How is video technology revolutionising recruitment?

In the fast-paced world of recruitment, anything that encourages efficiency whilst enhancing human-to-human communication is welcome. Therefore, it’s perhaps not surprising to learn that the advent of video technology has been quietly revolutionising the hiring process. At PageGroup, we’ve been at the forefront of embracing video platforms such as HireView and Hinterview, and have seen their use by our consultants rise steadily by 25% to 35% each month. The following is what we’ve learned.

How and why is this happening?

The speed and efficiency of these platforms are the primary attractions for recruiters. In recruitment, peer-to-peer communication, assessment and consultation remain the same. In terms of how things might evolve in the future of recruitment, we’re seeing video interviewing come in a lot more. This could mean recording short interviews with candidates so the client gets a flavour of them, above and beyond their CV, or recording videos of ourselves as recruiters. We become more than a voice on the phone or a person sending an email.

The need for the human element

The technology is exciting, but there are also reasons to be wary. We need to ensure that video is being used in the right way. Recruitment will always be a person-to-person exercise, and although technology continues to advance the way we work, it is obvious that our people fuel the organisations as much as the candidates and our clients do. In terms of white-collar recruitment and more senior roles, it will always be necessary for candidates to meet consultants or hiring managers about career opportunities and potential candidates. However, the first contact could be made via video before you schedule a face-to-face meeting later in the process.

Some people are likely to be more effective in front of the camera than others. Younger generations have grown up in an era of vlogging, FaceTime and selfies, so may be more comfortable with video. It is important to take this into account when you assess the skills of a potential candidate using video technology. However, the effort will have to go both ways – recruiters and hiring managers must understand the opportunities and limitations of the technology, and candidates will have to evolve their approaches to ensure they can appear at their best via video.  

The future for video

We predict huge opportunities for video in the blue-collar recruitment market and the gig economy over the next 10 years. Combined with artificial intelligence (AI), video will become an extremely powerful tool for hiring managers. For one thing, it will save recruiters and hiring managers considerable time assessing applications. In the gig economy, particularly, organisations often require large numbers of people on temporary contracts, so it’s easy to see why video interviewing is increasingly popular in this space.

The benefits of different tools

The working world has changed hugely over the past 20 years. Email has replaced faxes and the internet has become ubiquitous. Skype has already begun to transform telephone communications, and interviewing thorough this platform has become more widespread. We predict that it will go further and will act as a tool to show potential candidates what it would be like to work for a particular organisation. This is already happening on social media channels such as LinkedIn and on some ‘work for us’ areas of websites, where employers use video to outline core beliefs and cultural values.

Businesses need a competitive edge when it comes to recruitment and attraction strategies. Using video to enhance and present their employee value proposition will help to encourage a new wave of workers to apply for their vacancies and aspire to work for their business. Video is a versatile technology and we anticipate it will continue to grow in years to come.