s quite exciting as well.”
It’s a reminder that operational leaders aren’t just managing the immediate, they’re shaping the future workforce.
From surviving industry downturns to running one of Australia’s largest seasonal hiring drives, Karyn’s career shows that operational impact often comes from doing the fundamentals better:
Plan deliberately — design processes with the end goal in mind.
Align stakeholders early — operational success depends on buy-in from across the business.
Communicate with clarity — uncertainty erodes trust faster than any delay.
Never lose sight of the human experience — whether in high-volume or high-touch hiring, empathy matters.
Karyn’s approach is proof that leadership in recruitment is as much about how you deliver as what you deliver.