Im struggling to find skilled graphic designers quickly. Does anybody have any advice on sourcing creative talent?

Hello! I manage a small design team at a studio and we’ve had a surge in work lately. We’re juggling identity and package design, environmental design and UI/UX projects, and my inbox is full of requests. I tried using a couple of general recruiters and freelance sites to find extra graphic designers, but they either don’t seem to understand what makes a good designer or they're just not responsive and I end up with a lot of unsuitable candidates. How do you all handle these spikes? Do you have a bench of pre vetted freelancers ready to go, or do you partner with a firm?