3 Insights Gained from Virtual Interview Meetings

Explore a new genre of recruitment software called interview intelligence, which is a result of turning virtual interview meetings into data and action plans.

I recently introduced "Remote Interview Analytics" by sharing information about why gather remote interview data and where interview analytics are going.

Let's talk about the efficacies and insights gained - first, does it matter?

Today's Challenges.

Recruiting is challenged by the migration of employees, from either by the Great Resignation, low unemployment, or recent hiring freezes and layoffs by well-known companies.  Truth be told, recruiting / hiring is rarely easy. If it were, there would be no need to gather insights or even hire sourcers or recruiters. We would all work in a Disney-esque world of, "You get a dream job, and you get a dream job, and you, and you, and you..."

Twenty plus years ago - when I was a recruiter, recruiting was difficult. Virtual interviewing was just starting to be utilized but no data was gathered to improve the process. We were flying by the seat of our pants and booking internet-based video conference calls at the local FedEx|Kinkos, as this was pre-Skype and certainly pre-Zoom. How far we have come.

You Cannot Change What You Don't Measure.

It's unimaginable to NOT gather data. Yet, most don't. Spreadsheets or paper files and folders are still how many recruiters manage their open requisitions — demonstrating how much humans are creatures of habit. Without data, you cannot change course or adjust action to continually streamline the process.

Why streamline? Efficiency is necessary considering that "50% of companies lose out on quality candidates because of poor interviewing processes", says Madeline Laurano of Aptitude Research.

How do you avoid being part of that 50%? By gathering interview data and then, using the data you gather to adjust your process.

3 Powerful Insights from Virtual Interview Data

1. Signals of Unconscious Bias
   What have we really done about improving unconscious bias? Honestly, not a lot. By watching for key signals of bias, positive adjustments can be made to the hiring process. First, do we have a strong understanding of what unconscious bias is? "These biases, which encompass both favorable and unfavorable assessments, are activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control." Often, attitudes and the stereotypes we hold in our minds are not on-purpose - they are involuntarily impact how we think and feel about a person, it could be as severe as their race or gender or as not as harmful as the university that a person attended. If you are not aware of biases they hold, there is no chance improvement can occur.  
   
2. What Candidates Experience
   The recruiting headline over the past fifteen plus years continues to be candidate experience.  It's pretty simple: you aren't asking candidates about their experience and how they feel, how do you know? A bad interview impacts the hiring company in many ways: bad press, missing the opportunity to improve the process and the employer brand. Understanding the experiences job seekers face and how they feel about those experiences has a direct impact on improving employer brand. How can improvements be made to the interview experience if it is unknown what needs to change?  It's time to actively listen to what candidates are talking about and what they are reacting to.
   
3. Empathy
   We are aligned with the work of  Grin Lord and her work at mPathic,
   “How do we measure empathy, how can people integrate it so they become truly empathic and not just corrected in their speech or time, but how do they change their behavior? That, to me, is most important. Can we take these and help people become better listeners to be more compassionate at scale?”

Caring - really caring - about candidates and all people we interact with changes those relationships, what is given, what is expected.  And that, ultimately, positively impacts success, employees, and leadership.

Virtual Interview Meetings Is The New Source Of Data.

Update and modernize your recruiting processes and virtual interview practices by measuring what's happening and then study the use the data gathered to make positive changes.

Like diversity, empathy has to be more than a statement or culture play. We can seek to learn and understand as much as we can about interviewees AND also shift tactics.

You cannot change what you don't measure.