The Rise of Video Interviews: Trends and Tips for HR Professionals

Modern human resource management has constantly been through change, and especially due to the ever-advancing technology in today’s world, the hiring process has not been spared. One of the most popular trends of the last years is related to video interviews. Thanks to the expansion of the tools for remote working and the essence of employing people in modern organizations, the video interviews are widely used among HR specialists . This method is quite advantageous in many ways inclusive of timeconsuming, costly, and easily accessible but this method is also associated with numerous drawbacks. HR specialists should know the trends and peculiarities related to video interview so as to outcompete other companies.

Why Video Interviews Are Becoming Popular

The following aspects have made video interviews to gain popularity and become part of the current trend in human resource management.

Remote Work Culture

As a result of the continued emergence of the work from home concept especially after the COVID 19 outbreak, organizations are not limited to geographical locations when recruiting the human resource. Video interviews enable human resource practitioners to conduct interviews physically with candidates from different places without physical meetings. This increases the talent base, which in turn means that it is easier to hire the right candidate for the position irrespective of the geographical location of the candidate.

Cost and Time Efficiency

Video interviews remove the expenses of traveling, accommodation, and any other logistical factors that are incurred with face to face interviews. They also help to convene time for the interviewer as well as the interviewee. Scheduling becomes more flexible and interview can be done swiftly hence fast hiring.

Technological advancements

There are now companies that make use of video interview systems that capture the candidate’s answers to some standard questions. This ensures that fairness is maintained in the interview so that, different human resource teams can compare the different candidates better. It also helps to minimize the interviewer’s influence, since the candidates are answering to the similar questions.

Pre-recorded Video Interviews

More and more firms now apply pre-recorded video interviewing where the candidates record their answers to some standard questions. This helps to maintain consistency when conducting interviews, in a way that allows the HR teams to put the candidates through a more equally comparable assessment. It also helps eliminate interviewer bias, because candidates are answering to the same questions.

Data-Driven Decision Making

The big advantage of video interviews is that HR professionals can record, watch, and evaluate the answers of the candidates. It can be referred back while proceeding to other stages of selection where better decision making can be made. It also allows several people to watch interviews hence increasing collaboration in hiring.

Three important trends are prominent in video interviews.

Easy, fast and effective, Video Interviewing is becoming more popular and here, are most trends that are ongoing and defining the future of the hiring process.

AI-Powered Interviews

It is noteworthy that artificial intelligence is one of the drivers of video interviewing. Employers may use algorithms to monitor candidate’s speech and their non-verbal communication and even pitch at which they talk in order to evaluate their fitness to work at the company. As applied ethically these insights HR professionals are in a better position to understand more about the candidates than before.

Asynchronous Video Interviews

In the asynchronous video interview, the question part is presented to the candidate, to which the candidate makes a recorded response, and the interviewer views the responses at their own time. This approach can be convenient to every candidate and interviewing manager because of the differences in time zones.

Mobile Amiable Interview tools

Afraid that the candidates will be accessing the interviews through mobile devices, the HR professionals are going for the video interview platforms that are mobile-friendly. This enables the candidate to attend and conduct an interview from their smartphone or tablet, which makes the issue easier.

Measures to Follow When Conducting Video Interviews

Video interviews have useful aspects, but we should be prepared for them to produce a positive result. Here are some tips for HR professionals to get the most out of video interviews:

Choose the Right Technology

The questions that should guide the selection of the said interview platform are: How secure is the platform? Is the platform easy to use by HR professionals and candidates? Most people know the general video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Skype and then there are more specific video interview platforms like HireVue and SparkHire. This way the candidate is able to test the technology and iron out any technological flaws that may come up during the testing stage of the interview.

Prepare Your Candidates

Many candidates may not be sure about the rules of video interviews , so it is necessary to explain that. Tell them how they can find the interview, what they will need for the interview, they need stable internet connection, need the camera to be in proper working condition and a working microphone and any software that they will require should be downloaded before the interview. It is also possible to offer a candidates a practice session, that can make candidates feel more at ease.

Due to limited time, set a professional environment

As with face-to-face interviews, there is the context into consideration following the results of the video interview. Make sure that the environment you choose is neutral or corporate-looking, and not busy or distracting. Other important aspects in order to perform the interaction fluently are the lightning and clear audio.

Maintain Eye Contact

Clenching the jaws or even blinking may occur due to tiredness, and most importantly, candidates can easily avoid eye contact because, during a video interview, fixing your gaze on the candidate on the screen feels normal compared to maintaining eye contact with the camcorder. But, perhaps, the most positive nonverbal cue is a lack of avoidance, when one looks directly into the camera, thus, into a lens.

Focus on Non-Verbal Cues

Unlike face to face interviews whereby the candidate has a physical interaction with the interviewer, video interviews therefore extra emphasis on gesture, eye contact and vocal inflection. They can help to gain good information about a personality and confidence of a candidate.

Have a Backup Plan

That is always possible due to technical problems. There should always be a contingency plan especially when there are always issues regarding connection to the internet. It does not matter whether you are postponing the interview or opting to conduct it over the phone, there must be a contingency plan to pass on to the candidate just in case something goes wrong.

Follow Up Promptly

Respond to candidates quickly after the video interview has been conducted. Sometimes this type of delay can give a poor perception of your business and can even lead to you losing your best employees. This will help set a tone for the next steps, or offer feedback, that will keep the process moving.

Conclusion

Video interviews are indeed now part of the solutions because they create a new type of solutions in the field of hiring. Thanks to these developments such as the use of AI in analysis, interview through asynchronous video interviews and more enhanced candidate experience, the current and any future HR professional must be prepared and also familiarise with these trends all in equal proportions. With the help of proper technological applications and trends, the Human Resource teams should be able to reduce their efforts and time while hiring and should be able to identify the right talent for their organization.