Back in the mid 90’s I did some work for a video conferencing company and at that time thought “oh this’ll be great for recruitment”. That was two-way live interviewing, there is also one way screening type video interviewing. Both ARE great tools but have never really taken off in the agency market. I’ve been working with the guys from LaunchPad Recruits for a few years now and they have a brilliant product about which they are passionate. However, for some reasons it’s just a step too far for agencies. They are extremely well thought of within the inhouse market and the tech works a treat.
So what is the problem with the concept of video interviewing?
For a while people probably didn’t trust the technology (think a skype call a few years back), then there was the issue of enabling discrimination and I guess cost? However, already in 2014 I’ve seen a tide-change. I’ve looked at two products (one totally UK based) which are specifically targeting the agency market.
Spark Hire specialise in “video interviews for recruitment agencies” and suggest you leverage the power of video to become more efficient, reach top candidates and attract more clients. Their tool is well established in the US and now they are adding the UK to the 35 countries in where they operate. The second product I look at was from Shorlister who created their product from seeing the frustration of out-dated and inefficient methods used to assess the suitability of job candidates. The shortlister tool is for screening rather than two way interviews.
I also been having conversations with recruiters are more open to video technology and started to see the benefits (time efficiency, broader geographical reach, increased agility, more candidate friendly, really adding value to the client, etc). I planned to write an article about how video interviewing can replace telephone screening. However, by complete co-indidcence a chap from Recruitby.net (who are based in Finland) contacted me and pointed me to an article they’ve written entitled Forget about phone interviews. The article covers pretty much what I was planning to say!
So, Are we finally seeing the rise of video interviewing technology in the agency market?
Great discussion point Louise. Like you I remember first seeing video conferencing tools and thinking WOW, this is going to really improve our efficiencies in the recruitment industry. I suspect that the outrageous costs associated at the time prohibited most recruitment businesses from being able to take advantage at that time.
However advances in technology, tougher demands on our already limited time coupled with minimal production costs have seriously levelled the playing field and more and more of my clients are looking at what’s available to them. Many of these people have used Skype (VoIP) technology to facilitate long distance and international calling but the lack of video tools has meant that this option is severely limited.
The word on the street is that there is a UK based company about to announce and launch their offering and from what I have heard it’s set to revolutionise the way we ALL recruit! Watch this space and remember where you heard it first! 😉
Thanks for the mention, Louise! The growing popularity of video interviews is very exciting and all of us here at Spark Hire are happy to be a part of it! Technology, if used properly, can be a very powerful tool for recruiters so it is crucial that they take advantage of the resources so readily available to them. Utilizing video interviews will lead to time and money being saved and great hires being made!
Just a little update on Spark Hire: We currently have 2,000 customers and are in over 40 countries. One of the many features that our customers enjoy (that other platforms don’t offer) is our live interviews, which are recorded and make for easy and convenient collaboration with clients.
Hi Louise! Thanks so much for the coverage, we always get a little bit silly when we see Shortlister’s name in print! Needless to say, we are very excited by the evolution of video interviewing software, especially as more and more companies are harnessing the power video interviews as a part of their recruitment campaigns. We believe that positive candidate experience should be at the forefront of recruiting; the fact that we offer a massive saving with our software is just a fantastic bonus!
Thanks again for the mention. Monica, our digital interviewing avatar sends her warmest regards!
Hi Louise,
And thank you for the mention! I feel very honored seeing my article in your blog post.
Especially now when employers are facing a competition of top talent, video interviewing can have a huge impact on candidate experience and therefore when used well, it works as a great tool to boost your employer brand. This feedbacks we received with Recruitby.net couple of days ago (yes, all within one day) summarize it all pretty well:
“Awesome interview process. I loved having an opportunity to take part in this. Thank you!”
“That was a really unique way of interviewing! It really got very excited about working with **** ! I look forward to many more type of these exercises.”
“I must say I have never answered questions in this matter for a job interview but it helps you think more about this type of company, and how they stand out above other companies.”
Wouldn’t you love to receive this kind of feedback from your candidates as a recruiter?
Here’s an article of our client using a bit of creativity in recruitment process – resulting with less tense candidates, better candidate experience and improved employer brand. http://bit.ly/1ibZXdO
Thank you for a great blog post Louise!
BR,
Samuli / Recruitby.net
@samuliahola
[…] effective!) and surprised at how high the figure for CV checking is. I actually wrote about the rise of video interviews this week […]
[…] this, UK Recruiter reveals video interviewing is becoming increasingly […]