Case Study: How virtual interviewing can augment live video interviews

In several previous articles we have discussed how video-based, virtual interviews can benefit recruitment and talent selection processes. Given how efficient, quick and cost-effective such technologies are, it is perhaps not surprising that organizations from various sectors have capitalized on this opportunity. Virtual interviewing can obviously replace traditional telephonic screening, face-to-face interviewing, or live video interviews. But what might not be as widely known is how virtual interviewing technology can augment live interviews as well.

In today’s post, we examine such an example. Recently, TTS’s product partner, RecRight, was able to advance a client’s traditional interview methods through the application of asynchronous virtual interviewing.

The client challenge

The client, a well-regarded, internationally recognized university and research institute in the EU, had a need to recruit higher quality researchers in a highly subscribed and competitive market.

Previously, their methods of using only traditional, live video interviews (e.g. using Skype-like technologies) resulted in a relatively slow recruitment cycle.

Another problem was that the quality of candidates were variable, and the interview panel often experienced frustration during live interviewing when unsuitable candidates arrived for interviews.

Given the competitive nature of this research field, combined with the university’s ambition and goal to become a pre-eminent role-player in the global research community, the talent team decided to augment their approach using RecRight’s semi-structured virtual interviews.

The virtual interviewing solution

The talent team applied RecRight’s virtual interviewing to check the candidate’s communication skills, presentability, and research interests.

These constructs were selected because, in the past, much time had been wasted when candidates either did not have the capacity to present their findings to international audiences (a key responsibility for the researcher role) or when their research interests did not align with that of the university’s research institute.

Using RecRight’s simple, easy-to-use interface, the talent team set up multiple virtual interviews. Right away, they noticed that their potential pool of recruits was expanded.

Because candidates did not have to align their diaries with that of the university’s interview panel, the talent team could cast their net far wider (and more efficiently) than would normally have been the case.

The outcome: Virtual interviewing enhances traditional interviews

One of virtual interviewing’s primary advantages is the efficiency of interviewing:

Candidates can record their responses at any time and place, and because they are allowed to re-record answers, they perceive the process to be very fair and transparent.

Of course, from the interviewer’s point of view, the same benefits of flexibility apply.

These are unique advantages of virtual interviews that face-to-face or live video interviewing simply do not offer.

As a result, the university’s recruitment team could work through double the number of candidates they would normally interview in a live video context.

Other immediate benefits included:

  • Having a wider and more diverse base of candidates to select from
  • Immediately screening out candidates who did not have sufficient communication skills or whose research interests clearly did not align with the role
  • Focusing quickly on high-potential candidates while sifting out candidates who are obviously unsuited to the role very rapidly

Because of the above benefits, the recruitment team found that they could send twice as many candidates to the next stage. This stage was a more traditional, manager-lead live video interview.

There was one unexpected, but welcome side-effect. Managers who interviewed the virtual interview-screened candidates complained that the quality of candidates were so high in comparison to previous years, that it made their decision process quite difficult!

Given this advantage, the university was able to hire double the normal number of researchers during their recruitment cycle, thus furthering the organizational goal of becoming a pre-eminent research entity in the region.

Another key finding: Despite the virtual interview phase being added to the recruitment process, the talent team found that their time-to-hire did not increase at all, which speaks volumes of the efficiency and speed of RecRight’s virtual interviewing solution.

Final thoughts & conclusions

During the current world-wide pandemic and consequent forced social distancing, many companies are necessarily turning to live video interviews for their recruitment needs.

Despite this venerable technology’s stability, it often inherits exactly the same disadvantages of traditional face-to-face interviews, such as:

  • Ineffective logistical arrangements and diary juggling
  • The problem of bias in live interviewing
  • Candidates only have one opportunity to impress an interview panel, leading to an increased risk of false negatives and rejection of high potential candidates

Using RecRight’s virtual interviewing solution, the client was able to overcome these disadvantages as well as cast their recruitment net fsar wider than before.

Because virtual interviewing has low levels of bias, high transparency, and incredible efficiency, the results showed a clear benefit for using these interviews to augment live interviews.

If you would like to know more about TTS’s virtual interviewing solutions, why not email us at info@tts-talent.com? We’re looking forward to consulting with you!