HR Pulse - Spring 2008 - (Page 27) nization—all the managers have to do is sit down at their computers and click. You also can capture interviews of distant candidates anywhere in North America (and beyond) and make them available on demand to both your HR staff and hiring managers. Video interviewing cannot, of course, replace a face-to-face interview. It simply inserts itself into the HR equation after a resume or application has been received, when an organization would otherwise conduct telephone screenings or be in the position of having a larger applicant pool than is desirable. Common Questions Whenever organizations are thinking about how they might use this new capability, they tend to ask the same questions. Let me answer those common questions here. Q. Is video interviewing the same as video conferencing? No. With video conferencing, people on both ends of the connection have to schedule time for each interview. With structured, Web-based video interviews, only the job seeker has to schedule time to record the interview. Once it is recorded, the video interview is available for the appropriate people to review anytime and as often as they like. Q. What makes video interviews effective? There are two main things that make this approach effective, regardless of industry. First, video interviews digitize—and therefore automate—one of the last “manual” HR processes. In the pre-interview part of the hiring process, organizations use the Internet, online job boards, electronic sourcing, and e-mail to find and communicate with candidates. Once people are hired, their payroll and benefits are managed electronically. Yet the part in between—the whole interview process—has been sorely lacking in innovation. Second, video interviewing inverts a common workflow process to make it much more streamlined and efficient. More than a century ago, Henry Ford realized that putting cars on an assembly line so they moved from one part to the next—rather than taking parts to each individual car—saved significant time and money. The same concept holds true when it comes to interviewing job candidates. By taking the candidate to the reviewers via video interviews—rather than requiring individual reviewers come to meet the candidate—time and money are better spent. Q. Isn’t there a potential problem for discrimination with video interviewing? I’ve been told not to include a photo with my resume, so how is it possible to do this? Structured, job-specific video interviews are not a problem and can actually help reduce legal exposure and increase Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) compliance. First, an application/resume must be received and screened before an applicant is invited to tape a video interview. Second, every candidate for a given position is provided an identical, standardized interview, which means everyone is treated the same. Video interviews are probably more EEO compliant than human interviewers could ever be. Here is another way to look at the difference. A photo attached to a resume provides only information about a candidate’s race, gender, ethnicity, age, etc., which are all protected groups. A video interview, on the other hand, provides information about a candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities, all of which are legal bases on which you can make hiring decisions. Q. What are the results of video interviewing in our industry? Everyone asks this question. There is a tendency for people to think that their own profession is so different that it cannot share the same experience as other professions. I frequently hear that a particular organization or industry would not be receptive to implementing video interviewing because their HR professionals pride themselves on building rapport with candidates, emphasizing the personal touch, etc. The truth is, we have seen startling results in every organization and industry that has made video interviewing an integral part of its recruitment and placement process. Here are just a few examples of results from different organizations: • Doubling of intake capacity from 150 interviews per week to 300 with the same HR staff • 50 to 75 percent increase in HR productivity to meet staffing requirements • Overwhelmingly positive reaction in organizations with 100,000 employees and 700 hiring managers in one division • 77 percent cost savings, 60 percent time savings, and time to hire reduced by 20 days • 150 percent improvement in candidate placement • Recruiting trips cut by 60 percent • 50 percent cost savings, 80 percent time savings, and time to hire reduced by 30 days. The most recent validation from a hospital group came from Manatee Memorial Hospital and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center (LWRMC) in Manatee County, Fla. LWRMC captured video interviews of candidates in multiple states for a radiology director position and obtained a 50 percent cost avoidance compared to flying candidates in, which they would have done if they had not known about video interviews. The video interviews were distributed to 10 reviewers throughout the group in HR and senior management. Manatee Memorial then used the same technology to capture an interview for a clinical care educator candidate who was already well known to the primary contact 27 HR Pulse Spring 2008 >>
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