Member Article

Could video interviewing be the future of recruitment?

While recruitment has and always will be about people, technology is changing the way we hire, with video interviewing the latest tool tipped to become the future of recruitment.

Creative industry recruitment specialist Concept Personnel believes video interviewing can help employers save time and budget, and give an extra level of support to candidates who often find it difficult to take time off for interviews.

Established in 2002 as the first North East recruiter to specialise in jobs in the design, marketing and digital industry, Concept has a six-strong team working from three bases servicing the North East, Scotland and the Midlands.

Managing director Jo Carter says UK employers are playing catch up with the US, where sixty percent of employers, including big players such as Apple and Google, now include video in their recruitment process.

“Finding the best staff is a challenge. It’s not just about the candidate’s skill set, their experience or their portfolio – it’s about understanding the pressures of the industry and finding the right culture fit for each team,” she says.

“Our job as recruitment specialists is to provide an extra level of value, and invest in new and innovative ways to solve different pain points in the recruitment process, so including a technology-led early stage screening tool into our service portfolio is a logical move.

“It lets candidates shine through the use of video, speeds up the shortlisting process, and gives clients a feel for the candidate’s personality early on in the process. It’s a much more engaging way to present candidates to clients than simply sending out a CV.

So how does video interviewing work?

“Live video interviewing is delivered via the cloud, on a software as a service (SaaS) basis so it can be accessed from any device, anywhere, and requires no more bandwidth than general internet browsing, even when several people are involved,” adds Jo.

“One of its big advantages is the recording feature. This allows us to review and score candidates, then share videos with clients so they can watch at a convenient time. They can even go on to show their own colleagues the video, helping them become more engaged with the screening process, and supporting them to select the right candidates for interview.

“As interviewers we can also ask follow-up questions to probe a candidate’s initial response to pre-set questions, and develop the conversation just as we would in a face to face situation. This gives us a good picture of job candidates much sooner in the process.

“From video interviews, not only can we get answers to our questions, we can also gauge a candidate’s professionalism and confidence to see whether they will be a good fit for the client’s culture, before investing in the time and resources to bring them into the office for an interview.

“A CV can often look great and a follow up phone call can prove fruitful, but when we meet a candidate it becomes apparent that they are not the right person for the job or the organisation and time has been wasted on both sides. Video interviewing removes any doubt from the outset.”

Industry experts say video interviewing speeds up the whole recruitment process, taking up half the time of a typical in-person interview.

“When a candidate submits a CV online we can simply respond with a video interview request, there is no need to go back and forth finding a time that suits both parties, particularly when candidates need to arrange time off from their current job,” says Jo. “It also cuts out the need to block out diary time to prepare and conduct every single preliminary interview before we prepare a shortlist.

“We are trailblazing the technology both in our North East heartland and at our Milton Keynes office, and the reaction has been very favourable.

“It will never replace traditional interviews, and nor would we want it to, but adding it into the mix makes the whole process more efficient and effective, whether it’s a single vacancy or a high volume campaign. It’s an example of how technology can make recruitment an all-round positive experience.

“It gives us an additional layer of screening that will help to narrow the talent pool, improve the quality of candidate reaching the next stage, and reduce the time it takes to fill a position. And that’s a win for everyone involved.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Erin Kirtley .