John Sumser Reviews HireVue on HRExaminer.com
John Sumser gets to the core of why HireVue is so much more than video.
Today, I conducted yet another interview on Skype. I routinely use videoconferencing in either Skype or Google to do business outside of domestic American borders. Like many technical things, the rest of the world is fairly well ahead of the US in communications technologies.
It happened while we weren’t looking. While there is sure to be a real mobile boom, with all sorts of interesting recruitment advertising schemes, it will be while the US catches up to the rest of the world where mobile advertising is mainstream. The same holds true with video communications (unless you are a Mac user). The rest of the world is quickly grabbing on to trans-global video communications. The range runs from Cisco’s astonishing products to the more humble laptop based chat tools.
I have not been a fan of the idea that video interview companies were going to be able to add value in the HR marketplace for a sustained period. I’ve had more than one CEO hang up in frustration when I asked, “How is this different from having a telephone?” In most cases, it isn’t. Simple bandwidth offerings, posed as something else, will be early roadkill. Video calls will be as common as telephone calls in a couple of years. The technology is already good enough.
Last week, though, I had an amazing call with Mark Newman, CEO of HireVue. The company, which grew by 800% last year, is rooted in the delivery of pain reduction for the talent acquisition process. The flagship video interviewing tool is just a gateway to a company that makes hay reducing cycle time. I’ve been peppering him with the ‘video can’t be the only thing’ query for more than a year. But, I’d never seen the product up close.
