AI remote proctoring was already  in practice during the pre-Covid times, but its adoption increased multifold during the pandemic. The strict social distancing norms ushered in automated proctoring in a big way, which proved to be a strategic tool for recruitment. 

Remote online proctoring allows flexibility and enables HR teams to monitor the candidates while assessing them online. Automated remote proctoring uses artificial intelligence algorithms to monitor job seekers’ assessments and auto-flag any digressions.

 These algorithms enhance the entire remote proctoring system through facial expressions, eye movement and pattern recognition. It is fascinating to know how AI has transformed the recruitment cycle and has become indispensable for high-volume hiring amidst the competition for securing the best talent. Yet, there are some misconceptions about AI’s applicability and its extent within the recruitment industry.

AI does not fully eliminate fraud and is not error-free

Automated recruitment systems offer meaningful data analytics and attempt to alleviate issues during the hiring process. AI-induced remote proctoring offers fraud-proof assessments and interviews with minimal human intervention, thus making this process error-free.

While online proctoring greatly reduces fraudulent cases, AI alone cannot eliminate fraud; like any other data-driven system, it can only reduce human errors.

On the flip side, it would be unfair to completely rely on the auto-detection of the online proctoring process as a genuine and a fraudulent candidate may have similar facial expressions, eye movements and body language. A thorough review by a skilled and certified proctor verifies the facts before making the final decision.

Deciphers data incorrectly

Remote proctoring solutions ensure data privacy and protection. At times, the large volumes of resumes and CVs do not always reflect the job-seeker’s true potential, which causes a significant strain on talent acquisition teams. This is where seamless automated proctoring comes to the rescue, helping decipher  humungous data accurately.

AI-based online proctoring can establish connections from the collected data but it may not be able to specify causes or perceive the broader picture. In such cases, only a skilled HR can correlate and decipher the meaning and information that is best suited for the role. That is why it is an essential tool that assists recruiters.

Too much dependence on AI remote proctoring

Another common misconception is that talent acquisition firms and HRs depend too much on automated systems. AI proctoring reduces stereotypes and personal biases by providing fair, accurate and objective assessments.

Though remote proctoring is extremely user-friendly, some genuine job seekers may get auto-rejected based on AI-detected anomalies or AI’s unintended biases. Autonomous decisions are then taken by talent- acquisition/HR teams so that potential candidates are not impacted.

Online proctoring technology enables HR personnel to assess the competencies of interviewees by making a human connection through e-interviews, thus resulting in data that is unbiased and fair.

Since AI remote proctoring solutions and technologies are constantly improvising, talent acquisition teams and HR personnel need to be equipped with tools and resources to focus on the genuine job seekers. Automated proctoring has a crucial role in the acquisition of the right talent as it allows prejudice-free recruitment of candidates who are purely judged and hired on their merit. With the help of AI and human intervention, businesses can enhance their brand equity.

Virtual recruiting, which was considered an option a few years ago, has become imperative in the current scenario. It became a critical element of recruitment during the pandemic years.

Digital recruitment facilitates hiring across geographical boundaries. It has opened new doors for recruiters, who can now hire the best and brightest talent from the comfort of their office. It has also thrown open a sea of opportunities for candidates, who can now look for openings outside their countries of residence.

How virtual recruitment works?

• Virtual recruitment is accomplished with the help of virtual recruiting platforms.

• Candidate screening is done with the help of AI-based software. Chatbots lead candidates to the right kind of roles in the organisation.

• Recruitment software facilitates employee assessment and aptitude tests that help in hiring candidates who are the best fit for the organisation.

• Recruiters can leverage recruitment software to conduct virtual interviews.
• Virtual recruitment tools also help recruiters in onboarding and other aspects of hiring.

The virtual recruitment process is beneficial for both the candidate and the recruiter as it makes remote hiring seamless. However, if not implemented in the right manner, virtual recruitment can pose its own set of challenges.

These are some common mistakes to avoid in virtual recruitment:

Improper planning: Recruiters often have impossible expectations of the software and depend on it entirely for hiring. However, the software has its limitations and recruiters need to work within those constraints. Virtual recruitment is effective only with proper planning that leverages the benefits offered by the software.

Communication gap: Virtual recruitment requires seamless communication between the recruiters and candidates. This includes setting up meetings in consultation with candidates, sending meeting requests and reminders, following up and much more. Recruitment professionals need to ensure that there are no communication gaps and, thereby, ensure that the process is seamless.

Not paying attention to detail:Many a time, recruiters are under pressure to complete the recruitment process. In their hurry, they may miss out on small details that help to ascertain whether a candidate is indeed the right fit for your organisation. Although the interaction is virtual, the recruiter can learn a lot about candidates during the virtual interview session by observing their responses to questions and how they present themselves.

Using wrong tools:There are several tools available in the market for virtual recruitment. The wrong choice of tool can cause issues in the recruitment process. Recruiters need to select tools which include features that meet their needs best. It is also essential that they test the tool before using it.

No follow-up:Often, recruiters make the mistake of not following up with the candidates. When candidates are selected, they need to be informed about the next steps. When not selected, the recruiter should inform the candidates and give feedback about why they did not make it. Virtual recruitment tools help recruiters send automated feedback. They also facilitate a seamless virtual interview process.

Conclusion

Virtual recruitment offers better outcomes when compared to the offline recruitment process. The right tools must be used to get the best results from the virtual recruitment process. The organisation also needs to strategise the recruitment process leveraging man-machine collaboration. Hirepro, the AI-powered platform, streamlines the recruitment process by offering all the features required for end-to-end virtual recruitment.

Virtual Reality (VR) is a three-dimensional computer-generated simulation wherein users can interact with the environment with special equipment to experience a seemingly real situation. Set for explosive growth, VR is projected to grow into a USD 20.9 billion industry by 2025. This growth is fuelled by the availability of advanced technologies, growing use of head-mounted devices (HMD) for display in different industries, the availability of VR devices and huge investments in VR. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has also accelerated the use of VR across industries and functions. With businesses having undergone an extreme digital transformation and adopting a “can-do” attitude, VR is no longer an imagined future. In the workplace, VR is increasingly being used by corporates in human resource interactions, especially in training and onboarding. The recent shortage of skills, the ongoing talent war and the Great Resignation mean that employers need to find the best strategies to engage with employees. When it comes to new recruits, a robust onboarding programme can result in a positive employee experience.

The importance of onboarding

According to a study, over 90 per cent of employees decide to stay or quit within the first six months of joining the organisation. Enterprises are trying to find the best way to engage with new employees and provide immersive experiences. 

Onboarding provides new employees a jumpstart to becoming productive and valued contributors to the business. An onboarding programme needs to be relevant and engage with employees as quickly as possible to ensure they feel comfortable both with the organisation’s culture and their new role. Gen Z has higher expectations of employers and needs to be engaged from day one of employment. An effective onboarding programme helps build employee connections, increases efficiency and engages the new employee while building the employer brand. 

 Employee onboarding reimagined

There are a multitude of ways in which VR can enhance the onboarding experience.

Although it may seem unlikely, VR can help forge personal connections for new employees. Employees who are working remotely especially stand to benefit from a VR onboarding experience. VR can be used to organise “meet-ups” during virtual onboarding. For instance, Accenture has a new digital hire campus, which has an “Nth” floor, a virtual water cooler area for employees to catch up.  

Using VR during onboarding can create a “wow” factor for new employees. Gamification can be used to make tedious HR processes and seminars more interesting and effective. Employees can be taken on a personalised, immersive tour of the campus, meet key people and imbibe company culture. IKEA has used VR to introduce new employees to their work culture. 

New employee training is a critical element of onboarding. With remote and hybrid working models, live training is an even more expensive and time-consuming proposition. While e-learning has been a popular choice so far, it is not “action-oriented”, and companies are increasingly turning to VR training, which offers flexibility, interaction and immersive experiences. The session can be recorded once and played back many times. 

VR training provides employees with a more realistic, relatable and memorable experience as compared to other media such as instruction manuals or video tutorials. Using VR for training people on jobs that require movement and muscle memory, such as on factory floors, has proven to be more effective than the traditional methods of learning. The repetitive movements during VR forge neural connections that lead to endured learning. Walmart uses VR training to  recreate scenarios that may occur on sales floors, say, for example, rush hour during the Black Friday sale. They are also using VR to train employees on soft skills and new technology. Fidelity Investments Inc. has used VR to train new hires on empathy.

Using VR during onboarding results in cost savings, increased efficiency and better resource utilisation while not compromising on employee experience and training outcomes. Organisations can assess the new employees’ skills during training, and even predict how they will do their job, based on their training scores. This provides a quantitative way to assess the effects of learning.

While VR has the potential to transform the onboarding process, the cost of VR headsets and the investment in VR training are challenges that need to be surmounted for wide-scale adoption. There are security and privacy concerns as well. Additionally, new hires with visual or hearing impairments may not be comfortable with VR-enabled modules. The integration of VR with onboarding will need to be aligned with business objectives. The organisation should identify an experienced partner and implement the technology where it is most effective. While not a substitute for human interaction, VR can be used to create a highly impactful onboarding experience. 

References:

• https://www.forbes.com
• https://www.researchandmarkets.com
• https://www.techtarget.com
• https://workology.com
• https://www.spiceworks.com
• https://www.rootinc.com
• https://www.myjoining.in
• https://www.strivr.com
• https://gadgets360.com
• https://corporate.walmart.com
• https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools
• https://www.i4cp.com

Candidate conversion ratio is a key metric that most organisations track closely. It helps measure the effectiveness of an organisation’s hiring processes and is also directly linked to organisational performance. A low candidate conversion ratio can indicate issues such as latency or bottlenecks in hiring processes, ineffective employer branding, the quality of ads or messaging or channels used, and the quality of JD content (whether misleading or incomplete). However, if the number and quality of applicants are reasonably good, even a low candidate conversion ratio can be effective. Organisations will not know what went wrong unless they track this metric.

Recent industry trends indicate an increase in the offer decline ratio, which directly impacts the candidate conversion metric. This could be due to multiple market scenarios. With most organisations following a healthy hiring plan, there is an uptick in opportunities in the market. The top candidates will evaluate multiple job opportunities and finally choose the best. This pattern leads to a scenario where the candidates have more than one offer in hand and only one organisation gains in the end. Virtual employer interactions allow candidates the flexibility to appear for many interviews without travelling. Further, unless organisations implement measures to ensure otherwise, remote working is effectively reducing organisational bonding. Loyalty norms are also changing compared to the earlier generation of employees who used to stay for decades at a company. Above all, there is a need for effective employer branding to sustain the various uncertainty factors affecting the market. 

Often, when organisations brainstorm on how to improve the offer to joining conversions, the measures implemented impact the hiring quality negatively. This problem only compounds with volume hiring, where even the most careful strategies can go wrong. Indeed, the worst recruiter experience is a no-show on a joining day, when you realise the whole effort has come to naught. Thus, there is a critical need for organisations to focus on improving their candidate conversion ratio to optimum levels through carefully considered methods. Here, we look at six innovative ways to increase your candidate conversion rate.

• Focus on candidate experience:

Candidate experience is one crucial area that all organisations must prioritise to improve candidate conversion ratio. Whether or not the candidate gets hired, the hiring process creates a brand impression for life. Good quality candidates will almost always have multiple choices to pick from. Unless you streamline your complete hiring process to remove all friction points and provide some personalised experiences, the best candidates will move away. Refine your processes to make them seamless and user-friendly and remove all possible lags. Candidate surveys have indicated that mandatory registration even to browse job listings on websites is acting as a deterrent. Another insight from a similar study indicates that career pages do not render well on mobile devices. Optimise your career pages to ensure that they render right on all devices; remember, most candidates search and access only through mobile devices.

Opting for automation tools is one way to ensure a smooth hiring experience. Carefully consider the ads, social media messages and emails to ensure that they consistently convey the right message. Create appealing JDs that give a sense of confidence to candidates about the work. Keep the engagement constant till you complete the onboarding process. Ensure that virtual onboarding and new hire experiences give them the right vibes and that they feel welcome. New hires should feel wanted and special, and have a positive impression about your brand. In short, create an exceptional candidate experience.

• Invest in automation tools:

Given the immense value-add that automation tools provide, they have almost become the norm in the hiring industry. Not only do these tools help improve the process but they also help create superior candidate experiences. Automation brings down the hiring cycle time, improves efficiency and quality of hires and streamlines processes. It also helps maintain the morale of the hiring team, thanks to the reduced friction and chaos. It improves productivity by saving valuable time for the hiring team through various means, such as automated reminders, alerts and messages or 24*7 chatbots that ensure nothing gets missed.

Online assessments ensure a wider reach and bias-free selections. Automated interview scheduling and video interviews via AI-based live proctoring platforms are powerful tools to improve the candidate conversion ratio. They collect valuable data that can provide insights to improve the process overall.

• Enhance social media presence:

To hire the best talent, you need to be out where the best is. Industry reports indicate it is on social media that you can find the best talent these days. Some industry studies quote up to 79 per cent of job seekers as claiming to use social media in their job search. They also research the company and its work culture on social media before applying or accepting an offer. They follow brands on social media and pay attention to the messaging. 

There is a need to ensure constant positive engagement with this audience and get your branding right. Create engaging content that appeals to them and compels them to share it with their circle. Also, make your careers page easy to navigate, search and apply for jobs. An impactful social media presence becomes your branding and networking tool; it increases your reach and reputation.

• Widen the sourcing strategies:

If you restrict your initial sourcing channels, it could affect your conversion rates unless there are credible insights guiding the narrowing. Often, biases and stereotypes creep into the sourcing and initial screening process. Picking candidates only from certain premier institutes or those who have worked in big companies, etc., may be stereotyped and you could lose quality talent. Use automation tools for resume screening to help remove biases and widen your pool. Use employee referrals to get credible candidates; market your open positions in the channels that see good traction, especially on social media. For example, you could choose to sponsor some relevant industry events or your top leaders could participate in webinars that have a wide audience. These could be done to attract specific target categories of candidates. Request your employees to share open positions across their social media channels and networks. Following these tips can help improve the sourcing numbers and quality.

• Tap passive candidates:

Industry insiders often mention that a good percentage of professionals worldwide is passive talent. In India, passive talent recruitment does happen, though, few hiring teams make concerted efforts to reach out to them. Passive candidates are a credible and quality talent pool waiting for the right opportunity to make a move. They are satisfied where they are but are always open to discussions about career growth or change. You won’t find them actively reaching out to employers, searching through job listings or making any proactive career moves. Hiring teams need to have strategies aimed specifically at this vast pool of candidates. Such an approach can have a measurable positive impact on the conversion ratio with quality. You will find passive candidates through employee referrals, on past databases and in personal or professional networks.

• Make data-driven decisions:

One of the critical advantages of automation tools is the humongous amount of data and the AI-backed analytics at your disposal. These days, most tools allow you to customise the various recruitment metrics that you want to track and measure. Identify the key metrics your organisation needs to track, keep evaluating these and use them to drive your decisions. Always understand the data and figure out new insights that can be gained from it. Use it to strategise your hiring processes. This step is essential as most hiring operations have now gone remote.

Many of the points mentioned above are inter-linked. For example, automation tools can help with data analytics and remove friction from the process to create better candidate experiences. Social media helps with better candidate sourcing and strong employer branding. It is also a credible channel to find passive candidates. Targetting passive candidates can help widen your sourcing, which improves conversion ratios. Thus, individually and collectively, these inputs help improve the candidate conversion ratio without compromising on the quality of hire. They should be included in a recruiter’s strategy manual to achieve better results.

Your HR team is delighted with their final list of new hires—a talented, smart lot who aced their interviews and show considerable promise. In less than a year, however, the two best performers among them have quit and you are left wondering what went wrong. This is not an uncommon development in our times. But what does it take to avoid such situations? 

A good onboarding programme, for one, is key to helping you retain talent. However, virtual onboarding—now a given in post-pandemic times—presents its own set of challenges, lacking the all-important human factor that helps new employees integrate deeply with an organisation. Here are seven tips to help you put together an effective virtual onboarding process and get past this concern.  

• Jumpstart your onboarding

An employee’s first day at a new job is typically a mixed experience. Understandably, a jumble of emotions are at play: anxiety, eagerness, doubts and more. If showing up in person at an organisation generates such mixed feelings, imagine what it is like for an individual who has to “join” remotely. Stripped of the familiar, touchy-feely traditions of face-to-face introductions, handshakes and early bonding experiences with new colleagues, Day One on the job is not likely to be an engaging experience. However, with virtual onboarding gaining ground, it is essential that you seek ways to replicate the warmth and familiarity of a human encounter, ease tensions and build confidence in your new recruits from the get-go. Here are some ideas:

Build links before onboarding. Start the bonding process as soon as a candidate says yes to your job offer. Some consumer companies, for instance, put together a gift pack of their products with a welcome note and send it to their new hires’ homes before their first day at work. Other “survival kit” ideas for new hires: a water bottle, company giveaways, stress balls or a snack pack. 

It is never too early for new employees to start learning about the business; in this “pre-boarding” phase, consider emailing them a welcome package that would include links to information on the company’s products and services, industry-related webinars or video-based training programs.

• Provide good tech support

Ahead of your new employees’ first day at work, coordinate with your IT division to have any hardware delivered to their homes, loaded with software subscriptions they will be using on the job. You should also communicate the login information they will need. 

One way to make new recruits feel like a part of the team even before they start work is to set them up with the software you use for video chats and messaging. Add them to relevant groups so that they can “meet” their colleagues online before Day One.

• Ensure strong, interpersonal connections across company divisions

In a remote-working set-up, employees miss out on ways to bond with co-workers as they would if they were physically present, for example, during coffee breaks, meetings or walking down office corridors. In the absence of these organic ways to develop relationships, it is necessary that you proactively create opportunities in a virtual environment for your new hires to mingle with others. 

Keep it light and make it fun. A key function of onboarding is to lower the new employee’s anxiety. One way to accomplish this is to introduce informal and fun activities in the onboarding process. Ice-breaker games like Dumb Charades, online quiz programmes and charity events, for instance, can help to foster bonhomie, enhance communication among team members and lessen feelings of isolation. 

One quick and fun way to get new hires to learn about their workplace is to create an online “Scavenger Hunt” during their first week, where they must seek out several types of information. Here are some examples of topics for the game: 

• About the company: Year of inception, names of current senior management, countries of operation, first client, organisational values
• About team members: Employees who (a) have been with the company since its founding (b) have a specific talent or hobby (c) work as volunteers

Tweak these prompts as applicable to your company.

Encourage formal and informal interactions. To get past the absence of spontaneous and organically occurring communication, encourage both existing and new employees to connect over video, both for formal discussions on company rules, responsibilities and business targets as well as informal conversations during coffee or lunch breaks. 

Consider providing a small stipend to team members to share a first-day lunch together… remotely, of course! Pre-select a few online team-building games that the group can play over lunch or moderate an informal chat session for members to get familiar with the new hire.

• Spell out your company culture

The sooner your new employees understand and learn to “fit” with your company’s ethos, the happier and more productive they will be. Schedule video sessions to explain how office systems work and what is expected from the staff in terms of performance and behaviour. Encourage your new team members to ask questions and clarify their apprehensions. 

Take the guesswork out of cultural norms. Clue in your new employees on the nuances of company culture from the time they join instead of leaving them to find out on their own. The company website, for instance, could capture your organisation’s history and ethos through images and videos. Provide documents that clearly communicate expected norms of dress, etiquette, work hours and other dos and don’ts. This simplifies life for new hires and leaves no room for vague anxieties or doubts. 

Assign a buddy or mentor.  A “buddy”, as the term suggests, is a person whom new hires can approach informally to resolve their concerns about office culture. Ideally, this should not be the employee’s immediate superior. The new hire should feel comfortable enough to have frank conversations. 

A buddy should be knowledgeable about the company and willing to spend time helping new employees adjust to their work environment. The buddy should also be proactive in seeking the perspectives and thoughts of new employees. Such interactions can take place over video calls or informal chats. A capable buddy can effectively sensitise new employees; for instance, at the end of a team discussion, he can privately counsel a new employee on any inappropriate actions or behaviour that may lead to negative perceptions among team members. 

HirePro’s customisable onboarding platform introduces your new hires to your company philosophy, culture and important organisational policies. On this platform, you can enable a buddy system to make new employees feel comfortable.

• Define job expectations

Give your new employees a clear idea of what is expected of them in their initial months and later. State their responsibilities and show them how their individual productivity will contribute to the company’s overall performance. The clarity and purposefulness you bring to this part of onboarding will help your new workers to understand their priorities and quickly come to grips with their assignments. With this, you will be laying an ideal foundation for talented employees to grow and move forward. 

Additionally, at a more inspirational level, your HR team could share presentations and communication materials that enable new employees to understand and link their efforts to the company’s mission, values and broad objectives. 

Provide support and encouragement with thoughtfully designed schedules. A few weeks into a job, new employees typically begin to worry about the adequacy of their skills. Young workers can feel intimidated by more experienced and confident colleagues and doubt their ability to “fit” into the organisation. To help them through these early difficulties, list tasks that they must accomplish over scheduled time periods. Set simple targets for the initial months and step up their responsibilities gradually to push up their confidence. Be generous with positive feedback.

• Build on your early onboarding initiatives through the first month and later

As your new employees settle into their assignments, your onboarding initiatives must continue to sustain them. The following tips will help you remain in touch with them as they expand their connections and get into the groove of their tasks:

One-to-one discussions. Schedule individual weekly chat sessions to catch up on any shortcomings you may notice in a new team member’s skills or performance. If you have online training programmes that can help overcome these concerns, point them out to the individual. 

Make these sessions more than just about work. Enquire about the individual’s feelings. Provide specific feedback on where he or she is doing well and which areas need improvement. Finally, set clear goals for the forthcoming week. 

Your discussion should be a two-way interaction. Encourage your new team member to speak up about workplace challenges and seek honest feedback on how they have aligned with workplace reality. 

• Stay in touch with your new employees

Think of your virtual onboarding initiatives as a process that extends well beyond the early months of an employee joining the company. Do not wait for a year to pass to gauge its effectiveness. Rather, keep checking regularly (without overdoing it, of course!) with your employee to know whether the onboarding is satisfactory or if any intervention is needed. 

Talent acquisition today is a challenge with multiple organisations vying with each other to recruit skilled candidates. In this environment, there is a real need to keep your hires from switching to other employers before their joining date. HirePro’s onboarding platform can help you combat this risk by delivering a rich brand experience where new recruits will be able to quickly learn about your company culture and crucial policies and work on projects and assignments that will build a connect with your company even before they start work. Find out more about our AI-based onboarding platform

References:

• https://hbr.org
• https://www.mindtools.com
• https://scribehow.com
• https://b2b-assets.glassdoor.com
• https://teambuilding.com
• https://www.scavify.com
• https://snacknation.com

Are e-assessments here to stay?

Technology, as many business leaders would agree, relentlessly disrupts time-tested conventions. Companies that quickly adapt to the waves of change thrive while more laidback organisations may simply sink. In recruiting, technology-driven advancement has dramatically altered how employers want to assess candidates. Beyond college degrees and resumes, companies now seek to hire people with “more practical, technical, software-oriented and digital competencies,” says Ryan Craig (Managing Director, University Ventures, USA). This new mindset developed with the introduction and growth of computer-based assessment tools about 40 years ago. With the expansion of the internet and advancements in Artifical Intelligence (AI), e-assessments have further enhanced the scope for fine-tuning hiring processes way beyond conventional evaluation methods.

So, is e-assessment a new trend? Or is it an overhyped bandwagon that every other company wants to jump on to? Chew on these figures before you decide! An Economic Times report in 2015 revealed that only about 36 per cent of Indian companies preferred e-assessment over traditional screening and interviews, for reasons like candidates’ inability to take online tests and the high cost of procuring and administering online assessment tools. Most firms that adopted e-assessment were large enterprises. By 2020, this hesitancy had dramatically changed, with pandemic-related restrictions forcing diverse business sectors to go remote. In December 2020, The Hindu’s Business Line headlined a report that a whopping 47 per cent of Indian tech recruiters had embraced e-assessment tools.

Clearly, the world over, e-assessment is now a given. Besides corporates, there is high demand from schools, universities and government sectors for online assessment tools to assess people’s skills, EQ, aptitude and personality traits. Says Dr. Sean Gallagher from Northeastern University (USA), “A growing group of employers, non-profits, foundations, and technology firms are championing skills-based hiring and providing the tools to support it… “

Employers and RPO companies in developing countries are not lagging behind, given the exciting possibilities that computer-based assessment has opened up.

What are the advantages of e-assessment that are driving its adoption? Here are some examples.

Adaptable, cost-effective, scalable

Online tests are a win-win proposition for both job-seekers and employers. Remote assessments free candidates from the restrictions of time and place. Employers gain from streamlined and easier administrative procedures.

E-assessment offers savings for everyone. Employers save time and money spent on organising physical space, providing test materials and allocating supervisory staff. Applicants save on travel expenses to a location where they are required to be physically present.

These advantages gain even more traction when you consider large-scale campus hiring which burdens employers with logistical costs and hardships. Remote hiring, on the other hand, speeds up filtering of unsuitable candidates and also enables assessments across different verticals.

Expanded reach

Remote recruitment expands the field to applicants from everywhere. Online interviews, for example, allow candidates from far-off locations to appear remotely for initial screening. This increases the likelihood of employers attracting a wider talent pool and recruiting high-skilled candidates.

Better hiring decisions

Data science, computing power and algorithms combine to analyse information on candidates, enabling recruiters to make informed decisions. While considering a candidate’s cultural fit with an organisation, traditional evaluation works on a hit-or-miss basis. However, like HirePro’s functional assessments, online testing can now evaluate applicants on cognitive, behavioural, soft skills and functional domains. This improves the chances of identifying candidates who are a good fit. The positive fallouts—greater satisfaction, higher productivity, and better retention rates for employees.

Objective evaluation

Like most human beings, recruiters are prone to biases. However, e-assessments enable employers to eliminate discrimination based on gender, age, caste or other prejudices so that screening is based solely on skills and aptitude.

Better candidate experience

Online recruiting is a smart way for companies to boost their employer brand among today’s generation of candidates. Some reasons why:

• It promotes diversity and inclusivity. Online proctoring, for example, enables candidates with disabilities to apply for jobs.
• All applicants can participate in secured tests from any location.
• Employers can provide creatively designed game-based assessments that appeal to young applicants.
• The quick turnaround of results leaves a positive impression of the company.

Fewer legal risks

Online evaluation, free of human subjectivity and prejudice, protects employers from potential litigation. If an aggrieved candidate levels allegations of bias, the employer can refute this with evidence of fair and objective hiring procedures. HirePro’s AI-powered platform, for example, offers auto-proctored assessments and interviews to ensure the authenticity and integrity of the recruitment process.

Explore HirePro’s proctored assessments and AI-powered recruitment by calling us at …………..

References:

• https://thelinek12.com
• https://www.emergenresearch.com
• https://www.ibm.com
• ​​https://economictimes.indiatimes.com
• https://www.thehindubusinessline.com

Video interviewing has become a widely accepted option nowadays for most talent acquisition teams. With the advanced technologies that are currently available, video interviews are as effective as face-to-face interactions for both hiring managers and candidates.

Remote recruitment companies find one-to-one interviews with job seekers very advantageous for many reasons, including spotting the right talent, being able to offer impressive candidate experience and being able to offer cost-effectiveness and brand promotion to the organisation. 

HirePro’s video interviewing platform follows all the protocols when it comes to recruiting new candidates. 

Here’s a run through the advantages of video interviews. 

Is a cost-effective process

Remotely conducted online interviews are extremely cost-effective. These not only do away with travel costs for the candidates but also save expenses for the company’s HR personnel.

The convenience and ease of these interviews save time and energy for job seekers who are pressed for time. The flexibility in scheduling these interactions enables the right talent in the hiring process.

Since these can be conducted remotely in two ways—asynchronous and real-time online, video interactions have eliminated the need for logistics that were usually required for on-site interviews, thus saving time and costs. Further, interviewing through a video has facilitated scouting for international talent too.

Involve visual evaluation

A visual assessment of skills can be easily done through video interviews, which allow HR teams to closely observe the facial expressions, appearance, eye contact and body language of the candidates. 

Many non-verbal clues get highlighted while interviewing candidates as a wide range of parameters can be eyeballed: Were the responses thought over carefully? Did the candidates take the time to research the company? Did they communicate ideas well?

Sending job seekers pre-session tasks asynchronously early on in the recruitment process provides an evaluation of their technical skills while enabling talent acquisition teams to screen the right candidates for the position.  

Have online video platforms

Another significant feature of video recruiting is the AI-enabled impersonation detection tools. This feature allows HR teams to match the credentials submitted by the job seekers in a live video interaction and weed out fraudsters and impersonators.

AI-engineered video interview automation enables recruiters to schedule interviews in advance and track and generate reports. Conducting both asynchronous pre-session tasks or real-time live recordings on automated platforms helps review them at any time to eliminate personal biases and assumptions.

Besides, they can be re-assessed by HR panellists at a later date to ensure a fair recruitment process. Besides, the online recruiting platforms allow company branding in terms of logo, colours or fonts, thus providing a professional and positive experience for the candidates.

Consist of a seamless flow of information

Many video online recruiting platforms integrate with apps and plug-ins to ensure automatic updates of candidates’ ratings, performance and experience.

A better assessment of skills and competencies streamlines the hiring process and the feedback that seamlessly automated AI solutions provide at the end of the interview helps in collating the information by letting HR personnel know what went right and what could be improvised, thus facilitating spotting the right talent for the job.

Video interviews are an ideal solution for hiring managers to assess the capability of candidates for placements across the organisation. With more advances in technology, virtual online interactions will continue to provide cost-effective, time-saving and positive experiences to both businesses and job seekers.

Video interviews are becoming increasingly popular because of the benefits they offer to both recruiters and candidates. For recruiters, they simplify the scheduling process, enhance performance tracking and make the interview process consistent. Candidates prefer video interviews because they save time, offer flexibility and help them stand out from the crowd.

Video interviews are here to stay and soon switching to this mode will no longer be an option but a must for recruiters.

How a virtual interview works

Virtual interviews are conducted with the help of video interviewing software. The software facilitates video chat between the recruiter and candidates.

In a video chat, the recruiters and hiring managers meet the candidate through the software. The recruiter must inform the candidates well in advance about the interview software that they will be using. This will give the candidates time to download and familiarise themselves with the platform.

The recruiter and candidate must ensure that their internet works seamlessly during the entire interview.

Recruiters also have the option to use pre-recorded interviews with video interviewing software. Here, candidates are asked to answer pre-recorded or written interview questions within a limited timeframe. Recruiters can review the answers later.

Why choose video interviewing

• It speeds up and simplifies the recruiting process.
• It minimises unnecessary pre-interview time, giving recruiters more time to focus on other aspects of recruitment.
• It makes screening a large number of candidates easy.
• It eliminates the need for multiple in-person interviews.
• It enables candidates to move through the interview funnel despite their busy schedules.
• It improves collaboration between hiring managers and recruiters.
• It reduces costs.
• It overcomes bottlenecks in processes like candidate screening, interview scheduling and more.

How to choose the best video interviewing software for your business

A robust video interviewing software is a must for a seamless interview process. There are several platforms available in the market and selecting the best can be difficult. It is recommended that you compare the features of different platforms and choose the one that includes all the features that you require for your recruitment process.

The Hirepro video interviewing platform is an all-in-one platform that includes all the features required for end-to-end interviewing.

Video interview trends in modern recruitment

Video interviewing makes the interview process seamless, enhancing the recruiter and candidate experience. It is being widely adopted by recruiters across the globe. This fact is endorsed by statistics: the video interviewing software market is projected to reach USD 536.85 million by 2028, up from USD 246.34 million in 2022.

One of the factors that is fuelling this growth is the advancement in 5G technology. Besides this, technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and others also play a vital role in this growth.

RPA automates several routine tasks like sending emails to candidates, scheduling interviews, applicant tracking and more.

AI-based software is fast making inroads into virtual interviewing. AI analyses the key attributes and achievements of potential candidates accurately and in a short time. AI also analyses technical and psychological factors. Analysis using AI provides valuable insights to recruiters.

The video interviewing software is essentially of two types: mobile apps and web-based. Web-based software dominated in 2021 because it is easy to install and run. It also saves operating costs for the organisation.

With innovative technologies making inroads into the field of video interviewing, it is set to cause major disruptions in traditional interviewing techniques.

Conclusion

Video interviewing is becoming a popular interviewing method worldwide because it overcomes all the shortcomings of traditional interviewing methods. The video interviewing software streamlines different stages of the interview process, from candidate screening to the final interview. Technology supports recruiters, enabling them to make the right decisions in a quick time.

Resources:

•  https://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/video-interviewing-software-market

Talent acquisition processes have undergone a sea change in the last decade, particularly in the past few years. The rise of digital platforms and social media has created a potpourri of opportunities for both candidates and companies, and virtual recruitment has accelerated during and post the COVID-19 pandemic. Jobs are advertised on various platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn, and companies can indulge in programmatic advertising to target the right talent pool. Candidates see more relevant ads for jobs. They can choose to be active and passive while hunting for opportunities.

While access to a wider talent pool is certainly beneficial, it also means that the selection process is more complex. Hiring is an expensive proposition; mistakes can prove to be costly. Earlier, job and salary expectations were the prime criteria that influenced people to sign up. Today, both candidates and companies are seeking cultural fitment. The dynamic business environment requires that companies hire people who are adaptable, multi-skilled and learn on the job. A report published by the World Economic Forum indicates that 94 per cent of business leaders expect employees to pick up new skills on the job. Problem-solving, critical thinking analysis, resilience and flexibility are skills that employees will need. Companies should now assess candidates along various dimensions.

How talent assessments are done

Hiring is a complex and expensive process; poor hiring decisions can prove costly and impact growth and productivity. Talent assessments help recruiters identify candidates who can be short-listed and interviewed and predict job performance and fitment, thereby reducing the probability of hiring errors. Assessing candidates on various dimensions helps align hiring needs with candidate ability and skills. This, in turn, helps to hire the best-fit candidate. Talent assessments, therefore, play a crucial role in the hiring process as they provide insights into candidate competency and ability.

Depending on the role, organisations may choose to evaluate applicants using the following talent assessments:

Knowledge and skills assessments: Organisations assess candidates based on the technical and functional knowledge required for the job. Assessing candidates on job-relevant skills helps filter candidates based on their technical competency. For instance, coding assessments and coding simulators can be extremely useful when it comes to large-volume hiring for IT companies. Companies conduct hackathons to identify the most suitable candidates and make more informed hiring decisions. With the advent of technology, many of these assessments can be conducted virtually. Job simulators are also useful in assessing and determining on-the-job performance when it comes to handling tough or complex situations.

Aptitude assessments: Aptitude tests are used to assess intelligence, cognitive ability and personality. Cognitive tests include numerical, verbal, logic and critical thinking and data analysis, amongst others.

Personality and behavioural assessments: Personality testing helps to determine candidate motivations and interests. Behavioural testing is used to assess on-the-job behaviour, emotional intelligence and underlying behavioural traits. Candidates may be presented with job-relevant scenarios and asked to present solutions. For example, some of the tests may test for customer-focus skills or leadership abilities. Such testing increases objectivity in recruitment. These tests are used in conjunction with knowledge and aptitude assessments. Communication assessments test the candidates’ verbal abilities, including action, diction, pronunciation and grammar, besides their skills in listening and comprehension.

There are several talent assessment tools, or pre-employment assessments as they are often called, that help with candidate screening. Technology has revolutionised the recruitment process, and recruiters can administer many of these tests online, making it convenient and hassle-free.

How talent assessment tools help

As companies vie to hire top talent, candidate engagement has become vital to the recruitment process. At the same time, talent assessment needs to be holistic and data-driven. The rapid advancement in technology has meant that there is a huge upsurge in sophisticated recruitment tools based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). With AI-driven skills-based assessments, companies can identify candidates based on professional abilities.

Manual screening of candidates is a time-consuming and mind-deadening process. By employing intelligent recruitment tools, recruiters can free up valuable time and focus on important tasks that can be done only by humans: speaking to candidates, planning and scheduling. Using talent assessment tools can lead to a huge jump in recruiter productivity, especially with large-volume hiring such as campus recruitment.

Conducting offline tests on company premises or at a university campus is both costly and time-consuming. Using AI-driven online recruitment tools with remote proctoring lets companies conduct assessments virtually, at a mutually convenient time, while saving money spent on the administration of the test. This lends flexibility to an otherwise stringent and complex process. Recruiters can reach a much wider talent pool at remote locations, thereby expanding their search.

Talent assessment tools ensure consistency in recruitment screening processes. Companies can make data-driven decisions while minimising the possibility of any unconscious bias.

Tips to choose talent assessment tools

Technological innovations have ensured that there is a profusion of talent assessment tools in the market. However, given the importance of talent assessment tools in pre-employment screening, you need to make the right choice. There are several factors that influence this.

Assess your needs: Every organisation has a different set of hiring goals. Recruiters should assess the requirements in the screening process, based on past hiring experience. For instance, if an IT organisation conducts large-volume campus recruitment, coding assessment tools could prove to be extremely beneficial. If you find that cultural fitment is a frequent issue, automated personality and behaviour assessments could help make data-driven decisions. The industry, sector and nature of the hiring brief influence the type of assessment tools to be used. Organisations may need to either invest in a couple of tools or an entire platform to satisfy their needs. Hiring experienced candidates requires a different process than hiring freshers.

Consider the value-add: Once you have identified a few tools based on your needs, evaluate them to see which one provides the best value based on your priorities and requirements. For example, if Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) are on the list of the organisation’s hiring goals, talent assessment tools such as personality and behavioural assessments may help remove any unconscious bias and enable data-driven decision making during the screening process.

Align with business and hiring goals: Business goals typically impact hiring goals and consequently, talent acquisition strategies. If the organisation, for instance, has a goal of scaling up by 2X in terms of the number of employees in a span of two years, recruiters need to plan for resources and tools that will help them improve their productivity. In such a case, a complete recruitment toolset may prove to be immensely useful. At the same time, if the business is considering layoffs in the support department, tools can prove to be a huge boon to substitute any repetitive and manual processes.

Integrate with existing systems and processes:  Any recruitment tools you use should not only improve recruiter productivity but also provide a consistent candidate experience. The tool should integrate with backend systems such as Application Tracking Systems (ATS) and Human Resources Management System (HRMS) to enable automated reminders, approvals, notifications and messages. Scores obtained during assessment should be taken forward automatically to minimise manual intervention.

Consider the impact on employer brand: Talent assessment tools that provide a seamless candidate experience have a direct influence on the employer brand. Whether selected or not, candidates should have a positive experience at every touchpoint. A good assessment tool should provide a transparent and fair evaluation of every candidate. Here, the process is as important as the assessment itself. So, for instance, a tool that provides AI-based remote proctoring should be foolproof so that there is no opportunity for unfair means. Automatically generated assessments should be based on robust algorithms. Accessing the assessment and taking the test should be an uncomplicated process. Automated notifications regarding the guidelines for the test and the timings will help ensure that every candidate gets an equal opportunity.

Talent assessment tools play an important role in recruitment. With huge benefits in terms of improved recruiter productivity, lowered costs of recruitment and automated, bias-free and objective evaluations, these tools offer many benefits and are tempting to recruiters. There is no one-size-fits-all tool. Choose the right assessment tool or platform that meets specific requirements. HirePro’s virtual hiring platform offers a plethora of tools that let you acquire the best talent with minimal manual intervention. With AI-driven automated coding and functional assessments, remote proctoring tools and university hiring solutions, HirePro enables frictionless virtual hiring.

Talent assessment tools are not a replacement for humans. Rather, they do the grunt work and enable recruiters to function more efficiently. They are an important part of the recruitment toolbox and should complement the overall recruitment strategy.

The role of HR in organisations has changed significantly. HR personnel are now the drivers of change, be it through technology or perceptions. The pandemic triggered rapid changes in working models and they touched almost every organisation globally. It pushed HR departments to understand, adapt and implement changes efficiently and quickly.

Talent acquisition, a primary role of HR personnel, is no longer about screening, interviewing and hiring skilled candidates. It is much more than that. HR must fulfil candidate needs and ensure the recruitment experience is good, work-life balance needs are met and candidate values and organisational culture are aligned. Since work-from-anywhere-anytime is an accepted work model now, many candidates list it as one of the primary requirements before considering an opportunity.

Talent assessment tools

Technology offers the best and most viable solutions to most challenges today. The right technological solutions enable organisations to thrive and make sound strategic decisions. Talent assessment tools are the answer to HR’s challenges too. These tools aim to help HR personnel find, hire and retain the right candidates, manage the new kinds of challenges in the business landscape, appreciate and handle new approaches to solutions and come up with out-of-the-box solutions.

The more effective tools use machine learning (ML) and big data analytics to analyse data and generate insightful reports about candidates during the recruitment process and beyond.

Uses and advantages of talent assessment tools:

1. Testing and screening solutions: Talent assessment tools have built-in facilities to work on simulations and work samples, conduct personality and cognitive ability tests, carry out structured and unstructured interview models and many other effective techniques to assess and screen candidates during the recruitment process.

2. Tracking candidates:These tools track applicants throughout the recruitment process and enable HR to build customised experiences for every candidate, depending on their performance in each challenge. The tools track candidates from the time of application to the onboarding exercise and through their association with the organisation. Social media analytics is a useful way to understand candidate behaviour on social media.

Employee capabilities and progress can be regularly checked through these tools too. There are a large variety of tests and models to carry out this process.

3. Making decisions: Talent assessment tools are empowered with prescriptive and predictive tools to help HR make the best decisions while selecting candidates. Candidates who were rejected during the recruitment process must now be given reasons about why they were not selected and they must be satisfied with the reasons given. Along with helping HR make decisions, the tools also facilitate drawing insightful conclusions about every candidate. Candidates who receive a fair analysis are likely to review the organisation positively on social media platforms and boost its brand as an employer.

4. Lowers cost and time; boosts quality of hire: The use of such tools generates instant reports about candidates and that expedites the selection process. The ability to carry out tests online removes the need for pen and paper as well as travel, thereby saving costs and time. Further, the tests are comprehensive enough to gauge the abilities of the candidates quite accurately and that ensures the quality of the candidates selected.

5. Scale up easily: These tools help HR manage large volumes of applicants with ease. ML algorithms pick the best candidate profiles that fit the parameters set out by HR for a particular role. The tools are unbiased and will only pick the best fit from a global database or from however large the talent pool is.

6. Screening by gamification: Organisations can use gamification to attract potential employees and to test and screen candidates during recruitment. Many organisations are already using gamification as a fun and interesting technique to screen candidates. A candidate’s domain abilities, temperament, reaction under pressure and various other skills and behavioural aspects can be gauged this way.

7. Obtain real-time feedback: Talent assessment tools provide real-time feedback about candidates and employees, which enables organisations to get a quick recap of an employee’s progress. Employees can be informed about their progress with constructive insights.

At the end of the day, for HR to be the front-runner of transformation in organisations, HR personnel must be ready to introspect, analyse and adapt the latest technological tools to successfully step up to the new demands of talent acquisition and other business challenges.

HirePro’s bundle of assessments to test candidates on behavioural competencies, aptitude, technical and domain skills can be customised to suit any organisation’s unique needs.

Sources:

1. https://www.hrtech.in/blog/benefits-of-an-online-talent-assessment-software/