By and large, the use of video conferencing from an enterprise or business point of view seems entirely clear – to facilitate long distance communication, intercommunication between departments and international branches, and otherwise make meetings possible that, without the said technology, wouldn’t even be feasible to begin with.
The truth, however, is that video conferencing tech is useful for much more than just talking and clarifying things within the company, or for meetings/status updates between employees and team/department managers. One of the many uses for which video conferencing qualifies, for example, is being of use as a recruitment tool as per Career Confidential.
That’s right – video conferencing as professional video interviewing is entirely feasible, and in fact a preferred method for recruiting new talent quickly, especially with a large scale webcasting tool like BlueJeans.
Premium services cut ahead in this case because they’re more reliable, and filled with a wider array of useful and relevant features, such as the ability to easily join a video call through a privately shared browser link without the need for an account or a login, just through any web browser’s own HTML5 capabilities. But that alone isn’t the only reason why video recruitment and interviewing is so popular, and highly effective. Let’s explore why it’s a great idea to use video conferencing when getting new talent to join your business, and jump on-board.
How Recruitment Typically Plays Out
Let’s look at how recruitment usually functions. Big or small, companies generally look for a lot of similar criteria when hiring some new talent. For one, you’ll want to find someone whose general skillset and capabilities match your current needs in the position that needs to be filled. You also want someone with the experience that proves that they have, at least to some degree, fulfilled a similar position and done so satisfactorily – kind of like an insurance, to showcase that what they can do on-paper translates will into on-the-field experience.
Then, you’ll want to ensure that they can actually hold their own in your business, and you’ll want to see what they’re like to communicate with, and work with. This is the most critical part of the process, the interviewing part.
But not everyone can be easily interviewed. It’s hard to tell someone’s capabilities when they’re a freelancer in another city, country or continent, without the use of video technology. Calling them over the phone will never cut it, because body language is far too critical in figuring out what a person’s demeanor is like.
Last but by far not least comes the rate negotiation. How much are you paying them? How much are they looking for? Everyone wants a salary that in the very least matches their old one, or improves upon it – that’s where the negotiation skills have to kick in, on both sides, so this doubles up as another test of skill and character. After the initial interview comes the trial phase, wherein they prove their mettle, and finally, the actual employment begins, undergoing several of its own phases but past the recruitment level.
Why Video Conferencing Should Make the Cut For Recruitment Tools
For the first level of recruitment – attracting potential talent and sorting through it – there are relatively simple and non-personable tools that can get the job done. Survey tools are a great way to aggregate information and tell who made the cut and who didn’t, especially with knowledge- or experience-based positions like writing/content production and accountancy. Other simple tricks include the usage of Google Sheets to sort and rate applicants in order to have an organized listing with all their critical information.
But for the dozen or so who actually make it past this first stage, the interview process is greatly aided by the use of video calling technology. Here’s why:
- It’s cheaper.
Right off the bat, the biggest, first and most important consideration for startups and smaller businesses that are consequently always looking to keep things relatively low in cost, the ability to interview subjects that are further away without actually staging an interview is priceless.
Interviewees don’t have to worry about costs either, which matters even more because it means a greater number of talented individuals are likely to ask for a job at your company and startup.
- It’s far more convenient.
As per MaRS DD, because of its remote nature, the ability to stage a comprehensive interview online is extremely convenient, which only further increases the number of applicants and makes it easier for you to interview a much larger variety and number of individuals within any given day, giving you the chance and means to end your process much quicker and find someone who fits the bill more rapidly.
- It’s less complicated.
There are certain logistics that go into organizing a physical interview – logistics that, when building a schedule around them, mean that failure for an interviewee to comply with said schedule due to traffic issues or other factors means things get messed up, meetings get pushed around, interview times are changed and other complications occur.
Without the need for travel and transportation logistics, interviews can happen more often, on-time and seamlessly.
All that being said, however, there are still a few drawbacks to staging an interview online. The best way to utilize video conferencing as a recruitment tool is in order to transform a shortlist of possible job candidates into a much smaller, more concise handful of ideal choices.
