Many things have changed over the last few years. One major shift has been working from home and conducting meetings via video conferencing. While some are happy to be back in the office, it is likely that video conferencing is here to stay.

Managers and HR staff also use Zoom or another video platform to meet with potential new hires. According to a recent poll by the Indeed job site, 82% of the 1,100 respondents said they used video platforms when interviewing candidates. Ninety-three percent said that they would continue to use video in the future.

Better for employer and employee

Many miss the face-to-face contact that we used to take for granted, but there are certain advantages to using video interviews.

The benefits for the employer include:

• Recruiters can draw from a broader and more diverse talent pool.
• Recruiters can sift through the interviews more quickly, perhaps starting with a standard list of questions before targeting desired candidates.
• The video format can speed the interview-to-hire process.
• More staff can review more candidates because of the faster process.

Benefits for the candidates include:

• No travel time to do an interview.
• More flexibility regarding when they do the interview.
• The candidate can interview from the comfortable setting of their home or current workspace.

Formalizing the use of video for interviews

Video and in-person interviews are quite different, so it is essential to have specific protocols and standards when interviewing candidates. One step can be to require all candidates to do the initial interview via video, even if they live locally or already have a position within the company. Staff could then independently rate these video clips, thus avoiding individual biases. The next step would be to offer the opportunity for all selected candidates to interview in person (if they are able and willing to do so).

Recruiters and HR staff can create a formal journey for candidates. They can personalize to accommodate preferred methods for communication and interviewing. Yet, at the same time, there are established formal guidelines to ensure that all hiring is as fair and unbiased as possible. Ideally, this will better avoid hiring violations and enable companies to choose their best candidate confidently.