Video Interviews: An Untapped Resource in Recruitment
Recruitment costs are unavoidable, but a good-value recruitment process will not only be efficient, but sustainable. Thus, your budget dedicated to finding your next talent should be spent wisely. When it comes to upgrading to a robust and holistic recruitment strategy, that alleviates unnecessary costs, video interviews are an under appreciated asset in the HR tool box. Employment Office Shortlisting and Selection Specialist, Christie Pollock says, “By incorporating video interviews into your recruitment strategy, not only will you be able to accelerate your hiring process and reduce your recruitment costs, you’ll be able to benefit from the many other advantages of a two-way recorded video interview.”
Read on to learn the key advantages of video interviews as a screening tool.
- Accelerate your recruitment process.
Two-way video interviews can save as much as 67 per cent on necessary travel costs compared to more conventional recruitment techniques, found Undercover Recruiter. Further, video interviews will save you time when it comes to face-to-face interviews, as you will be able to narrow your shortlist to candidates you believe would be a good fit, based on their video interview. You will no longer waste time enduring poor interviews in which candidates quickly reveal themselves to be a mismatch.
- Pick up on warning signs earlier.
According to Harvard Business Review, 80 per cent of turnover can be linked to errors in the hiring process. With video interviews, you’ll be able to pick up on warning signs earlier in the recruitment process – before face-to-face interviews, and thus, you will reduce the risk of shortlisting an unfit candidate. Unlike with a phone interview, you’ll gain insights into not only candidate’s level of punctuality, but organisation and professionalism. “Something as simple as whether the candidate has their resume handy can be a sign of organisational skills. It’s always interesting to see who makes an effort in their professional appearance. Their choice of location can also be important – are they in a loud or chaotic space? Sometimes the candidate can’t control the location, if they are in an airport for instance, but if they are at home sitting in a messy bedroom, this might be another sign of unprofessionalism,” says Christie.
- Gain insights that a phone interview simply cannot provide.
Video interviews provide the opportunity to assess your candidate’s body language, non-verbal cues and personality. Psychologists report non-verbal cues to account for between 55 per cent to 90 per cent of communication. Video interviews enable you to gain insights into your candidates based on non-verbal cues such as nervous movements and certain facial expressions which might reveal that a candidate is not being completely upfront – impossible to pick up on in a phone interview.
Secondly, if you partner with an external recruitment services provider to conduct video interviews, such as Employment Office, you’ll be able to see how the candidates interact with someone outside of your organisation. “Usually candidates are polite because they want the job! However, sometimes, candidates won’t put their best foot forward if they believe negative behaviour won’t be reported,” Christie says. “Having a third party carry out the video interviews allows you to fully engage in the analysis of the candidate rather than the operational worries of facilitating the interview.”
Finally, with specific insights gained about candidates in the video interview, you’ll be able to further tailor face-to-face interviews. This nurtures your employer brand by showing candidates they are valued.
- Engage candidates.
Forget sifting through hundreds of resumes. Talk to a real person, no matter where they are in the world, and hear first-hand about the experiences that have made them who they are today. Not only is it more engaging for you to watch shortlisted candidates in video interviews, but candidates can take part in a two-way conversation and ask questions at their discretion. This often makes applicants more comfortable, especially in the lead up to meeting a client for a face-to-face interview.
- Review the video interview when it suits you and consult your hiring team more easily.
When partnering with our Shortlisting and Selection Specialists at Employment Office, Hiring Managers have the choice to view the recorded videos at their leisure. If you’re having doubts about a candidate or can’t decide which final candidate to shortlist, recorded video interviews provide you the opportunity to share the interview with your colleagues, in a way that simply isn’t possible with phone or face-to-face interviews.
Not only will video interviews save you time and money by avoiding inefficient traditional recruitment costs, but you’ll reduce your time to hire, identify unfit and outstanding candidates earlier, gain insights through non-verbal cues, and engage candidates on a personal level – all before you get to face to face interviews. Learn more about video interviews here.
Editor’s note:
At Employment Office, we not only record our interviews for you, but give you full insight into every stage of the recruitment process that you choose to work with us. To take advantage of the above benefits of video interviews, without the hassle, get in contact with our Shortlisting and Selection Specialists today.
