Category: Video Recruitment

While it became increasingly popular not out of choice, but rather necessity, virtual recruitment has rapidly become normal practice for many recruitment agencies and internal HR departments.

While Covid-19 was the driving force behind shifting to a completely virtual recruitment process for many organisations, for those that had perhaps not used or been experienced to it, the overwhelming response to its effectiveness has been extremely positive.

As the pandemic slowly becomes under control and the world starts to heal, the ability to now do face-to-face interviews again is slowly becoming more acceptable and available to both agencies and in-house recruiters. However, now that the knowledge, skills and technology is readily available to conduct virtual recruitment, the real question is will we ever go back?

How do Recruiters feel about Virtual Recruitment?

In recent research conducted by LinkedIn, over 1,500 hiring professionals were surveyed about their perceptions of virtual recruitment and the impact that it’s hard on them over the pandemic. 

The key finding from the survey was that a massive 81% of talent professionals agreed that virtual recruiting will continue post Covid (LinkedIn). Additionally, 70% of those talent professionals believe that virtual recruiting will become the new norm for all recruiters.  

Breaking down the data collected further, recruiters commented on how this could potentially differ depending on the experience levels required of individual candidates. The research revealed that when hiring for entry level or junior positions, it could be entirely possible that the whole hiring process is conducted virtually. With a candidate ultimately not setting foot in the office until they are onboarded. 

For executive or more experienced positions however, recruiters expect that it will be a more individualised process. Likely involving a mixture of both virtual and face-to-face interviews, or an entirely face-to-face and one on one interview process. 

Where do Candidates want to Work?

These new changes in recruiting are also representative of the shift in the overall workforce. With many employees now preferring to work virtually, it’s no doubt that they would prefer to conduct the hiring process online also. 

As often the first person a candidate will come into contact with when applying for a new role, recruiters are often the first and best people to get an indication of the wants and needs from the wider workforce.

In research conducted by HR Director, it was found that 73% of all employees surveyed wanted to work from home for two thirds of their working week and would rather only spend around a third (36%) of their time working from the office.

On the other end of the scale, the same research showed that only a fifth of total respondents were interested in working remotely 100% of the time. With only 7% wanting to work from the office full time. Demonstrating a drastic change from how work was conducted pre-pandemic.

 

At Discovered, we opened our business during the midst of the pandemic. Which means that from day one we’ve been completely across how important it is to conduct efficient virtual recruitment. We specialise in video interviewing, bringing new technology into recruitment which helps us match candidates with companies better than ever. 

If you’re looking to hire new staff, we conduct professional video interviewing to fully screen and match somebody who will completely align with your company’s values. Get in touch with our team here for more information on how.

 

Written by Ebony McCabe for Discovered People

 

 

Telephone interviews were once used as a way to speed up the hiring process. Now we’re all for that, but with the rise of video interviewing platforms we believe that telephone interviews are a thing of the past. Here’s our three main reasons why.

Never Miss a Candidate 

First off, we’re all super busy. Which means it’s not always possible to find half an hour or more to have a conversation with a candidate over the phone or in person. It becomes even more difficult if the candidate is still in a different role or interviewing at multiple places. 

This is where video interviews can allow flexibility for both parties via a link for candidates to answer at a time that suits them. It also means that you’re able to screen a higher volume of candidates in a shorter timeframe.  

Improved Screening

Next up, there’s the added advantage of being able to actually see shortlisted candidates over video before deciding whether to progress them to the next stage or not. Unlike with phone interviews, video will give you a much better indication of the candidate’s fit. 

You’ll be able to assess their mannerisms and gauge how confident they are, or if they’re struggling to make eye contact. You can see how they’re dressed and if they’re smiling or not, none of which can be done by phone. Yes, in a phone interview candidates will answer your questions and it can help speed things up, but the added advantage video offers takes the screening process to a whole new level. 

More Control, Less Investment 

With video interviews you have complete visibility and greater control of the entire interviewing process. At Discovered People we use software that can easily record and create a shortlist of candidates that have been through our video screening and best meet your criteria. You don’t have to take our word for it that the candidate is a good fit for the role, you can see for yourself through recorded video interviews. 

The shortlisted candidate videos will appear in your own dashboard, with their CVs and any other documents you’ve requested attached. You can then watch their videos and read all accompanying documents at a time that suits you. By the time you’re ready to meet the candidate yourself, you’re already way ahead of the game. Which means avoiding spending an hour with a candidate who you’ve discounted in the first five minutes, but feel obliged to meet.

Don’t Get Hung Up

So when weighing up the pros and cons, it’s clear phone interviews have had their day. Video interviewing allows us to provide a much better service to you, plus it gives your candidates a better experience too.

 

Looking to hire? Get in touch with our team here. 

 

 

With the new norm of self-isolating and non-essential travel in place, remote recruiting, hiring and onboarding is the only way to go for non-essential workers to carry on business as usual.  

As recruitment experts we’ve pulled together some tips and tricks below on how to best help your new staff get onboarded.

 

  • Set Expectations from the Interview Process

The recruitment process is the beginning of the onboarding experience for the candidate, especially for remote employees. It’s really important that expectations are set from the interview stage. 

Be aware of the common struggles for remote workers and share your ideas for solutions to these problems. Managing workloads, ill-defined hours of work, and lack of accountability are always amongst remote workers’ top negative feedback. 

Be transparent and honest about workload, hours of work, and any key performance goals for their role. Defining these at an early stage will help you avoid confusion or conflict further down the line. 

  • Create a Process

Take some time to create a foolproof remote onboarding checklist. While you may already have one for new hires, be sure you have a seperate one for remote hires. While some points may remain the same, others won’t be relevant and others will have to be created especially.

You always want new staff to feel comfortable as soon as possible, so think about what tools and information they’ll need to get up to speed and always be as detailed as possible. If your office manager, or the employee themselves are responsible for fulfilling a checkpoint, they should know exactly what they need to do. Be clear about this so your employee can have a much better experience as a new-starter.

  • Make Them Feel Welcome

While some things like your company handbook, offer letter and contract can be sent digitally, others need some advanced planning. This is a great opportunity to also send a welcome package in the mail. Little things non-remote employees would have, such as branded hoodies, notepads and pens will help them feel appreciated in their new role from day one. It doesn’t have to be huge, but something a little extra that says ‘Welcome to the team!’ will make them feel included with your company.

  • Connect Your Team

Helping your new employee meet the team is easy when they’re in the office. This definitely is a little trickier with remote workers, but don’t let that be a reason to not do it. It’s a better experience for them to do this over video, so the new starter can still put faces to names. This will also help curb the feelings of isolation and nervousness about reaching out to others with questions, while also helping them get a sense of the company’s culture. 

Not feeling properly part of the business can be really disheartening for a new start, which in turn is likely to hinder their performance. So make sure they know the social calendar so they can join in on events, even if it is just on a video platform.

  • Ask what works for them, accommodate and adapt 

Take the time to ask your new hires about their preferences for things you are prepared to be flexible on as a company. This can be things from how they’d prefer to hear feedback, take meetings, or be issued tasks. Taking the time to hear their thoughts gives them confidence that as a company you’re prepared to listen to them and consider their specific needs. 

  • Keep Learning

Since remote onboarding is looking like it will become the new norm, make sure you continually nail your onboarding process. A great way to do this is by asking your new starters for feedback on how they found the onboarding process and if they have any suggestions on how to improve for future remote employees.

 

Looking for more tips and tricks on hiring new staff? Be sure to stay tuned and check in with the Discovered People blog.

If you need help finding new staff, be sure to contact us here.