HireVue and Taleo have joined forces to offer a more effective recruiting process at a fraction of the cost. Taleo customers can now launch HireVue’s award winning video interviewing solution directly from Taleo Enterprise. To show you how you can benefit, HireVue and Taleo are proud to bring you:

• Directly reduces recruitment costs & travel
• Decreases length of your talent searches
• Ensures candidate fit and quality
• Improves first year retention
• Enables the ability to bring your employment brand to life

This is a free webinar but seats are limited so be sure to reserve yours today.

Featured Speakers:

Melissa McMahon
Senior Director, Talent Acquisition
CDW

Lorna Hagen
Vice President, Talent Management
Dow Jones & Company

Josh Schwede
Vice President, Business Development
HireVue, Inc.

There’s a lot of buzz of late around using video interviews in the recruiting process. Sure, talking to candidates via webcam over the Internet provides a ton of cost savings. Plus it really helps shorten time-to-hire on the right candidates. But what happens once the interview is over?  Nothing…unless you conducted the interview. What about the others on the hiring team who have input into the hire?

This is why having a platform that records your video job interviews is so valuable. It allows the hiring team to see the same thing as the interviewer and allows the hiring team to collaborate.

You know what is even cooler?  REAL candidate comparison. At HireVue, we offer our 1-way Virtual Interviews in addition to 2-way Live Interviews. Our clients typically use the Virtual product after a phone screen, but before an interactive interview (over the Internet or face to face). The Virtual Interview is done on a broader set of candidates (approx 7-10) where all of the candidates answer the same set of questions, which are configured by our clients. When the candidate completes the Virtual Interview, it is available in HireVue for the hiring team to review.

This is where the “Killer App” of Video Interviewing lies. Let’s say there are a couple of key competencies or skills that are needed for a particular job opening. Our clients use the HireVue Virtual Interview to ask those questions. Because candidate’s responses are recorded, they can be easily compared using the comparison tools within HireVue. With one click, the reviewer can stay on that same question, but listen to each candidate’s answer. This is REAL candidate comparison and is almost impossible to replicate in normal interviewing cycles. Using HireVue’s Candidate Comparison and Evaluation tools allow the hiring team to get a deep perspective on candidates and really make it easier to decide which candidate should advance in the process.

This is exactly why HireVue exists today…and why companies that use video job interviews are so passionate about our offerings.

2009 was a year full of enormous positive changes here at HireVue with the addition of a new team, new platform, new investors and many new customers. 2010 seems primed for major changes not only at  HireVue but across the entire HR community.

A New Newsletter in 2010

I’m pleased to announce one of our first changes of 2010, THE VUE, a new monthly newsletter from HireVue. You can look to THE VUE each month for news, updates on changes happening at  HireVue and valuable information on video interviewing and recruiting in general. In every issue you’ll hear from me or one of the HireVue staff. We’ll make sure you know what’s going on at HireVue and perhaps share a thought or two related to current events. Sometimes we’ll focus on video interviewing and sometimes we won’t but I’ll make you this promise – whatever we have to say, it will always be relevant and may even be insightful and entertaining.

We’ve also asked a number of writers in the HR community to contribute one article each newsletter with helpful tips and best practices in all areas of HR, not just video interviewing. For example, in this month’s issue, NAS’ Caroline Slomski opens our eyes to the promise of mobile recruiting and gives some tips on what can be done to get on board.

For those of you still wondering how video interviewing fits into your talent acquisition strategy or for those of you who’ve implemented it but want to find other ways to use it, we’ll include a customer success story each month to help you see how others are using HireVue. Also, whenever possible we’ll include special content such as  white papers, webinar recordings, articles and other things you need to get and stay fully informed.

To subscribe to the newsletter, go to the HireVue home page and scroll down to the newsletter sign up in the right column.

Planning for Change

If you’re not following John Sumser’s series of articles on preparing for the future of recruiting on ERE.net, you should. In the second article of the series, he recalls that old Eisenhower quote attributed to him during his days as the Commanding General of European and African Allied forces where he was tasked with ending World War II. “The plan is nothing. The plan is everything.” As the quote implies, change is inevitable but that’s not why we plan. Planning simply helps us to survey the field and do our best to consider our options. It might even give us a pretty good map of the battlefield but as Eisenhower well knew, things can get disorienting in the heat of battle and relying on the map alone can get you killed.

The war for talent has been on hiatus but if the economy turns around any time soon it could heat up quick. According to the Washington Post, economists typically look to six elements of the economy when judging its health. When three of the six show significant improvements over a two to three month period, they say recovery is on the way. I took a look at the indicators they suggest and here’s what I found.

1. Jobless Claims - Jobless claims have dropped every week but 1 over the past 20 weeks, reducing weekly claims by nearly 100,000 over that same period. That’s 1 out of 6. (Source – U.S. Dept. of Labor)
2. Durable Goods – New orders for durable goods excluding transportation increased 0.9 percent last month. This is a good sign, but we need to see this positive trend over two or three months and this is the first increase since September. So the score’s still 1 out of 6. (Source – U.S. Dept of Commerce)
3. Existing Home Sales – After a rising surge from September through November, existing-home sales fell as expected in December after first-time buyers rushed to complete sales before the original November deadline for the tax credit. However, prices rose from December 2008 and annual sales improved in 2009. While it’s tough to know for sure if this trend’s for real due to the tax credits, this looks to be a good sign that investors and would-be homeowners are back in the market. I’ll buck my usually skeptical ways and give this a thumbs up – 2 out of 6. (Source National Association of Realtors)
4. Consumer Confidence – The Consumer Confidence Index has risen steadily since October 2009 (about 6%). Economists say that’s enough to expect things to continue trending upward so who am I not to agree. That makes it 3 out of 6. (Source – The Conference Board)
5. Retail Sales – retail sales have improved 1.8% over the past three months adjusted for Holiday sales. I think you get the idea – 4 out of 6. (Source – U.S. Dept. of Commerce)
6. Interest Rate Spread – The Wall Street Journal says that the difference between the yield on risk-free, three-month Treasury bills and the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, a rate at which banks lend to each other is a pretty good indicator of economic health as long as the gap is 1/2 percentage point or less. As of today, it’s 2/10 of a percent. 5 out of 6. (Source Wall Street Journal)

Prepared for Change

From what I can tell, it’s time to start sharpening your swords, the battle looks to be back on! From NPR to your brother-in-law you’ll get no shortage of advice for how to prepare so I’ll make mine short and sweet. Of course it’s related to video interviewing. Don’t panic. “How is that video interviewing related?” You ask. One thing video interviewing does extremely well is support the demands of the current recruiting environment – the one built on the old economy, the one that has you doing more with less – while setting you up for the new paradigms of a recovering economy. So with HireVue you can sit tight and see which way the tide rolls because you’re prepared no matter what happens or how fast it unfolds. Below is a comparison I often share to explain how we do this.

Today: Bear Market

In a Bear Market, HireVue helps you:

• Do more with less since interviews can be conducted and reviewed anywhere, anytime.
• Live with reduced staff.
• Interview anyone even with travel restrictions.
• Improve the quality of your hires since you get a clearer view into your candidate pool.
• Manage high candidate volume.
• Give candidates an opportunity to interview without feeling like they’re jeopardizing their current job.
• Reduce the risk of a bad hire.
• Access passive talent and keep all talent invested in the process.
• Gain greater efficiency from a much simplified process.
• Learn more about the benefits of video job interviewing.

Tomorrow: Bull Market

In a Bull Market HireVue helps you:

• Be more efficient as you scale for growth.
• Push your brand message further.
• Manage high requisition volume.
• Make it easier on high value candidates to pay attention to you.
• Increase your speed-to-hire & improve your workflow.
• Give you a competitive advantage due to ease-of-use and “wow” factor.
• Help you access and find the best candidates in a highly competitive situation.

The future of our space is exciting to think about. Not just the 5-year future but what will transpire in the next twelve months. I’m optimistic about it; even more so after looking under the hood a little at the economic trends, and though, as Eisenhower eluded to, nothing is certain. I think the change we’ll experience between now and this time next year will be positive. Still, you’ll have a lot to think about regardless so if we can help reduce the stress a little with HireVue we’d love to help.

I hope you found this article and, if you received it, the newsletter beneficial. Don’t forget to read Caroline’s article on mobile recruiting, I think you’ll find it incredibly helpful. I’d love to get your feedback on anything so don’t hesitate to drop me an e-mail at mnewman@hirevue.com, and if you’d like to sign up for our newsletter, go to our homepage and scroll down to see the newsletter sign up in the right column.

Sincerely,

Mark

This article also appeared in this month’s issue of THE VUE, HireVue’s monthly newsletter. To sign up, go to the HireVue home page and scroll down to the newsletter sign up on the right.

We can all breathe a sigh of relief. 2009 is officially over. But the last year has brought more than a change in government, home values, and 401(k) plans. Companies battened down the hatches to ride out the economic wave; and, yet, something else has been brewing: The way in which we consume information. We emerged from our safety shelters and entered a world that is more on-demand than ever before. Leading the revolution? The mobile web.

Last Wednesday, Steve Jobs stepped onto Apple’s stage once again to finally announce one of the most highly anticipated mobile devices of our lifetimes. The Apple iPad. The iPad and other similar new generation mobile devices on the way from Research in Motion (RIM), Nokia, Archos and Vliv may not yet be the perfect mobile devices for recruiting due to lack of support for most video file types and critical HR applications but the promise is real and it’s closer than you think. In fact, your candidates have already begun to arrive at the party and they expect you to be there to greet them even if it hasn’t completely started. There are a number of things you can do to ensure they don’t leave before things get really interesting.

First, let’s consider what we have to work with today. The mobile web is exceedingly more diverse an experience than the web interaction you get from your standard desktop or laptop computer because there are so many variables. The iPhone or Google’s Android phones give you a different mobile web experience than say RIM’s BlackBerry devices. A WAP-enabled Nokia phone, a different experience still. The mobile web introduces a completely new set of rules and challenges that the HR community must adopt.

Considering mobile adoption numbers, if you’re committed to delivering a best-in-class candidate experience and to truly engaging A-level talent, here are your steps for getting mobile-ready:

1. Build a mobile career website. Why? Because despite the fact that most phones are not going to support those beautiful flash pieces you spent months perfecting, the mobile web of today is about snackable content. Your mobile career site is the online equivalent to the 30-second elevator pitch. Deliver only the most essential information and don’t forget to consider your visitors’ needs.
2. Forget about “apply now” for the moment. Your online job application forms are not compatible with most of today’s web-enabled mobile phones. But you can’t afford to miss an opportunity to engage these visitors. Instead of driving them to your application, encourage them to complete a short form that includes their email address and area of interest. Add these names to your talent network and push out relevant career and company information.
3. Expand your communication channels. A mobile-ready site brings with it a whole slew of new communication venues to add to your sourcing strategy: 1) Mobile search marketing, expected to grow to a $2.9 billion business by 2013; 2) Mobile banners, which typically receive much higher click-through-rates than the traditional online banners; and 3) Text messaging, now more popular than calling.

The good news? Until the richer mobile experience promised by the next generation mobile devices, mobile websites work today, and, as compared to your traditional sites, they’re relatively inexpensive to build. If you have already built a strong career website, your transition into the mobile space should be pretty painless. The bad news? You can’t wait any longer to take action. Ask your agency or web analytics team to report on site traffic from mobile phones over the last 18-months. Now consider the growth that the mobile web is experiencing. Do you want your name equated with a poor user experience or as a “johnny-come-lately?” Can your hiring efforts afford to let A-level talent pass through your site without leaving behind their information?

Caroline Slomski is a Digital Marketing Strategist & Consultant for NAS Recruiting Communications focusing on employment branding, website design and online strategy. You can follow Caroline on Twitter @CarolineSlomski.

This article also appeared in this month’s issue of THE VUE, HireVue’s monthly newsletter. To sign up, go to the HireVue home page and scroll down to the newsletter sign up on the right.

Below is an excerpt from a recent SHRM article discussing the adoption of Video Interviewing technology. HireVue is discussed prominently.

Melissa McMahon, senior director of talent acquisition for CDW, a technology services firm in Vernon Hills, Ill., knew something had to be done to reduce the time managers were committing to first-round evaluations of candidates.

That growing responsibility was eating into their bread and butter, which was developing strategy, selling product and coaching their sales teams.

“We were flying our top four or five candidates in for interviews, and it was literally taking a full day or more of our sales managers’ time,” McMahon says. Not only that, but each interview for new sales associates was ringing up close to $1,000 in candidate travel costs.

So McMahon turned to a solution that’s gained increased favor among human resource leaders—the one-way recorded video interview. Working with vendor HireVue, McMahon created a system where job candidates can log onto a web site and answer a series of prerecorded interview questions while speaking into a webcam. CDW sales managers later log on to the site, review the video interviews and determine which of the candidates to bring in for face-to-face interviews.

… Read the full SHRM Video Interview Article. Or call us at 1.800.655.4106 for more information.

Many of our clients are finding that they save between 5 and 10 times what they spend on HireVue, much of that in travel related expenses. We often work with our clients on their hiring plans to help them consider where video interviewing will have the most impact. The results usually include a full ROI study. For a full needs analysis and ROI study on your 2010 hiring plans e-mail Katie Pierce at kpierce@hirevue.com or call toll-free 1.800.655.4106 or direct .801.260.9961.

Video Enabled Talent Acquisition Webinar Q&A

Q: Is video introducing any bias in the process of hiring?
A: This is a question that was asked to Carol Miaskoff, Associate Legal Counsel at the office the EEOC at the ERE conference last fall and her response was that as long as employers carefully define their hiring practices and ensure that they follow them,  (which they should be doing regardless of whether using video or not) there is little risk of introducing bias to the hiring process. For example, a company who provides every single candidate that undergoes a video interview with the same level of technical support, preparation coaching on things like lighting, sound and other video related elements, the same question set and time to answer questions, there is little room for any bias that might not also be present through a face-to-face interview. Click here for more on the EEOC’s opinion on video interviewing.

Q: What objections have you heard from companies?
A: Some companies decide that they are not ready to implement the technology because it is so new.  These tend to be the same talent functions that are not using other Web 2.0 services like LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.  Other organizations feel that they won’t be able to sell the concept internally, but we find once they pilot it with an innovative internal client they see adoption.

Q: Are there reservations about blocking individuals from having an opportunity to interview face-to-face?
A: We do not recommend replacing live interviews with video interviews but rather using video to narrow your slate of candidates so that you are investing your time and money into your true finalist. Think of video interviewing as a screening funnel. Most of our customers use the virtual 1-way interview at the front end of the screening process to narrow down a larger group of candidates then they may use the live 2-way interview later in the process to validate a smaller group of candidates from whom they might pick a couple of finalists to fly in for a face-to-face interview. That way you’re not spending time and money and they’re not spending their time unnecessarily.

Q: Have you talked to candidates and how do they perceive interviewing using Video Technologies?
A: We provide 24/7 candidate support as part of our offering and so we hear from many candidates and their feedback is almost universally positive. Some of the most prevalent feedback we get is about how easy it is and how thankful they were that they didn’t have to take time off, lie to their boss or interview over a holiday due to travel. We also hear how happy candidates are that they can interview once instead of having to repeat themselves as much as 8 or 10 times in one day’s worth of interviews. Learn more about why job candidates like HireVue Video Interviews.

Q: How many individuals are on this webinar?
A: Over 180 Talent Acquisition professionals from all over the world attended and hundreds more have accessed the video interview webinar recording here.

Q: I used video interviewing for one position and the feedback I have received is that the candidate did not like the process as it took out the personal touch or two-way interview.
A: Video Interviewing is not meant to replace face-to-face interaction but rather to augment it. It’s a screening funnel. Most of our customers use the virtual 1-way interview at the front end of the screening process to narrow down a larger group of candidates then they may use the live 2-way interview later in the process to validate a smaller group of candidates from whom they might pick a couple of finalists to fly in for a face-to-face interview. That way you’re not spending time and money and they’re not spending their time unnecessarily.

Q: What are the legal implications of using video in the hiring and screening process?
A: We can’t answer for all video interviewing providers, but here at HireVue, our pre-recorded product provides a completely standardized interview that insures the same questions are asked to all qualified applicants in exactly the same manner as required by the EEOC. This approach also insures that a trained interviewer will have the opportunity to review each candidate and the responses of each hiring manager to insure a consistent assessment. You can go to our online video interview and recruiting resources page to find links to information posted at the EEOC regarding the use of video.

Q: Do ALL Best in Class companies use video?
A: This study was conducted specifically around video as it enables more efficient talent acquisition practices. So for the results presented in the webinar and discussed in the whitepaper, yes, Best In Class refers to organizations who used video in their recruiting as opposed to the ones who did not.

Q: How does this solution work in multiple languages?  Is there a built in translation tool?
A: Questions answered by candidates via video can be input into HireVue in any Roman-character based language and candidate interface screens are currently supported in six languages (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German and Italian) and can be easily localized in any other Roman-character based language at the customer’s request.

Q: How can you be inclusive of those candidates in technology backward or limited locations like the Philippines or South Africa where feeds are not up to video standards?
A: This is one of the most exciting things about HireVue. We have facilitated interviews in over 100 countries including South Africa and the Philippines. Our technology has been designed to work well even over very low bandwidth connections for this very reason. In situations where candidates do not have access to the Internet from their homes, our customers will often set up an on-site kiosk in high volume areas for candidates to use and other public options like libraries and Internet café’s will work well, even with the high level of security inherent in the HireVue system.

Q: What ATS systems is HireVue integrated with?
A: HireVue is fully integrated with Taleo Enterprise and we will announce integration with Taleo Business Edition shortly. We are also working with a number of other providers  interested in integrating video interviewing with their systems so look for additional integration announcements soon.

Q: So much of interviewing is using probing questions as follow up.  How do you address that?
A: Many employers use our virtual 1-way interviews to ask knockout questions or they break the probing questions into a sequence of questions in the one-way interview to insure more thoughtful responses by the candidates. They then use our live 2-way interview to meet with the candidate face-to-face to conduct an interactive discussion. Face-to-face interviews can still be scheduled – in fact, we recommend them – but by using HireVue you ensure those interviews only occur at the right time, with the right candidates and at a far lower cost than the traditional interview model.

Q: How do you sell this to senior leaders who are used to and require face-face meetings with candidates for executive positions?
A: Many executives quickly become proponents of the process.  If used as a screening tool it saves them time and wasted meetings.  They can view a set of pre-screened finalists at a time convenient to them and insure that the right candidate will qualify for the face-to-face interview.

Q: Who are your competitors and how do you differentiate?
A: There are a number of video interviewing providers out there – LiveHire, InterviewStudio and GreenJobInterview.com to name a few. Surprisingly video interviewing offerings actually vary widely so it’s important to consider the difference between simple video interviewing and, as Aberdeen put it, Video Enabled Talent Acquisition. We discussed some of this during the webinar but if you would like a list of 10 things that differentiate a Video Enabled Talent Acquisition Provider like HireVue from the rest, please e-mail sales@hirevue.com to request a copy. You can find additional details in Aberdeen’s whitepaper available for complimentary download from HireVue here.

Q: Will the slides be made available?
A: A recording of the entire webinar is available on the HireVue website here.

Q: What happens if a candidate’s Internet crashes part way through the interview?
A: When they log back into the system for a one-way interview they will start after their last completed question. For a live interview they can log back into the session as long as there is still a participant logged in.

Q: Is your solution compatible with any standard Talent Acquisition technology (i.e. Duet, SAP eRec)?
A: As mentioned earlier, HireVue is integrated with Taleo Enterprise and Taleo Business Edition. We are working on a number of other integrations with the top tier ATS vendors in the market. Additionally, we have built an open API that allows us to easily create ad-hoc integrations with other HRMS technologies and vice versa.

Q: what is the average length of time of each interview?
A: Virtual 1-way interviews typically take about 30 minutes and live 2-way interviews usually take no more than 1 hour.

Q: What is the average size of each file of the video interview? Are there any special system requirements?
A: We store and stream the video files in our proprietary system so there are no storage requirements and file size is irrelevant since it is accessed over the Internet. The only system requirements are a computer with a browser and Internet connection and a webcam. HireVue provides webcams as part of our service.

Q: How much does this cost?
A: At HireVue Pricing is based by the interview.  You purchase Interview credits in packages.  The more you purchase upfront, the lower the cost per interview. Pricing starts at $225 for international or $175 for domestic per interview credit and scales down based on volume.  HireVue clients typically save 5x what they spend with HireVue annually doing US only interviews.  If they are doing interviews outside of the US, their cost savings can be as much as 10x what they spend with HireVue.  Their Return is almost immediate once they start using HireVue. There is no time limit per interview.

Q: One concern is how to propose implementing video/HireVue to recruiting firms who have to fill top upper management positions for which they believe there is no substitute for the process of performing an initial phone screen then a face-to-face interview. How would you handle this?
A: Recruiting firms typically utilize a video conferencing solution when client companies request that they “meet” the candidate. For searches where that is appropriate, HireVue is a lower cost alternative with the added benefit of recording and reuse. HireVue has been used for recruiting C-suite candidates in the corporate setting.

Q: As a contract recruiting firm, we’re curious about the mechanics of bringing in client middle managers into the process and making it appealing to them.
A: HireVue has been used in the contract recruiting process and typically the recruiting firm builds the one-way interview based on the client’s requirements.  The completed candidate interviews can then be shared with the client middle managers from the recruiting firm for review and selection of final round candidates.  Live interviews can be conducted and shared in the same way.

Q: How does this work for non-management level positions?
A: HireVue is a great solution for high volume front line roles such as retail, call centers, etc. Our on-site subscription service provides a low cost alternative for sourcing local candidates at a set location within a facility. Companies typically have candidates take a one-way interview that allows them to process a high volume of candidates to determine the most qualified people to bring in for face-to-face final interviews.

Q: Logistics…what is the best way to manage the logistics of the process including getting a candidate a web cam?
A: With HireVue all of the logistical elements are taken care of. All you need to do is set up the interview questions and invite the candidate to perform the interview and we’ll take care of the rest, including the delivery of webcams, training and 24/7 customer and candidate support. Learn more about how video job interviewing works.

Q: At what step was video used in these TA processes (for the African Development Bank case study)…. as a first, 2nd, final interview etc.?
A: As a first and sometimes second screening interview. Final interviews were still held in person.

Q: What time frame was used to measure retention for this best-in-class research?
A: One 12-month period of time from the date of hire.

Q: What if the candidate doesn’t have a webcam?
A: We can’t speak for other video interviewing providers, but we ship a Client Branded Interview Package (via FedEx) to candidates.  The materials are completely customized by our clients and include information about the HireVue Process, Tips for Success On the Interview, Company Information/Brochures (ex: Annual Report), Job Related Information (Job Description) and a Logitech Webcam (which can be branded with your logo).  This presents a unique opportunity to push YOUR employment brand as well as information to the candidate in case you want to educate them along the recruiting process.  The candidate gets to keep the webcam afterward since the HireVue Service is all-inclusive.  Even if the candidate does have his or her own webcam, the quality varies drastically.  So, almost all of our clients elect to have HireVue ship the Client Branded Interview Package out to the candidates to ensure consistency and extend their employment brand.

Q: What are some sample applications where customers are using Video Talent Acquisition Today?
A: There are a number of sample applications that include:

• Geographically dispersed Recruiting: Either candidates are in different countries or the hiring team is spread across different geographies.
• Internal Hiring: Candidate in a large organization is applying for a job but is in a different office than the hiring manager (or hiring team).
• Campus Recruiting: Budgets have been slashed in campus recruiting and companies are using Video as a way to still reach all the schools on their Target Recruiting List.
• Bi-Lingual Positions: Great chance for those companies who need to hire bi-lingual candidates to see them in action giving answers to the same question in different languages.
• Retail/High Volume: Set up an interview room or kiosk in locations where you have a lot of foot traffic.

We've come a long way.

Of course we think video is the future of recruiting but sometimes we can’t help but wonder if we’re just drinking the kool-aid. Nice to hear there are others out there (like Josh Letourneau at Fist Full of Talent) who agree… to a degree. Thanks for the fun post Josh. May not be the most scientific validation but we’ll take it. Can’t wait to unveil our next product – Teleportation Interviewing. Worthy of another HR Product of The Year nomination? Maybe.

Read Josh’s article the future of recruiting.

Mark Newman, HireVue Co-Founder and CEO

HireVue’s CEO was recently interviewed by FastCompany Magazine for an article on the rapidly growing use of video interviewing services. We’ve included an excerpt here and a link to the full article.

Enjoy!

Webcam Interviews: How to Survive and Thrive

By: Patrick J. Kiger

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a strong resume and sterling qualifications could have easily landed you a face-to-face meeting with a hiring manager. Today, if your electronic resume passes muster with a company’s keyword search algorithm, you may find yourself trying to make a good impression not in person, but via Webcam from your living room.

Discouraged? Don’t be. With a few tricks drawn from the videographer’s trade, you’ll be armed with the tools you need to keep your foot firmly planted in the door.

Even before the downturn, recruiters had started using online video interviews as a way to speed up and systematize the hiring process. But what was once viewed as trendy gadgetry is now increasingly seen as a tool for slashing recruiters’ expenses.

Continue Reading on FastCompany.com…

We’re excited to see reports like this because they show how video interviewing is becoming mainstream. Network news is pretty limited on the amount of information they can provide in short segments like this. So in addition to their discussion of the obvious benefit of travel cost savings I wanted to add a little more context.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to marginalize travel cost savings – it’s a HUGE reason companies use video interviewing, but there are so many other aspects  that can pack a far more powerful punch. Take for instance the efficiency gains that can be realized in the hiring process. One client of ours recently informed us after doing an ROI study that just the aspect of video interviewing reducing manager’s time spent in interviews meant a 2.5 to 1 savings over travel cost savings alone!

The report focused pretty heavily on free services such as Skype. It’s important for enterprise employers to understand that these services can work well for one-off interviews but they’re not meant to support high volume, high impact hiring. Not only can they be difficult for employers to support both in terms of interview logistics and technical support but they are not built to the stringent data security requirements most enterprise organizations need – let alone those required by Safe Harbor legislation in the U.S. and E.U.

Another area to consider is the benefits candidates get from video interviewing. Candidates sometimes share their appreciation for video interviewing with us – here are some of the sentiments we’ve heard:

• “I can do the interview when I’m available and don’t have to try to hide it from my boss.”
• “There’s no travel needed to keep the interview process moving forward.”
• “I don’t have to burn vacation time.”
• “I get to tell my story once and can rest assured it will be heard by the right people.”
• “I can uniquely explain my value in a way my resume can’t.”
• “I spent less time in my search interviews so neither I nor the employer had to spend unnecessary time once we knew there wasn’t a fit.”
• “It’s easy to use.”
• “I got to keep the webcam!”
• “I was able to learn so much more about the company through the introductory video that was played before my interview.”

Whether done by HireVue or another provider, we think video interviews will continue to play a significant role in the future of recruiting and don’t be surprised if you start seeing more reports like this. We see a lot of evidence of growth having facilitated interviews in more than 100+ countries in 2009 for companies like AT&T, CDW, Raytheon, PNC Bank and many others. Companies just need to decide what’s critical to them. If travel costs are the only concern a free service like Skype can work well, but if complexity in the hiring process, data security and an improved hiring experience for candidates and hiring managers are more important, a service like HireVue which is built specifically to address enterprise hiring concerns may be a better fit.

Mark Newman

CEO, HireVue

To learn more about how HireVue helps companies save on travel costs AND realize deeper process and efficiency gains, sign up for our free webinar on Video Enabled Talent Acquisition held in conjunction with Aberdeen Group on January 12th, 2010. During the webinar analysts from Aberdeen will discuss recent research on video interviewing in addition to best practices for implementing video interviewing into a well rounded talent acquisition strategy. Click Here to register.