West Unified Communications, a leading innovator in the world of UC, recently published the findings of their survey into more than 700 full-time employees. The survey revealed that hiring processes and talent acquisition found that, up until now, most HR professionals have been reluctant to embrace digital tools. However, the more we explore the impact of things like video interview, the more we discover the potential that technology has to offer in this space.
I sat down for a quick chat with Chris Brown, the Vice President of HR at West Unified Communications, to hear more about his opinion on the latest findings, and where he thinks the hiring environment is headed over the coming years.
What Inspired This Research into Hiring Technology?
The first thing I wanted to know from Chris, is what inspired West UC to begin conducting research into the potential of technology in HR in the first place. Chris was keen to point out that the current workforce is quickly evolving, and hiring professionals are struggling to keep up. As the West study shows, more than two-thirds of all hiring professionals are struggling to recruit in the current market, and other analytics suggest that the situation could worsen, with baby boomers rapidly retiring from the professional world.
"We have a huge remote workforce right now. A lot of employees are working from home, and we're seeing the globalisation of the professional team, but also the opportunity for experts to begin stepping away from the traditional brick-and-mortar office. As more companies step away from those brick-and-mortar environments to save cash and lower lease costs, video interviews and technical hiring practices may become more essential."
In a world where 90% of US adults are seeking new positions online, and businesses are looking for ways to embrace the "remote" standard for work, it may be that video interviews and virtual hiring practices quickly become the new norm. Indeed, as West UC pointed out in their research, 59% of virtual career fair attendees received offers from them, compared to only 49% of traditional career fair attendees.
So, How Does Technology Make Hiring Easier for the HR Manager?
Since research suggests that employers can spend up to two months trying to fill a vacant position, it seems obvious that a naturally streamlined process like video conferencing might be able to streamline and expedite the hiring process. Chris told me that West had begun to find that with video interviews, they could potentially cut down the lengthy and costly cycle of hiring, while improving candidate experiences at the same time.
"With video interviewing, companies can cut down on the amount of hiring managers that have to go into an interview and ask the same questions time and time again. Instead, a HR professional could record crucial information, and start to create a sort of profile that they can share with other members of the team."
"By capturing information through video, hiring managers can adapt their techniques for interviewing, and become more tactical with their questions - making sure that they address the things that really matter to the business."
West UC found that, by bringing a technical side to the HR process, they could cut down the number of interviews that both HR managers, and candidates have to sit through, while simultaneously improving the amount of valuable information accessed from a candidate.
"We found that it shrunk our "days to fill" down from about 63 to 42 in one department."
Ultimately, it just cuts down the decision-making process required for new hires.
Your Survey Didn't Show Much Love for Video Interviews, is That a Generational Problem?
West UC's survey shows that 79% of people prefer in-person interviews, while only 4% would choose a video interview given the option. I wanted to know whether Chris thought these statistics might have changed if the survey had split the baby boomer generation, from the millennials.
Chris noted that millennials are far more eager to adopt video, as they're the natural technically-enhanced workforce. While many people believe that face-to-face interviews give them an edge in the hiring field by allowing them to control various factors and view body language signatures - that may not be the case. Video interviews can also allow for similar face-to-face insights, and as companies look for ways to make the hiring process more "automated", it's likely that traditional interviews will quickly become a thing of the past.
