A decade ago, technology was slowly making inroads into the recruitment process. However, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of technology in different facets of recruitment. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies spearheaded the tech revolution in recruitment. AI-based tools are being used for recruitment processes like ATS, virtual assessments, video interviews and more.

The importance of online interviews

In 2023, online interviews are being widely used because of the convenience that they offer, coupled with their ability to accommodate remote work. Data reveals that 60% of hiring managers have used video hiring in their recruitment process while“74% of recruiters say video interviews have made their lives easier.”

Online interviews are becoming increasingly popular because they are preferred by both recruiters and candidates. Recruiters prefer them because they are much faster and more efficient than traditional hiring methods. Besides, they save time and money for employers and candidates since the candidates do not have to travel to any specific location. Candidates prefer online interviews because they allow facing the interview from a location of their choice.

Online interviews may be conducted in different ways to assess the candidate. Candidates may be asked to answer standardised questions or may be interviewed through personalised interviews.

Differences between standardised and personalised interviews

In a standardised interview, the interviewer asks all the candidates a specific set of questions. Standardised interviews help compare different candidates based on their replies to the same set of questions. Many a time, there might be multiple interviewers asking a candidate the same set of standardised questions. Every interviewer will assess the candidate from his or her perspective and provide neutral results. This is done to minimise interviewer bias.

A personalised interview, on the other hand, is more conversational. Here, the interviewer asks questions based on the answers given by the candidate. A personal interview reveals attributes about the personality of a candidate. An interviewer can observe a candidate’s response to the different questions, such as eye contact, hand gestures, facial expressions, etc., and draw a conclusion about him or her. Interviewers could also ask specific questions to determine whether the candidate is the right fit for the organisation. Personalised interviews help the interviewer get a measure of the emotional intelligence of the candidate, which is an important aspect of the modern hiring process.

A balanced mix of personalised and standardised interviews will help identify the right candidate for the organisation. However, there cannot be a one-size-fits-all interviewing strategy for hiring. The mix of standardised and personalised questions not only depends on the nature of the role but also the organisational culture, as well as several other factors.

The process of hiring the best talent based on personalised and standardised interviews can become quite complicated and time-consuming. This impacts the candidate experience negatively.

Fortunately, there are online hiring platforms that streamline the interviewing process and enhance the candidate experience.

How do online interview platforms facilitate standardised and personalised interviews?

An online interview platform is an AI-based hiring solution that enables HR professionals to conduct interviews remotely using video communication. The virtual interviews eliminate the need for in-person meetings. Online interview platforms are being widely adopted by recruiters across the globe. The global video interview market is expected to reach a staggering $529.53 million by 2027. 

Recruiters can conduct live virtual interviews where the recruiter and candidate interact in real time. There is also the option of a one-way interview, wherein the candidate can record his or her response to preset questions. 

Many of these tools allow the user to create personalised interviews, questionnaires and templates to assess the candidate, based on the job role.

Recruiters can create standardised interview questions to ensure a consistent and fair evaluation of candidates. 

How do you customise the online interview platform?

A recruiter can use various interview options like live interviews, standardised interview templates, etc., to customise the platform according to specific hiring needs.

Standardised templates may be used to create questions relevant to the job role. Candidates could record the answers to these questions. Recruiters could conduct virtual interviews in real time. These interviews facilitate interactive conversations and personalised assessments. 

Interview recordings, evaluations and feedback could be shared seamlessly between team members for collaborative decision-making.

Online interview platforms extract valuable insights from the interview data to identify top talent and enhance the hiring process. 

Reach out to us to learn how you can give your recruitment process an edge.

Resources: legaljobs.io,zippia.com,linkedin.com

“For the times they are a-changin”

Bob Dylan’s anthem released in the 1960s continues to hold true, albeit in a different context in business processes. Recruitment has undergone a transformation too, with video interviewing becoming commonplace. Of course, there are several benefits of video interviews for both employers and candidates. Time and cost savings and access to a wider talent pool in remote locations are some of the reasons that video interviews continue to be popular. Besides, video interviews can be recorded, giving companies the opportunity to ensure that the process was fair and consistent. From the candidate perspective, video interviews offer both convenience and comfort and let people interview for positions in different cities and even countries.

For video interviews to be conducted successfully, the process needs to be transparent and have clear communication. Dos and don’ts are necessary for both interviewers and interviewees. For instance, it would be mandatory to sit in a quiet place without interruptions, with good internet connectivity and a decent camera. Candidates need to put their best foot forward, just as with face-to-face interviews. And, in changing times, candidates need to be able to impress not just a remote human but also, most likely, a machine. With the ongoing talent war, companies are increasingly leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) for various recruitment processes, including faster screening via video interviewing. The first round of screening may be via automated or one-way video interviews, wherein candidates record responses to questions and are evaluated by an algorithm. While live or synchronous interviews, say on Zoom or Google Meet, will continue to be the mainstay for the final selection, the initial interviews for screening candidates could be AI video interviews.

Why AI video interviews are becoming popular

In AI-enabled video interviewing, candidates access the hiring platform and record their responses to interview questions. Once the interview is completed and uploaded, the responses are analysed by the AI-based hiring software for several aspects such as body language, facial expressions, voice modulation, verbal abilities and several other parameters considered important by the company. The analysis is then compared with the company standards for recruitment and conclusions are drawn based on the results. There are several benefits of AI video interviews.

For one, companies are hard-pressed to find top talent and are using AI to stay ahead in talent scouting. One-way video interviews help companies do a quick shortlisting of talent. Narrowing down candidates is a multi-step process. Automated screening of resumes may be the first round. The next logical step in the hiring process could be one-way video interviews, giving companies further insight into candidate matches for the specific position or role. Using AI-driven video interviewing software greatly speeds up the process, besides offering the convenience of scheduling for both candidates and employers. In scenarios such as campus recruitment that involve high-volume hiring, AI video interviews can be a game changer in terms of time, cost and efficiency. Besides, the pre-recorded interviews can be stored in archives for a specific period of time, as may be required by the rules and regulations of the company. AI video interviews offer the benefit of data-driven decision-making, reducing the possibility of unconscious bias based on ethnicity, gender, age and so on. Consistency is another plus. All candidates interviewing for the position receive similar questions, resulting in a fair evaluation.

Artificial intelligence is a rapidly evolving field, with several concerns regarding ethical usage. In recruitment too, the same concerns persist. Ultimately, the AI software is only as good as the training data. For instance, it is important to ensure that the AI video interviewing software does not reinforce any discriminatory practices due to the lack of appropriate training data.

Misinterpretation of facial expressions due to scarring, disabilities and so on is another concern. Companies need to ensure that AI video interviews do not reinforce stereotypes that result in unfair decisions. Human intervention is required at all crucial decision points to ensure that there is no violation of anti-discrimination laws. Also, data analytics and dashboards will help highlight any anomalies.

The AI-based video interviewing platform should also comply with data privacy and security requirements as mandated by local laws. HirePro offers a comprehensive and impersonation-proof video interviewing platform with both live and asynchronous interviews. By ensuring an equitable and secure experience for candidates, companies can combine AI video interviews with existing recruitment processes to improve talent acquisition efficiency.

“And admit that the waters around you have grown,

And accept it that soon, you’ll be drenched to the bone… For the times they are a-changin” — Bob Dylan

“. . . companies like Apple, Tesla, IBM, Delta Airlines, and Hilton . . .  no longer require a college degree for an interview. They realize that the mindsets, abilities, and skills gained from life experience can be as valuable as university diplomas in today’s fast-changing world.”

                     (Harvard Business Review February 2023)

Experiential intelligence. Soft skills. Cultural fit. Critical thinking. In the world of business today, these are the buzzwords that do the rounds of HR and recruitment conversations. Worldwide, there is a strong trend towards employers giving the go-by to blind dependence on various pedigrees – degrees from the “right” institute, resumes with shiny qualifications, or past work experience.  The pandemic has fast-forwarded this trend. During that topsy-turvy phase, companies anxious to fill the gaps in their workforce scaled back their standard academic prerequisites for employment and began looking at candidates who were less “qualified” in the traditional sense but possessed more diverse characteristics in terms of lived experiences, socioeconomic background and a can-do attitude. Today, the learnings from these out-of-the-box hiring strategies have translated into employers emphasising interpersonal skills, motivation, abilities and life experiences over well-garnished resumes. Tech companies, for instance, now increasingly seek to test the soft skills of IT professionals instead of relying primarily on certification-based hard skills.

A recent HirePro-SHRM report validates how recruiters have shifted their focus areas in pre-hiring priorities during the last five years:

The question arises – in this new hiring environment, how do recruiters assess candidates to find the right fit?

Functional job analysis – overview

Not surprisingly the answer is, through leveraging the power of technology.  Most enterprises, and increasingly, smaller companies, have come to appreciate the accuracy of data-driven, AI-based screening processes. A Talent Board report from back in 2016 reveals several interesting facts:

• 82% of US companies were using some version of pre-hiring assessment tests
• 54% of companies surveyed used job simulations; another 51% used screening tests for culture fit
• While such tests were once reserved for senior and mid-level managerial positions, they are now widely used for entry-level openings.

For employers wanting to transition from conventional recruitment methods, the way forward is functional job analysis (a.k.a competency assessment)  accompanied by appropriate screening. Here is a brief look at what recruiters should look out for when transitioning to tech-based assessments.

Versatility

The disruptive nature of technology today means that companies must be nimble and adaptive to change. In sync with this environment, job roles too keep morphing or vanishing altogether. Companies that need to change strategic gears or embrace new technologies need a workforce characterised by diverse skills and knowledge. Assessments should accordingly be flexible and versatile in terms of being able to assess the type of roles that candidates will best fit.

Reliability

Increasingly, young and high-skilled tech candidates tend to look askance at lengthy assessments, leading to the development of shortened tests with attractive features like gamification. However, recruiters need to analyse whether the predictive assessments they pick deliver genuine results, especially in areas such as personality testing, for example, where there should be sufficient data to confidently state that specific personal traits are pointers to desired levels of job performance.

Candidate-friendly

While it is important to ensure that the science behind digital assessments is sound, there is no denying the importance of adopting applicant-friendly tests to attract high-quality talent. High dropout rates during the hiring process are a headache for recruiters. This is particularly true of top applicants who, having a wide choice of employers, can reject companies requiring assessments that are overly lengthy or inflexible in terms of time scheduling.

References: 

www2.deloitte.com ,action.deloitte.com,shrm.org,hbr.org

hirepro.in/resources/reports/no-resumes-please-paving-the-way-for-talent-centric-recruitment.